Emma Raducanu lost in the Indian Wells last night in first match since her harrowing stalking incident at the Dubai Open, meaning four Brits remain in the singles draw.
‘Tennis Paradise’ was anything but for Raducanu last night, with windy conditions and a string of errors leading to a 3-6 2-6 loss to No. 52 Moyuka Uchijima.
The 2021 U.S. Open Champion was targeted by a man displaying ‘fixated behaviour’ in Dubai in February, though Raducanu told the BBC she “didn’t feel anxious” about the possibility of another incident during the match.
This is her 5th loss in the 6 matches she’s played since her run to the 3rd round of Australian Open, and the Brit is currently trialling new coach Vladamir Platenik in an attempt to improve her form.
Brits Cameron Norrie and Sonay Kartal captured first-round wins, sending them into difficult battles in the coming days, with British No. 2 Norrie taking on top 30 Jiri Lehecka this evening, against whom he has a 2-1 record.
World No. 83 Kartal, who rose to fame during last year’s Wimbledon where she came through qualifying and reached the 3rd round, is appearing in the main draw of a Masters event for the first time. She faces 16th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round on Sunday.
There are two Brits ranked highly enough to receive byes into the second round: British No. 1s Jack Draper and Katie Boulter.
18-year-old rising star and Buenos Aires champion Joao Fonseca defeated Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in three sets to set up an exciting match against Draper, currently scheduled for Saturday evening.
Above, Boulter playing in Tiebreak Tens tournament pre-Indian Wells with World No. 10 and fiancé Alex de Minaur.
Boulter is scheduled to play at 7 pm GMT this evening against Irina-Camellia Begu, and a win could set up a clash with former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
In doubles, there are a number of talents to watch, particularly in the men’s draw where there are five British players in seeded pairings.
Wimbledon champions Henry Patten and Finnish Harri Heliovaara are 2nd seeds, Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury continue their 2025 partnership, as do longtime partners Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.
Patten/Heliovaara against 2025 Australian Open singles finalist Alexander Zverev and former No. 1 in doubles Marcelo Melo is undoubtedly the standout match of the first round, which kicks off on Sunday.
