Emma Raducanu: Briton 'not too concerned' about tournament result

Emma Raducanu says she is "not too concerned" about tournament results, as the priority this year is to develop her game.

The 21-year-old has won three matches in the four tournaments she has played since returning from an eight-month absence from the tour through injury.

She will play qualifier Rebeka Masarova in the first round at Indian Wells on Thursday.

"I want to work on becoming a better tennis player," Raducanu said.

"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," she told BBC Sport in Southern California.

Raducanu played her best tennis of 2023 in Indian Wells, reaching the fourth round having found out just before the tournament began that she was likely to need surgery on both her wrists.

"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 continued.

"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."

Raducanu also told BBC Sport she is likely to play in Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tie in France in April, if selected by captain Anne Keothavong.

"I don't know if I'll get the call-up," she said.

"But if she asks me to, I think it makes sense because it's before [the WTA tournament in] Stuttgart [which is also] on indoor clay."

British number one Katie Boulter has had little time to prepare for Wednesday's first-round match against Italian Camila Giorgi, having won her second WTA title in San Diego on Sunday.

"I think emotionally and physically there's always going to be a little bit of wear and tear after a week like that. I've only ever played in qualifying here, I've never played main draw," Boulter explained.

The top 32 players in the world receive a bye into the second round, but world number 27 Boulter is having to play a first-round match as the seedings are based on last week's rankings.

British men's number one Cameron Norrie does have a bye into the second round and will not play until Saturday. But Jack Draper, Andy Murray and Dan Evans are all in first-round action, with Draper and Murray playing on Wednesday.

Draper has had little time to recover from a bout of food poisoning, which forced him to retire during the deciding set of Friday's Mexican Open semi-final against Alex de Minaur.

The 22-year-old plays Christopher O'Connell of Australia while Murray takes on qualifier David Goffin of Belgium on Centre Court.

Murray announced in Dubai last week that he is "likely not going to play past this summer", but says he doesn't feel any relief at sharing his plans after months of questioning.

"I've been asked about it most weeks since Wimbledon last year. I personally don't think it has much bearing on how I play or perform but I guess we'll find out on the match court. Since I arrived here, practices have been good, so let's see," the former world number one added.

Liam Broady and Harriet Dart failed to add their names to the 96-player draws when they fell in the final round of qualifying on Tuesday.

Source: BBC