Sabalenka swoons over new court surfaces

Express Tribune

06-03-2025

World number one Aryna Sabalenka is enamored with the new surfaces at Indian Wells, the Belarusian believing the faster courts will play into her powerful game, while Carlos Alcaraz said he did not understand the reason for the change.
Indian Wells, which has long been known for its gritty, slow hard courts, has been resurfaced this year by Laykold, the company that also provides surfaces for the Miami Open and US Open, to make playing conditions more consistent. "I love them (the courts).
They're a little bit faster, which is good for me, right?" Sabalenka told reporters on Tuesday. "It feels good so far. I'll tell you later after my first match. I hope I'll still like it," she added with a smile. Another big server, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, said she had not noticed a huge change when she practiced on them.
"I feel that it's not much faster, but I will say maybe the bounce (is) a little bit lower," said Rybakina, the 2023 champion.
"The past few days were very windy and a lot of sun came, so it's also a bit different, the bounce. But I think the court's still nice."
Although the fast courts are supposed to help bigger servers, they could spell trouble for players like two-time defending champion Alcaraz, who relies more on his creative shot-making than sheer power.
The Spaniard arrived in the Southern California desert late on Monday and said he had not had a chance to try out the courts.
"Honestly, it's a change that I didn't understand when I saw it. It was 25 years, the tournament, it was the same court, and then right now has changed. I don't know the reason why they did it," he said. "I have to practise on it," he added.
"I consider myself a player who adapts very well my game on the surfaces and all the conditions that you're playing on." Russian Daniil Medvedev, a self-described hard court specialist who called the Indian Wells courts "a disgrace" two years ago, was unimpressed after practicing on them.
"It's okay, I like Indian Wells, I even like the courts now, but they seem to be almost slower than before, very slow," he said. First-round action gets under way on Wednesday.
Struggling Raducanu
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu said she could not see the ball through tears and was barely able to breathe after noticing a stalker during her match at the Dubai Championships two weeks ago.
Raducanu looked distressed during the opening set of her second-round clash against Karolina Muchova and stood behind the umpire's chair as security personnel led the man out.
The 22-year-old then resumed the match and lost 7-6(6) 6-4.
"I was obviously very distraught," Raducanu told reporters in Indian Wells, where she will return for the first time since the ordeal with enhanced security.
"I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, 'I don't know how I'm going to finish'. "I literally couldn't see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe. I was like, 'I need to just take a breather'."
Raducanu said she had previously been approached twice off the court in Dubai by the man, who was also present during her matches in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha in preceding weeks.
She decided to drop the charges against the man who had been detained by Dubai Police.
The man has since been banned from all WTA tournaments.
"It was a very emotional time," added Raducanu, who took a week off before returning to the tour. "After the match I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost.
There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening, and I just needed that week off to take a breather and come here. "I feel a lot better." Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion who has slipped to 55 in the world rankings due to form and fitness issues, will play Japan's Moyuka Uchijima in the first round of Indian Wells with a win ensuring a match against third seed Coco Gauff.