Emma Raducanu describes herself as a 'loner' as she continues to train herself ahead of the Italian Open

Emma Raducanu has called herself a “loner” as she continues to coach herself in preparation for the Italian Open in Rome. She gets her competition underway with a clash against Bianca Andreescu, and will be encouraged by her recent displays on clay, after making the quarter-finals in Stuttgart and the last-16 in Madrid. Ad/> It will be a battle between two recent US Open winners, with reigning champion Raducanu taking on the 2019 winner.

WTA RomeRaducanu 'managing' back issue ahead of Andreescu clash in Rome17 HOURS AGO Having split with coach Torben Beltz last month, the British number one is enjoying her independence after being swamped by people following her stunning victory in New York last September. “I'd describe myself as a loner," she said. For the past year, I've had a lot of people around me a lot and very often.

To be on my own is interesting because I'm kind of finding out a lot about myself, understanding what I need and what I don't need." Raducanu is adapting her game for different surfaces, and said “Clay is very new to me”. /> “I definitely feel like I have been progressing with each week, improving, getting a better understanding of how to play points, when to stay in the point or when to stay aggressive”, she added. Despite not having a full-time coach, the 19-year-old is happy with her progress but admits, “I don't think I'm like the finished product at all.