Emma Raducanu, the newly crowned US Open champion, lost to World No.100 Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the opening round, unexpectedly. Briton Dan Evans gave his opinion over her shocking first-round defeat at the ongoing 2021 Indian Wells.

Last month, Raducanu scripted history by becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title by defeating Leylah Fernandez in the US Open final. The British teenager won three qualifying matches and seven main-draw matches without dropping a set, en route to the historic triumph.

Dan Evans on Emma Raducanu suffering early Indian Wells exit

During an interview, Evans mentioned Raducanu had understandably various commitments following her US Open win, which probably didn’t allow her much time to train leading up to Indian Wells.

“I mean, I think, obviously without speaking out of turn, I would not know what she’s going through, and I think, you know, there are so many other things she’s probably got to do right now after the US Open commitments that, you know, tennis probably wasn’t, not her own fault, wasn’t her only thing which she had to do, so it was difficult,” said Evans.

Post her US Open victory, Raducanu became an overnight superstar and over the recent weeks, she has been adapting to all the attention and transitioning to life on a professional tour.

Raducanu, who parted ways with her coach Andrew Richardson after the US Open, was training with Jeremy Bates, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) national women’s coach, at Indian Wells.

However, the 18-year-old is searching for a long-term coach with WTA tour experience. As per reports, the names of Darren Cahill, Wim Fissette, Esteban Carril, Iain Hughes, and 3-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray have been doing the rounds as options for the job of Raducanu’s long-term coach.

With a handful of tournaments left, Raducanu hopes to find a suitable coach before the start of the 2022 season. Up next, Raducanu would compete at the 2021 Kremlin Cup, which starts next week.

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