Emma Raducanu has revealed her decision to part ways with former coach Francisco Roig and that it has been difficult to block out the noise surrounding her coaching commitments.
The former US Open champion parted ways with Roig following their second-round loss at the Australian Open. The Spaniard was Raducanu’s ninth coach since winning the 2021 US Open.
Raducanu was subsequently reunited with Mark Petchey on a daily basis during Indian Wells and continued to work closely with batting partner Alexis Canter.
“After Australia, me and Francis had a conversation. We have a good relationship and were able to have a really open and honest conversation,” Raducanu said. Sky Sports News.
“In the end, we were like, ‘I don’t think this is going the way either of us wanted,’ so we really ended it.
“I think in some ways there were moments where we disagreed on a few things. Other than that, we still have a good relationship and I’ve seen him here and it’s been nice to see a familiar, cool face around.”
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Tim Henman, Laura Robson and Naomi Cavaday discuss how big an impact they’ll have as coach Mark Petchey reunites ahead of Indian Wells.
Petchey was already due to be in Indian Wells for commentary duties and Raducanu reintroduced his support after the pair had a successful spell together temporarily last year.
He teamed with Radukanu to reach the quarterfinals in Miami last March, and after she reached the fourth round in Rome, he performed well at Wimbledon, where she returned to top form by going toe-to-toe with Aryna Sabalenka.
“Mark was going to be here anyway to do commentary and I’ve been working with Alexis who has helped me a lot,” she said.
“I knew I was going to be in Indian Wells with Mark, so I asked him to come out a few days ahead of time so he could work on some things with me on the court and get a better feel for my game.
“I wasn’t feeling very good at the beginning of the year, but I’ve felt better over the last few days. It’s not really sorted going forward, but I knew he was going to be here and it was great. I always love being on the court with him.”
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Jonathan Overend believes that if Raducanu can find the right balance with the right coach, she is set for a great year of tennis.
The carousel of coaching changes has sparked a wave of external noise surrounding Raducanu in recent years, with her having had a tough time as she suffered multiple injuries in her bid to discover her best tennis.
Britain’s No.1 recently suffered a first-round loss to Antonia Ruzic at the Dubai Tennis Championships and retired due to illness in the first round against Camila Osorio in Qatar.
“It’s challenging because it affects some of the decisions I make,” she said of outside noise. “I don’t want to start working with someone who doesn’t know if it’s going to be 100% confirmed, because even if I didn’t end up with Francis, I feel like how and why it ends will be up to me.
“It affects me in some ways, but I know that at the end of the day I have to make decisions that will make me the best player I can be. “By spending so much time doing something that I find difficult to do, it has affected me and made me feel worse about my tennis.
“Having been through that, I don’t want to do that because I know how it feels on the court.”
Raducanu returns to action on Friday when she faces Anastasia Zakharova following a first-round duel.
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