Sky Sports’ Tim Henman and Martina Navratilova debate whether Emma Raducanu should hire a long-term coach or improve her physical abilities off the court to reach her full potential.
UK No.1 She suffered a heavy loss to Amanda Anisimova in the third round at Indian Wells. last week.
Her grueling 52 minutes sparked debate over whether the 23-year-old was better off without a permanent coach. But some experts believe future success won’t be achieved without the former US Open champion.
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Raducanu reflects on his loss with Amanda Anisimova in Indian Wells.
Laducano Parted ways with Francisco Roig after losing in the second round of the Australian Open.
She enjoyed a strong run of form while working with Andy Murray’s former coach Mark Petchey on a temporary deal in early 2025, but hired Roig in August as she looks for a new permanent fixture.
After enduring six months of disappointing results, Roig, who previously coached Rafael Nadal, becomes the ninth coach to leave since Raducano’s 2021 US Open win, with the pair getting along well on a personal level but not matching their playing styles.
The following tournament in Romania saw her reach her first final since winning in New York in 2021. Since splitting from Roig, Raducanu has insisted she is happy working with batting partner Alexis Canter, a 27-year-old former England player who reached a career-high ranking of 779 last year.
Raducanu kept Canter part of the setup and worked with Petchey at Indian Wells.
“We need someone full-time,” tennis legend Navratilova said. sky sports. “You don’t always have to have a great coach. Maybe someone is part-time, and that’s the kind of thing she has.
“But you still have to be consistent and let this person get to know you, get some history, and give them the opportunity to make a difference. You can’t expect results to come immediately. It’s a long process.
“You need to get a coach and stay there a little longer.
“I think that’s the biggest mistake. She’s been through so many people, and then you get so many different ideas and you don’t quite know which ones to stick to.”
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Danyal Khan spoke with Raducanu about her split from coach Francis Roig and her mental health. This affected her performance.
Henman: Raducanu needs more physical resilience.
According to Henman, Raducanu needs more physical resilience to become stronger, faster, hit the ball harder and deliver bigger serves.
Sky Sports analyst Henman believes Raducanu needs to focus on her physical abilities to keep up with the likes of fellow Grand Slam champions Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff.
The four-time Wimbledon semifinalist said, “I shined in the match against Anisimova.
“She will never be as big of a ball striker as Anisimova and the physicality she brings to the court is definitely as threatening as these top players. But I think Raducanu needs to be physically stronger. She needs more physical resilience to make sure she doesn’t have little injuries that hold her back on the court. They stop her from building momentum on the match court.
“There are still a lot of physical things you can do on the court, like getting stronger, faster, hitting the ball harder, hitting 2-on-1s for bigger serves, moving around, building physical resilience. If I could pinpoint one area, it would definitely be fitness.”
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Laura Robson, Naomi Cavaday and Henman discuss how big of an impact Coach Mark Petchey will have as they reunite in Indian Wells.
Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon singles champion, added: “Sometimes you can hit the ball harder, but if you’re not strong enough, you can’t sustain it. It’s not about hitting harder all the time, it’s about being able to sustain it. And the harder you can hit the ball with less effort, the more control you have, and it saves your body because it’s your muscles doing the work instead of your joints.”
‘The spotlight will never dim’
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Take a look back at Raducanu’s stunning victory at the 2021 US Open. The tournament is back on Sky Sports Tennis this August!
Raducanu is currently ranked 24th in the world, but Henman believes he has the ability to break into the top 10.
“I think we all see that with appreciation and understanding of how good she is,” Henman said of Radukanu, who shocked the world by winning a U.S. Open qualifier at the age of 18.
“If she can continue to add these pieces to the puzzle, there is no reason for her to be in the top 20 and knock on the door of the top 10.
“I don’t think that spotlight will ever dim, no matter how far away we are from winning the US Open.
“She’s a really good athlete, but when she stretches out, she can’t take the force that’s coming at her and she returns the force. That’s where gym work comes in.”
Robson: Raducanu is ‘like-minded’ as Petchey
Petchey also coached Raducanu during the grass court season.
Former junior Wimbledon champion Laura Robson sees Raducanu’s happiness on the court as her biggest strength and insists working with Petchey can bring out the best in her.
“I think we do such a great job in a coaching situation,” she said, “as long as she feels happy on the court, as long as she has confidence, that’s half the job done, and that’s what I try to show you when you have a coach.”
“She obviously gets along really well with Petch. They’ve been going back and forth for a few years and she’s someone she knows. They’re on the same page. They agree on a lot of things that she needs to be taken there, so why not?
“As long as you have someone to handle the tedious stuff like planning the logistics of booking practice, finding people to practice with, tying racquet strings back on, if all of that is taken care of, you can just focus on playing.
“They both have the same identity of what they think they should be as players.”
Raducanu is hoping to revert to a more aggressive style to compete against the best, while Robson said she has shown in the past that she can compete with elite players on the WTA Tour.
“Of course, we saw how fierce she was against Sabalenka,” said former England No.1 Robson.
“It feels like everyone is always adding different elements to their game, so right now it feels like she wants to add some aggression back into her game, and once she adds that aggression, she can think about adding more variety back in, adding more strings to her bow.
“But you want to have a clear identity as a player before you step on the playing court. As long as that is defined in your mind, half the job is done.”
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