Emma Raducanu packing on the muscle after vowing to improve

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Emma Raducanu has vowed to become one of the “best athletes” on the WTA tour after packing on the muscle following her defeat to world No 1 Iga Swiatek. Raducanu produced one of her best weeks since winning the US Open, back in 2021, reaching the fourth round of Indian Wells before losing to the Pole, 6-3 6-1.

The British No 1 picked up her two highest-ranked wins since her triumph in New York, which came as a surprise to many after there were doubts she would even play the event due to injury and illness.

Raducanu has said that she is taking a “positive” outlook on her time in the desert, as she affirmed: “I can take a positive week.”

The 20-year-old continued: “I think I had a few good wins earlier against some great opponents. I did two good training weeks in London. They paid off to an extent, but ultimately, two weeks of training isn’t going to cut it against the world No 1 right now. I’m looking forward to playing her after I’ve got more time under my belt.”

The 20-year-old was adamant that she is going to continue the work that she did over the pre-season, to get herself in the best condition possible to compete with the likes of Swiatek.

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She added: “Physically, I feel like that’s going to be one of my biggest assets. I think that I’m going to be one of the best athletes on the tour – and that’s going to be a big part of my game. I would say there is a very long way to go, but I’m definitely starting the right work now.”

The WTA No 77 also had a lot of praise for her three-time Grand Slam champion opponent: “I think that Iga played a very good level and showed why she is No 1 in the world.

“She was very ruthless with the way that she played. I think I was able to stay competitive for the beginning of the match, but ultimately she ground me down, and by the end of it.

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“I was just taking way too long to recover from one rally. Overall, I feel like physically she is much further ahead than I am at this moment.”

The Sunshine Double continues this month with the Miami Open, and Sunday’s release of the main draw has already lined up notable encounters for the next two weeks in southern Florida.

The third quarter contains the clash between Raducanu and 2021 Miami Open runner-up, Bianca Andreescu. In their only previous meeting, Andreescu led Raducanu 6-2, 2-1 on the clay of Rome last year before Raducanu retired from that match.

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