Emma Raducanu stormed back to winning ways at Indian Wells with a brilliant 6-1 6-3 demolition of Anastasia Zakharova, snapping a frustrating three-match losing run.
The British No 1 had endured a tough spell heading into the BNP Paribas Open, including a first-round exit against Antonia Ruzic in Dubai and a retirement due to illness in Qatar against Camila Osorio.
But the 23-year-old looked like a completely different player in the Californian desert, sweeping aside the Russian qualifier to book her spot in the last 32 of the WTA 1000 event.
It was exactly the response Raducanu needed.
Emma Raducanu swept past Anastasia Zakharova at Indian Wells
|GETTY
The return of Mark Petchey to Raducanu's corner on a temporary basis clearly made a difference, with the familiar face watching on approvingly as his charge dominated from start to finish.
Sporting her new light blue Uniqlo kit for the first time following her lucrative deal with the Japanese brand, Raducanu's serve was firing beautifully – she landed 72 per cent of first serves and struck the ball with real venom.
The opening set took just 32 minutes, with Raducanu racing into a 3-0 lead before wrapping things up comfortably.
Her powerful ball-striking simply proved too much for Zakharova to handle throughout.
The victory lifts Raducanu to No 23 in the provisional rankings, with a deep run in Indian Wells potentially pushing her back into the top 20 for the first time since September 2022.
All smiles for Emma Raducanu after an impressive victory 😁 pic.twitter.com/mKFnadyLiH
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) March 6, 2026
Speaking after the match, Raducanu told Sky Sports: "It was a really good match, I'm so pleased with it.
"That was a great kind of show of my game today. I played really well."
She added that returning to her natural attacking style has been key: "For me, returning is such a strength of mine and when I'm returning well, it makes me a different player."
Earlier this week, Raducanu courted controversy after insisting she does not need a coach and revealed she will not be hiring a permanent coach.
Emma Raducanu controversially insisted she does not need a permanent coach
|GETTY
“I want to come back to my natural way of playing,” she said. “That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit.
“I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit.
"I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised even if it’s a trial.
“I might feel the pressure to stick with them, even if it’s not necessarily the right decision.
"I would love to have a coach that works well, but I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be easy to find one person and they are going to check every box.”