By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – Britain’s Emma Raducanu has learned that good fortune can be fleeting and bad luck can cruelly compound itself but said she is on the upswing following her second-round victory at Indian Wells on Saturday.
The 20-year-old has been beset by an avalanche of injuries and illnesses of late but was all smiles after knocking out Polish 20th seed Magda Linette 7-6(3) 6-2 for her biggest win since her triumph at the 2021 U.S. Open.
She suffered an ankle injury in the lead up to January’s Australian Open, tonsillitis that forced her to withdraw ahead of last week’s Austin Open and the recent flaring up of a wrist injury that cut short her 2022 season.
“Sometimes you wonder, like, how is this possible?” Raducanu told reporters.
“But then very quickly I think you create your own luck. It works both ways. I won the U.S. Open as well. I have to take the bad luck sometimes because good fortune has also come upon me.
“I wouldn’t trade that title for the world. I’m just prepared to take whatever it takes, knowing that I have that in the bank,” she said with a smile.
At Flushing Meadows in 2021, Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a major and did so without dropping a set.
The stunning accomplishment made her a sensation in Britain and beyond and red carpet appearances, top-tier endorsement deals and even a session at the nets with British royalty followed in the weeks after the victory.
But last year she struggled with injuries and uneven play and after she fell in her opening match at the 2022 U.S. Open, she fell outside the top 80.
While it is tempting to hope that Saturday’s win could be a turning point, she said she is not looking too far ahead.
“I feel good with the way I’m working with my team, not getting overly pleased or too down,” she said.
“I’m just plodding away. I feel pretty good about how things are going.”
Raducanu faces Brazilian 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the third round on Monday.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Indian Well, California; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
