Emma Raducanu continues to work independently after parting ways with Spanish coach Francisco Roig in January.
While Roig will reportedly meet with world No. 3 Iga Swiatek in Mallorca ahead of the clay swing, the British No. 1 isn’t searching for a new trainer. Instead, Raducanu is content to go through periods of her career without a full-time coach, opting to seek guidance from mentors.
Since her separation from Roig, the world No. 28 has been traveling with hitting partner Alexis Canter and physiotherapist Emma Stewart, and she collaborated with Mark Petchey in Indian Wells. Though Raducanu isn’t currently in the market for a coach, 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova has encouraged the Brit to abandon that typical approach and commit to one trainer.
I mean, I don’t know what’s the record for a coach – maybe six months! So, I wish that she would really pick whoever she wants to be her coach carefully and then stick with it,” Navratilova told Sky Sports.
“Give it a year because it takes a while to be comfortable with making changes and being able to incorporate the person into your game. The biggest thing I see, I think she could get fitter, which the coach has nothing to do with, but you know, the coach can only do so much. Pick the right coach and stick with him or her, please!”
Raducanu has worked with nine coaches since making her WTA Tour debut just under five years ago in Nottingham – Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday, Vladimir Platenik, Petchey, and Roig.
Her partnership with Cavaday proved to be the most enduring, spanning just over a year before he stepped back to focus on family life while managing health concerns.
Raducanu then crossed paths with Petchey ahead of last year’s Miami Open, and the two began collaborating on an informal basis.
That arrangement continued for several months, but Petchey’s full-time position as a Tennis Channel analyst and commentator prevented him from committing to a long-term role with Raducanu.
It comes as little surprise, therefore, that the world No. 28 has once again turned to Petchey for guidance following her split from Roig.
While Navratilova is urging Raducanu to commit to a single coach, the 23 year old appears reluctant to do so.
Earlier this month, she told BBC Sport: “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. I definitely have my mind open to it. It’s just that I would rather someone not come in and tell me, ‘Let’s do this’, and I disagree with it but have to listen to them. So far Alexis has been really good, but I am definitely going to tap into a few people here and there.”