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Emma Raducanu will be assisted by former Britain No.1 Jeremy Bates when his campaign in Indian Wells kicks off later this week.
The new US Open champion, who ended her partnership with coach Andrew Richardson after her unexpected success at Flushing Meadows, was seen training this weekend in California with Bates, the LTA’s national women’s tennis manager, in the background.
With the 59-year-old already at Indian Wells in his role as coach of fellow Briton Katie Boulter, who will play in the qualifying tournament, Bates has confirmed he will assist Raducanu as well. The arrangement is temporary, with the 18-year-old not due to appoint a permanent coach until the end of the year.
After taking three weeks off after her shock success in New York City, Raducanu is ready for a busy month. After Indian Wells, she will play in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow and the Transylvanian Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Raducanu also appeared in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz tournament in November, but might be forced to rethink if she qualified for the WTA final in Guadalajara.
The women’s main draw at Indian Wells takes place on Monday with Raducanu, who has a first-round pass, competing for her first WTA Tour victory after receiving a wildcard to compete. The tournament is already stripped of some of its most prominent players – world number 1 Ash Barty withdrew last week, followed by number 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who revealed on Sunday that she had been tested positive for Covid-19. Men’s world No.1 Novak Djokovic, 2018 women’s champion Naomi Osaka and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams are also not in competition. The men’s draw will take place on Tuesday.
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Ruud defeats Norrie in San Diego final
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Cameron Norrie couldn’t achieve another upset as the British No.2 lost 6-0, 6-2 to Norway Casper ruud [pictured] in the final of the San Diego Open.
Norrie had beaten Dan Evans, Denis Shapovalov and seed Andrey Rublev en route to the final, but world No.10 Ruud proved too strong, winning the opening set without losing a game. Norrie got on the board early in the second set, but Ruud broke two more times to wrap up the win.
Norrie’s run to the final sees him climb to a new high of No.26 in the latest ATP rankings, four places behind Evans. In the doubles event in San Diego, the British Neal Skupski and Joe salisbury won the title with a 7-6 (2), 3-6, 10-5 victory over John Peers and Filip Polasek.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Sinner jannik beat Gaël Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to retain his title at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria. On the WTA circuit, Garbiñe Muguruza won the final in Chicago, beating Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Following Raducanu’s success at Flushing Meadows, the UK government announced a £ 22million package to renovate public courts, raised to £ 30.5million after an LTA top-up. New Culture Minister Nadine Dorries announced the funding at the Conservative Party conference, saying: “The whole country watched with admiration Emma Raducanu succeed in winning the US Open.
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“I want more people to follow in Emma’s footsteps and find success on the pitch, whether it’s winning an international tournament or picking up a racquet to stay in shape. That’s why we’re investing £ 22million to repair and improve access to the park’s tennis courts.
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