When Emma Raducanu made her late decision to fly to Indian Wells, she probably did not have this in mind: a 6-3, 6-2 hammering at the hands of unheralded Japanese player Moyuka Uchijima.
Neither would she have expected the Californian desert to deliver a day of powerful, blustery wind that might have felt more appropriate to the Yorkshire moors.
After her difficult experience with a stalker in Dubai, and the week she spent away from the practice court in London, Raducanu was always likely to be undercooked. And the conditions only exacerbated her problems.
As a player who grew up on British indoor courts, and still spends a high proportion of her training time under the roof of the National Tennis Centre in south–west London, Raducanu has never liked playing in the wind.
Her serve was completely undermined, coughing up four double-faults and five breaks in all. She also wore a piece of strapping under her left knee which suggested that there might be some physical issues as well as the understandable rustiness.
The upshot was a sixth defeat in her last seven matches: a slide which her latest coach Vladimir Platenik is now charged with addressing.
Having only spent one practice session with Raducanu before match day, Platenik can hardly be held responsible for this underwhelming performance.
He called out plenty of advice in the first set from his seat in the stands, encouraging Raducanu to use her legs and apply more spin to the ball. As the match wore on, though, he grew quieter.
A highly rated coach who has worked with former top-10 players Dominika Cibulkova and Daria Kasatkina, Platenik guided Lulu Sun to victory over Raducanu on Wimbledon’s Centre Court last summer
He has always liked the idea of working with her, feeling that she has enormous potential, and he now arrives at what feels like a pivotal moment in her career.
Raducanu started the season with high expectations after appointing fitness trainer Yukata Nakamura to her team, and chiselled out creditable wins against a pair of talented players at the Australian Open: Ekaterina Alexandrova and Amanda Anisimova.
But then came the hammer blow of losing her coach Nick Cavaday, whom she worked with as an emerging pre-teen at the Bromley Tennis Centre and trusted implicitly. Cavaday’s chronic health problems meant that he was forced to step off the tour, and she has lost all momentum since then, with five of those six defeats coming since she left Australia.
In this match, she scored an early break to move to 2-0 up, but then began to bleed unforced errors like a tennis haemophiliac. By the time she recovered any kind of poise, she was 6-3, 2-0 down, and Uchijima was playing with real confidence. Indeed, Uchijima’s game looked well adapted to these slow and windy conditions, because she generates a lot of spin on her forehand side and can thus make the ball cut through the breeze.
In the early stages, Platenik kept up a stream of advice and encouragement: “Use your legs. Stay aggressive. Don’t jump [on the forehand].” Raducanu looked to him regularly, reflecting the fact that they know each other from her teenage years. But as her errors mounted up, she retreated more into herself.
There was still a competitive edge there, and Raducanu forced three break points which would have earned her parity at 3-3 in the second set. She was even assertive enough to keep up her shouts of self-encouragement when an occasional winner zipped through the court. But Uchijima saved all three break points through judicious use of that heavy forehand, and then powered on to claim the win in just 83 minutes.
Fearnley downed by Fonseca
Raducanu was the second Briton in succession to suffer defeat on the main court at Indian Wells. Immediately before her, Jacob Fearnley had found himself in the firing line against Joao Fonseca, the Brazilian teenager who is tipped to be tennis’s next big thing.
Here was a wildly undulating contest that matched the swirling, gusting nature of the desert wind. Play had to be paused a couple of times. The first because Fonseca’s towel had blown onto the court, the second when his hat was plucked off his head. On another occasion, he misread the swerving flight of the ball so badly that he could not decide whether to hit a forehand or backhand, and eventually watched it fly past him without offering a shot.
Never mind: Fonseca still had the goods when he needed them, powering through to victory by a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 scoreline. As he stepped up to the microphone, the on-court MC made sure everyone knew they were looking at a future star. “We remember Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic making their debuts on this court,” said the announcer. No pressure then!
Both these men are at the start of their professional careers, and they stand next to each other on the rankings ladder at Nos 80 and 81. But there the comparisons end.
Fearnley is already 23 – having spent three years developing his game at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth – while Fonseca only turned 18 last August. His rapid ascent has been accelerated by a first ATP title in Rio last month.
Since the start of this century, only three men have opened their trophy accounts at a younger age: Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. They all went on to become grand-slam finalists.
11:17 PM GMT
What is next for Raducanu?
Emma Raducanu has not confirmed what her next tournament will be, but she has earned direct entry into the Miami Open (March 16-30) and it seems likely she will play there.
It offers another chance to get her season back on track; after that defeat, she has only won one of her last seven matches.
British hopes at Indian Wells predominantly rest with Jack Draper, who will face super-talent Joao Fonseca in the second round.
That’s it from me, thanks for reading.
11:05 PM GMT
That defeat brings up an unwelcome statistic for Emma Raducanu
11:02 PM GMT
Raducanu loses in BNP Paribas Open first round
Uchijima raises her arms in victory and bows to the spectators after shaking Raducanu’s hand at the net. She adapted much better to the blustery conditions and constantly put her opponent’s serve under pressure. The 23-year-old will play Coco Gauff in round two.
The Briton walks quickly off court. The match did not go the way she wanted, littered with errors, but she will be happy to get through match incident-free, given the Dubai stalker ordeal, and get some more time and distance from that.
10:58 PM GMT
Raducanu 3-6, 2-6 Uchijima* (denotes server)
Frustration writ large in Raducanu’s body language. She slashes at a forehand, with impatient power, and hits it into the net for 0-15, and another booming Uchijima forehand takes her to within two points of victory.
A backhand return flies out and it’s three match points. Uchijima only needs one as Raducanu hits the ball high and long.
Moyuka Uchijima beats Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-2.
10:55 PM GMT
Raducanu* 3-6, 2-5 Uchijima (denotes server)
Uchijima is not missing and Raducanu is broken to love, losing her service game again with a double fault.
The tall Japanese player will serve for the match. She has proven very hard to pass and made far fewer errors.
10:53 PM GMT
Raducanu 3-6, 2-4 Uchijima* (denotes server)
Raducanu adjusts her body excellently to an awkward sliced forehand in the wind to bring up 30-30.
She pumps her fist and shouts “come on” as a flurry of forehands ends with Uchijima blinking first and sending the ball long. However, she does not make the same error again, saving break point down the line after working Raducanu around the court.
Two more break point chances for Raducanu go begging in this long game of deuces, saved by big serves and redoubtable forehands.
Raducanu was making the running in the final point, but her opponent doggedly ran for balls, making her play that extra shot, and she dumped her forehand volley into the net.
That might well have been Raducanu’s big chance to get back into this match.
10:41 PM GMT
Raducanu* 3-6, 2-3 Uchijima (denotes server)
Some pounding first serves in there and a well-placed forehand down the line put Raducanu in the ascendancy.
However, Uchijima is not missing much and has terrific feel to slice a drop shot over for deuce.
A few unforced errors then give the game to Raducanu. The Briton has had to work for every single service game, but at least she did not have to save a break point this time.
10:35 PM GMT
Raducanu 3-6, 1-3 Uchijima* (denotes server)
Raducanu follows up an unforced error with a fierce, fine forehand, finding the angle too. However, Uchijima delivers a clutch ace to go 40-30 and she sees out the game with another backhand sailing wide from her opponent.
10:32 PM GMT
Raducanu has lost eight of the last ten games
A welcome hold there for Raducanu, but she has still lost eight of the last ten games. We should probably note that she does spend a lot of time practising indoors, and has never liked playing in the wind.
On several occasions she has tried to slide the ball out wide to the Uchijima forehand and failed to account for the crosswind taking it even further. Credit to Uchijima for her level, though, which has stayed impressively steady in the circumstances.
10:31 PM GMT
Raducanu* 3-6, 1-2 Uchijima (denotes server)
An important, gutsy hold for Raducanu. Her first serve accuracy helped to get her out of jail, saving a break point at 30-40 as her opponent netted.
To win the game, she forced Uchijima out wide, moved her into the middle then dished up a fizzing forehand winner. More of that power and precision would not go amiss.
10:26 PM GMT
Raducanu 3-6, 0-2 Uchijima* (denotes server)
The wind is visibly blowing the ball at times. Uchijima has to correct her ball toss.
Raducanu cannot take advantage of a few Uchijima second serves to pressurise her. She gets it to 40-30 with a belting backhand, which the scrambling Japanese cannot return, then wrongfoots her with tenacious net play to bring up a rare deuce.
However, the better-ranked player is hard to hit past, timing her striking better and finding the right spots. She wins the game with a perfectly-placed forehand into the deuce court corner, moving tantalisingly away from Raducanu’s racket.
10:20 PM GMT
Second set: Raducanu* 3-6, 0-1 Uchijima (denotes server)
Over 20 unforced errors in that first set for Raducanu, despite a 79% first serve percentage. That rather sums it up.
No luck for Raducanu today yet either as an Uchijima forehand pings off the net cord and goes straight down next to it for 15-30. Her opponent is finding the corners far better with ground strokes and making the running, moving Raducanu around.
Raducanu saves one break point with a deft backhand passing shot which scrapes her opponent’s racket, but a double fault gifts the opening game of the second set to Moyuka Uchijima.
10:16 PM GMT
Uchijima holds on in the wind
Uchijima held it together better in horrible conditions: that’s the story of the first set. Raducanu’s serve didn’t stand up to the wind at all, which was blowing an absolute hoolie when she hit a crucial double-fault at 3-4, 30-30. She came back from 15-40 to hold on her first attempt, and then was broken three successive times.
10:14 PM GMT
Raducanu 3-6 Uchijima* (denotes server)
A delicious backhand passing shot from Raducanu down the line to bring up 0-30 as Uchijima rushed the net. She had to get that through the eye of the needle to win the point, accuracy-wise, as the Japanese player covered the rest of the court.
However, her opponent digs in, levels up the game and sends her sprinting across court, left and right, to bring up a set point. Raducanu blows out her cheeks in frustration.
She thumps a backhand too hard in the tricky conditions and the first set goes to Uchijima.
10:10 PM GMT
Raducanu* 3-5 Uchijima (denotes server)
Playing with new balls, Raducanu points out an item that has blown onto court at 30-30. It does nothing to help her focus, as she subsequently delivers her first double fault of the match to offer another break point.
Uchijima exploits a short forehand from the Briton to win the game, delivering a stinging clean winner back. There have not been many of those.
10:07 PM GMT
Raducanu capitalises on missed shots
Platenik wants more spin and more patience from Raducanu who lost four straight games in a welter of unforced errors. She managed to find the centre of her strings in the next game, whereupon Uchijima suddenly delivered four straight easy misses.
It’s not a day for pretty tennis here. I feel like the end to the umpire’s left is windier.
10:05 PM GMT
Raducanu 3-4 Uchijima* (denotes server)
Just like that, she stops the rot. Uchijima has lost her range and Raducanu breaks her to love.
Some fine depth on her shots in that game though, putting her adversary under sustained pressure.
10:02 PM GMT
Raducanu* 2-4 Uchijima (denotes server)
Best shot of the match so far to bring up 15-15. Uchijima shows her impressive work-rate, chasing every ball, but Raducanu moves her around and fires a double-handed backhand across court into the corner.
However, the Japanese seems to have found her rhythm, despite the Briton’s unerring first-serve rate. A clean forehand strike brings up a break point at 30-40 and Raducanu sprays a backhand wide.
That is four games in a row for Uchijima. Alarm bells.
09:58 PM GMT
Desert wind hurting accuracy
Two poor games from Raducanu there, but it’s not easy to play in the blustery and inconsistent wind that’s whipping up tumbleweed around the Californian desert today. There’s a lot of late movement in the ball-flight and we’re not seeing much clean striking right now.
09:56 PM GMT
Raducanu 2-3 Uchijima* (denotes server)
The unforced error count is ticking up for Raducanu, hitting a few balls into the doubles tramline to help Uchijima take the lead for the first time in the match.
Conditions have not improved, with that desert wind blowing hard and ruffling the players’ clothes.
09:53 PM GMT
Raducanu* 2-2 Uchijima (denotes server)
Another ace helps Raducanu to 15-30 and back into the game, but a few balls deposited lamely into the net bring up two break points for Uchijima.
She comes to the net sharply to save one, moving well to place a backhand volley into open court. However, Uchijima wallops a couple of forehands to send the Briton scrambling to reach the ball before breaking back with an unanswered one. We’re back on serve.
09:50 PM GMT
Raducanu’s vocal new coach
I’m sitting almost next to Vlado Platenik, Raducanu’s new coach. He’s keeping up a constant stream of advice and encouragement: “Use your legs. Stay aggressive. Don’t jump [on the forehand].”
She is looking to him regularly, reflecting the fact that they know each other from her teenage years. “Very slow!” she said, in relation to the court speed.
09:49 PM GMT
Raducanu 2-1 Uchijima* (denotes server)
Uchijima is struggling to get her first serve in, but she gets off the mark, helped by several wide balls from Raducanu. The Briton has a sizeable plaster on her left knee, by the way, wonder whether she had a tumble in training.
09:45 PM GMT
Raducanu* 2-0 Uchijima (denotes server)
A resilient hold from Raducanu, saving two break points at 15-40. She banged down an ace, then moved her opponent around behind the baseline, forcing an error out of her.
That was all about first serve reliability too; I think she only failed to get one in.
Shot of the game was a sliced forehand return from Uchijima to bring up 15-30. The Japanese player is already showing she can find some devilish angles.
09:39 PM GMT
First set: Emma Raducanu 1-0 Moyuka Uchijima* (denotes server)
It is important to get into the groove early and get to grips with the windy conditions. Raducanu won the coin toss and chose to receive.
On this evidence, it was wise as the Briton breaks her opponents off the bat. After exchanging unforced errors into the net, Uchijima chalked up the match’s first double fault then dumped another into the net. Raducanu hit a powerful backhand volley to take the opener.
09:36 PM GMT
Uchijima to serve first
After a few minutes of warming up, here we go. The match is underway.
09:30 PM GMT
Raducanu’s affinity for America
“The first US Open win in New York was pretty epic. Ever since, I’ve had an amazing fanbase in America and I love it here. Everything is so easy, relaxed, spacious.”
09:29 PM GMT
Raducanu and Uchijima walk out on court
Raducanu, with white Nike visor on, keeps her head down as she strides on before putting her racket bag down at her seat.
They are playing on the primary showcourt at Indian Wells, framed by the Santa Rosa Mountains, though it is far from packed to its 16,100-capacity.
09:21 PM GMT
“A very emotional time”: Raducanu reflects on stalker ordeal
A win this afternoon would help Raducanu to turn the page a little quicker, given her sinister experience at her most recent tournament.
On Tuesday, Raducanu spoke to press about the “fixated” spectator who disrupted her match against Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Championships a fortnight ago.
“I was obviously very distraught,” said Raducanu, who has extra guards with her during this week’s event in California. “I saw him first game of the match, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna finish’.
“I was playing Karolina, who’s top 17 in the world or something. I’m like, ‘I literally need to just take a breather here,’ and then the first four games kind of ran away from me. I was not on the court, to be honest, and I’m not really sure how I regrouped.
“I think that was a pretty good effort for me to carry on playing in that match, in that scenario. I finished the match [which she lost by a narrow 7-6, 6-4 scoreline], and I even had chances in the first set, but, yeah, it was a very emotional time. And after the match, I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost.
“It was more because there was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of events. I needed a week off to take a breather and come here and I feel a lot better.”
You can see a timeline of the ordeal and read more of her reflections here.
09:14 PM GMT
Raducanu due on court next
18-year-old tennis whizz kid Joao Fonseca sees off Fearnley 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, which means Emma Raducanu and Moyuka Uchijima will be on court within the next 20 minutes or so.
09:10 PM GMT
Fearnley and Fonseca locked in third-set battle
A reminder: Emma Raducanu will be on court after the conclusion of another first round match between Jacob Fearnley and Joao Fonseca, which is in its dying embers.
It has been a nip-tuck tussle. After a six-minute game, Fonseca broke the Briton and is a game away from victory. He leads 5-3. Fearnley may well rue a couple of double faults and a volley he should have put away.
09:02 PM GMT
Tricky conditions for Raducanu and company
Indian Wells may well be out in the desert, but the sun is not the problem this afternoon: it is only 19 degrees Celsius.
No, the wind is swirling around, blowing dust and sand around into the eyes of players and leading spectators to pull on a few layers if they are in the shade.
09:00 PM GMT
Who is Raducanu’s opponent?
While Raducanu is favourite with the bookmakers, Moyuka Uchijima will pose a significant threat. She has just reached a career high no52 ranking and represented Japan at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. She won five ITF World Tour titles last year, helping her rise up the standfings.
Having come through qualifying, she knocked Jelena Ostapenko out in the first round at the Dubai Championships a fortnight ago before losing to Elena Rybakina. This one could be close.
08:51 PM GMT
Raducanu’s Indian Wells record
It is little wonder Indian Wells is one of Raducanu’s favourite tournaments, given the relaxed atmosphere and pleasing, resort setting in the desert.
She has performed well in the past at the BNP Paribas Open, not going out in the first round since the 2021 event. In the last two years, she has gone out to Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, respectively. No shame in that.
08:46 PM GMT
Fearnley edges towards victory over Fonseca
Meanwhile, after a mammoth fourth game of the second set, Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley finally makes good his early break in the third set to go 3-1 up against Joao Fonseca. Raducanu and Uchijima are on after this match.
Fearnley has got quite the forehand.
08:41 PM GMT
Raducanu teams up with Ben Shelton at the Eisenhower Cup
There were happier times on court 48 hours ago for the 2021 US Open champion. She joined Ben Shelton to play at the Eisenhower Cup, a for-charity exhibition event on the eve of the tournament itself.
Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina won it.
08:30 PM GMT
Raducanu’s stalker experience sadly not abnormal
Speaking about her stalker incident on Tuesday, Raducanu indicated she had received a couple of messages from fellow players.
The frightening thing is that the scary events in Dubai a fortnight ago are not particularly unusual. She is not alone.
“Each tennis player has been through something similar,” her compatriot Katie Boulter told reporters. “I’ve had people on site at WTA [tournaments] saying they were going to harm me. It can make you feel quite isolated and I don’t wish that upon anyone.”
WTA players regularly have to face misogny, toxic messages and threats on social media, sometimes linked to online betting. A very worrying state of affairs.
08:22 PM GMT
Briton Fearnley putting up a fight
Raducanu will be on Court 1 after the end of the first round match match between her compatriot Jacob Fearnley and teenage hotshot Joao Fonseca.
That has just gone into a decider. The Brazilian wild card took the first 6-2, but Fearnley hit back 6-1. The man from Edinburgh has rocketed up the ATP rankings in the last twelve months and a good run here would put him on the cusp of the top 50.
08:15 PM GMT
Raducanu trialling new coach Platenik at Indian Wells
Raducanu is also trialling a new coach, the Slovakian Vladimir Platenik, who she briefly worked with as a teenager. He has a sterling reputation, having helped Daria Kasatkina and Dominika Cibulkova into the top 25 in the world rankings.
If Platenik takes on the job, as many expect, he will become her seventh full-time appointment in three-and-a-half years. You can read more about his background here.
The Briton parted company with her previous coach Nick Cavaday in January, as he stepped down from his role amid health concerns.
08:05 PM GMT
Raducanu seeks to move on from stalker incident with victory
Good evening and welcome to our live, minute-by-minute text coverage of the BNP Paribas Open first round tie between Emma Raducanu and Moyuka Uchijima.
Raducanu is looking to put the traumatic stalker incident behind her. She saw her stalker in the crowd at her most recent match in Dubai against Karolina Muchova, who had allegedly followed her around her last four countries and tournaments. It left her “distraught” and unsure of how she would be able to finish the match.
“I couldn’t see the ball through the tears, I could barely breathe,” she said on Tuesday, breaking her silence about the ordeal.
She halted the match at the end of the second game, and took refuge behind the umpire’s chair until the problematic individual – who is not a British citizen – was expelled from the stands. Her stalker was later released without charge by Dubai police, after signing a document that said he would stay away from her in the future.
Our own Simon Briggs heard her speak, candidly and at length about what happened and was struck by her poise amid an awful situation. He reckons it’s impossible to not feel sorry for her.
Raducanu took a breather back in the UK before flying off to California. Unsurprisingly, she has extra security with her at the tournament. “It’s amazing to feel protected, to feel safe,” she added.
The 22-year-old has only won one of her last six matches, but she has faced some high-class opposition and shown a marked improvement in her service reliability. The so-called “fifth slam”, Indian Wells is also a happy hunting ground, her favourite tournament of the year outside of the majors. However, she will have to deal with a wind whipping in from the desert on court.
World no 52 Uchijama sits six places ahead of Raducanu in the WTA rankings, but the Briton has won their only previous match on tour. Back in September 2022, she downed her 6-2, 6-4 in Seoul.
The winner tonight goes through to a box office second round match against Coco Gauff. They are expected on court no earlier than 9pm GMT.
