Emma Raducanu earns Aryna Sabalenka's praise in Indian Wells defeat

Emma Raducanu once again found some of her best tennis on U.S. soil. The surprise 2021 US Open champion reached the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open last season, and this week the British star progressed to the third round in Indian Wells before bowing out with her head held high after a narrow defeat to Aryna Sabalenka.

Following an injury-plagued 2023 season, the world No. 250 received a wild card into the WTA 1000 event. She made the most of it by recording back-to-back wins for the first time since her Indian Wells run from last season, beating Rebeka Masarova and Dayana Yastremska (via retirement) to set up her showdown with Sabalenka.

Raducanu took the fight to the two-time reigning Australian Open champion on Monday but fell to a 6-3, 7-5 defeat after missing out on a break point at 4-4 in the second set. The Briton dug deep in the match’s final game, creating three break points before Sabalenka closed out the win on her fourth match point of the marathon game.

Despite the defeat, Raducanu remained upbeat about her performance as she continues to take the long view on her development.

“It was a good success, I would say,” Raducanu said of her desert run. “I think I have handled myself a lot better on the match court. I was a lot more positive and hungry to play, and that showed I think in the tennis that I did play.

After her first meeting with the 21-year-old, Sabalenka was quick to credit her opponent’s game while also acknowledging the difficulty of her injury struggles.

“She’s an incredible player and she played great tennis today, even though she didn’t play many matches in the past couple of months,” she said. “But still, I know that the level is there, and she can play some great tennis.”

Looking back on the dramatic final game, Sabalenka was relieved to avoid a tiebreak as she sensed her opponent’s confidence cresting.

“She fought till the end,” said the second seed. “She didn’t give up in the last game. She was trying her best and during the match she was fighting for it.

“Of course I was super happy that I was able to close this match in two sets, and the last game was tight. I felt like the last game was kind of a key moment. If I would lose that game this would give her emotionally much more belief and confidence, and going to the tiebreak you never know. It’s like 50/50. I didn’t want that to happen.”