British tennis star Emma Raducanu stated on Wednesday that she is not concerned with the results as the 21-year-old is set to take on Spain’s Rebeka Masarova in her Indian Wells first-round match.
The British world No.250 steps into this week's BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with a win-loss record of 3-4 for the season so far, yet to secure consecutive victories in a tournament.
Her victories have come against Elena Gabriela Ruse, Shelby Rogers, and Marie Bouzkova, none of whom are currently ranked within the world's top 30.
21-year-old Raducanu has not reached a Tour final since her remarkable victory at the 2021 US Open as a qualifier. In 2023, she faced a significant setback due to ankle and wrist surgeries, resulting in her missing a substantial portion of the Tour.
Now, as she stages a comeback, she emphasizes that her focus is on her growth as a player rather than solely on her results on the Tour.
“I want to work on becoming a better tennis player,” Raducanu told BBC Sport. “I think for me I’m not too concerned about this year’s tournaments.
“A lot of people out there would say that I need matches, but I think that for me I want to work on my game and development.
“Taking time to do that is very necessary and not just following the crowd, or playing a lot of matches, or dropping down [to Challenger level] to do that. I want to work on developing skills.”
In Indian Wells, Raducanu will defend 120 points after her fourth-round appearance last year, where she was defeated in straight sets by Iga Swiatek. This was also the last time she managed to string together consecutive wins in a tournament.
“It’s just a bit of a journey for me, I would say, you don’t really know what to expect after being out for eight months,” she explained.
“I felt like because I was so go-go-go since December, I felt like I became a little fatigued, so it was good to go back, freshen up and practise for the American swing, which I’m a big fan of.”