Kim Clijsters throws shade at Emma Raducanu

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• WTA Tennis

Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters appeared to throw shade at Emma Raducanu while reflecting on Iga Swiatek's rise to the No. 1 ranking. Raducanu, 19, put up a stunning run at Flushing Meadows to win her first Grand Slam title at the US Open but has since struggled with her game and consistency.

On the other side, Swiatek has made a great start to the new season as she has won won titles and also made two semifinals in Australia. “To see Iga grow as a tennis player, it has been so beautiful for me,” Clijsters told the WTA Tour website.

“There’s a certain type of focus that is on tennis, and tennis only. There’s a drive there that I admire very much – a drive that I recognize. “She’s had great results in the past, but she still wants to improve.

We’ve seen others that kind of take a step back and say, `Oh, I’ve won a Slam now, I’ve made it. There’s sponsors coming in and I get treated like a princess wherever I go.’ “Just because you’re the No.1 player and have won Slams, doesn’t mean you should treat other people differently.

I feel like Ash Barty did that amazingly, and I think Iga has that focus, too. There’s a still a lot of respect for the other people around her”.

Raducanu suffered a disappointing loss in Miami

Raducanu missed out on a good chance to reach the Miami third round as Katerina Siniakova handed the Briton a 3-6 6-4 7-5 loss.

After winning the first set, Raducanu was up by a break in the second set but Siniakova recovered to force a decider. In the third set, Raducanu was 5-3 up before losing the next four games and the match eventually. “I mean, it was a long match,” Raducanu said in her post-match press conference.

“Very long rallies. I thought that she played really good. There was some good tennis on both sides, to be honest, but yeah, obviously it sucks to lose that one”.