"I think they have an extra 10 miles an hour on their serve than me" - Lack of power costing Emma Raducanu after another reality check in Indian Wells

More disappointment for Emma Raducanu who encounters another block in the road after a reality check against Amanda Anisismova. The two-time Grand Slam finalist dumped out Raducanu in the third round of Indian Wells 6-1, 6-1, with the Brit knowing what she must do to join the elite.

It seemed like another chance for Raducanu to stamp her authority on the WTA Tour, making her intentions clear to the rest of the field with a deep run. Like many of her prior tournaments at Grand Slam of WTA 1000 level, a top 10 player takes her down with efficiency and class, leaving Raducanu back where she started.

In a match that took just 52 minutes to complete, Anisimova broke the serve in the early stages before winning the final four games with some top tennis to move into a commanding lead. She continued to overpower her opponent, making it seven games on the sopin before Raducanu ended the drought. No comeback was ever on the cards as the American saw it out with ease and books her spot in the Indian Wells last-16 for the first time since her debut in 2018.

As expected, a dejected Raducanu was not pleased with her showing, admitting to Sky Sports after proceedings that she was not as powerful as the best players in the world. "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," she admitted. "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."

The split with Francisco Roig came about when both of them sought different visions for the 23-year-old's game. Raducanu, still without a coach, is looking for steps in becoming more aggressive in the hope to cope with the best players in the world who all share one stark familiarity: they can hit a ball very hard. The likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina among others can blitz their way past players with huge shots, something Raducanu cannot to that seismic extent.

While her intentions are clear, there is a long way to go before that is succeeded. "I need to be aggressive when playing those players, but I think there's still a long way to go to be doing that. I need to use my strengths and probably mix it up a bit more."

She did concede that she was up against a class operator on court, with her taking ownership of the match from the beginning. "It was difficult to come close to putting my stamp on the match. That goes with playing Amanda - she is that sort of opponent who likes to put her stamp on it first."

While it is hugely frustrating to taking another step backwards, Raducanu tries to look on the brighter side. "I have to take some positives. The first match here was better than a lot of matches I have been playing recently. I had a great first match, felt in a really good place with my game. But a match like that is never easy to take. I couldn't really get into the rally. The ball felt very quick to do anything off of and to try and survive in the point was very difficult."

After Roig went his own way, Raducanu has been aided by her hitting partner Alexis Canter. He oversaw Raducanu's run to a first final since the 2021 US Open at the Transylvania Open, losing badly to Sorana Cirstea. A chest infection halted her progress in the opening two WTA 1000 tournaments in Qatar and Dubai, but she was raring to go in California, making this defeat all the more damaging.

One good thing was that she was able to link back up with former coach Mark Petchey. The Brit was with Raducanu last year before leaning towards commentary and punditry duties on a full-time basis. He is still doing that now but has managed to find a bit of time to join his fellow Brit on the training courts with his advice very useful.

"Mark helped me out a lot this week and it was nice to be on court with him again," he said. "But he will be commentating for Tennis Channel this week, probably until the end, so I don't know how much time I will get with him before Miami."

That Miami Open will be a big one for Raducanu who will be hoping to be able to defend the points earned from a maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal from 2025. She will be fit and fresh for it with the fourth WTA 1000 event of the year kicking off in Florida on March 16-29.