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Emma Raducanu to play at Indian Wells in first tournament after US Open victory

Emma Raducanu to play at Indian Wells in first tournament after US Open victory - AFP
Emma Raducanu to play at Indian Wells in first tournament after US Open victory - AFP

Emma Raducanu will play her first match next week since her fairy-tale of New York after accepting a wildcard for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

And Britain’s teen sensation could also get to see her Romanian grandmother next month for the first time in two years after entering the Transylvania Open.

Just over two weeks after her stunning US Open triumph, Raducanu was handed a wildcard to the year’s biggest remaining tournament before November’s WTA Finals.

The 18-year-old, who revealed last week that she had split from Andrew Richardson after he coached her to victory in New York, had already entered the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

That is scheduled to begin the day after the final in Indian Wells and she could now be forced to withdraw.

Speaking to Romanian TV programme Observator earlier this month, Raducanu’s grandmother – her father’s Ian’s mother – said: “I haven’t seen Emma since the pandemic started. She was last here with her family two years ago.

“She will be here next month for a tournament. When she comes to Bucharest, I will make sarmale. It’s her favourite dish, pork mincemeat with cabbage leaves and rice. I taught her how to cook it. She learned when she came to visit me. Thank you for supporting her. It means a lot.”

Raducanu was denied a potential opportunity to visit her Chinese grandmother in November after the WTA Finals were moved from Shenzhen to Guadalajara in Mexico due to coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Raducanu has donated the outfit she wore en route to her stunning US Open triumph to the Tennis Hall of Fame.

The Tennis Hall of Fame posted on Twitter: “The first-ever qualifier to win a major title has a place in the home of tennis history. Thank you, @EmmaRaducanu, for donating your memorable #USOpen outfit to the ITHF collection!”