Emma Raducanu explains what went wrong in 52-minute defeat at Indian Wells

Emma Raducanu endured a swift and comprehensive exit from Indian Wells, admitting she simply could not match the power of her opponent, Amanda Anisimova, in a brutal 52-minute third-round defeat.

The British player was thoroughly outclassed, succumbing 6-1 6-1 in a match where Anisimova’s formidable strength proved overwhelming.

Raducanu was broken in the opening game and consistently struggled to contend with her opponent’s aggressive play, often declining to chase down drop shots and failing to exert pressure with her own return of serve.

This emphatic loss to the sixth seed tempered the optimism that had followed Raducanu’s fluent 6-1 6-3 victory over Anastasia Zakharova, leaving significant questions about her ongoing efforts to redefine her game.

Her first serve was notably ineffective, and she managed just two winners compared to Anisimova’s 21.

The 2021 US Open champion, who parted ways with her coach Francisco Roig in January, has been working on an ad-hoc basis with Mark Petchey in her quest to rediscover her best form.

Reflecting on the one-sided contest in California, Raducanu acknowledged the power disparity.

“I need to obviously be aggressive when playing those players, but I think there’s still a long way to go to be doing that and I need to use my strengths and probably mix it up a bit more,” she stated.

She further elaborated on the challenge: “When I’m playing someone who’s at the top like that, I think they have an extra 10 miles an hour on their serve than me.

“If I’m not feeling it, that gap feels more evident in terms of weight of shot, in terms of power. You just feel a little bit behind and your punches aren’t landing as much as theirs are.”

Despite the setback, the 23-year-old is attempting to draw positives from her time at the tournament.

“I have to look at what I achieved in the last nine days of practice since I arrived here, and the first match was a good one for me,” she said.

“Today I could let it get me down if I wanted to, but overall I think the days have been better than not.”

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka advanced comfortably to the last 16, defeating Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-4 6-1.

She is set to face Naomi Osaka, who required three sets to overcome Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-1 3-6 6-1.

Fourth seed Coco Gauff, however, was forced to retire due to injury while trailing Alex Eala 2-6 0-2, describing the sensation vividly: “It felt like a firework was going off inside of my arm and then my whole arm felt like it was on fire.”

In the men’s competition, second seed Jannik Sinner secured his place in the last 16 with a dominant 6-3 6-2 victory over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in just 71 minutes.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev faced a tougher challenge, eventually prevailing against Brandon Nakashima 7-6 5-7 6-4 after more than two and a half hours on court.