Tim Henman feels Emma Raducanu is healthier off with no coach regardless of the British No 1 reuniting with Mark Petchey on an off-the-cuff foundation forward of Indian Wells – dwell on Sky Sports activities Tennis.
Raducanu parted firm with Francisco Roig within the wake of her second-round defeat on the Australian Open.
She loved a robust run of kind whereas working with Andy Murray’s former coach Petchey early in 2025 in a brief association, however employed Roig in August as she sought a brand new everlasting fixture.
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Highlights of the Transylvania Open ultimate as Raducanu struggled in defeat towards Sorana Cirstea
Following a six-month spell wherein she has endured disappointing outcomes, Roig, who previously coached Rafael Nadal, turned the ninth coach to depart since Raducanu’s 2021 US Open win, with the pair gelling nicely on a private degree however not aligning on fashion of play.
Her subsequent event in Romania noticed her attain her first ultimate since her victory in New York in 2021, and for the reason that cut up from Roig, Raducanu insisted she is blissful working solely with hitting companion Alexis Canter, a 27-year-old British former participant who reached a career-high rating of 779 final yr.
The 23-year-old, coming off a first-round defeat to Antonia Ruzic on the Dubai Tennis Championships, is ready to retain Canter as a part of her setup in addition to working with Petchey within the lead-up to Indian Wells subsequent week.
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Marion Bartoli believes Raducanu will be taught extra from enjoying the highest gamers after she exited the US Open
Sky Sports activities analyst Henman thinks British No 1 Raducanu does not want a coach and will consider engaged on her physicality to match the likes of fellow Grand Slam champions Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff.
“I just wonder whether she’s better off without a coach and that’s nothing against Petch,” mentioned the four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist. “He’s someone I’ve known for a long time and he’s a very, very good coach but we know it’s not going to be a full-time appointment because Petch has his broadcast commitments.
“Emma has talked about her identification, her sport fashion and she or he desires to personal it. She’s been round lengthy sufficient on the tour so I wonder if that is perhaps a very good possibility for her but it surely’s her prerogative.
“I worked with three coaches in 15 years. I like the consistency and continuity and we know that coaches don’t last long working with Emma.
“An aggressive sport fashion is how it’s important to play. You’ve got to be aggressive as a result of when you do not your opponent will probably be and for me. I need to see her construct her physicality: to get stronger, extra resilient, to hit the ball more durable.
“And I think if she does that, that’ll mean that she has less interruptions and less little setbacks physically. She’ll be able to compete at a high level for longer periods, so if I could add one element it would be the physical side.
“Raducanu does work on her bodily aspect. I feel her tennis sport is excellent however while you consider the physicality of Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina, Gauff, she’s not in the identical league.
“The physicality is the biggest challenge.”
Petchey helped encourage the most efficient interval of Raducanu’s season as she reached the quarter-finals at Queen’s earlier than operating Sabalenka shut within the third spherical of Wimbledon.
Robson: Raducanu has ‘similar concepts’ as Petchey
Petchey coached Raducanu through the grass-court season
Former Junior Wimbledon champion Laura Robson sees Raducanu’s happiness on courtroom as the most important benefit and argues working with Petchey can solely convey out the perfect in her.
She mentioned: “I think we make such a big deal out of the coaching situation and as long as she is feeling happy on the court, as long as she’s confident out there then that’s half the job done, and that’s what coaches try and bring out in you when you do have one.
“She clearly will get on very well with Petch. They have been on and off for a good few years now and it is somebody she is aware of. They’ve the identical concepts. They agree on a lot that she must convey on the market, so why not?
“As long as you’ve got someone who’s taking care of the boring stuff like the logistics of booking practice, finding someone to practice with, racket re-strings – all of that. As long as that’s taken care of, then you can just focus on trying to play.
“They’ve the identical identification of how each of them really feel she must be as a participant.”
Raducanu is hoping to hoping to revert to a extra aggressive fashion as a way to compete with the highest gamers and Robson says she has proven prior to now she is able to enjoying towards the elite on the WTA Tour.
“For sure. We’ve seen how close her matches against Sabalenka have been,” mentioned former British No 1 Robson.
“It feels like everyone is adding different elements to their game all the time, so at the moment it feels like she wants to add that aggression back into her game and once you’ve got that you can start thinking about adding more variety again so you’ve got more strings to your bow.
“However you need to have a transparent identification as a participant earlier than you exit onto any match courtroom – as long as that is outlined in your thoughts then that is half the job carried out.”
Overend on Raducanu discovering the correct stability
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Jonathan Overend believes that if Raducanu can discover the correct stability with the proper coach, she will probably be arrange for a fantastic yr of tennis
Talking earlier this month, Sky Sports activities commentator Jonathan Overend mentioned Raducanu will solely be capable to discover the correct stability in her setup as soon as she solutions a key query.
“I think she has spent a lot of her young career re-evaluating,” he mentioned. “In one regard, it explains why she has been through so many coaches and why she has been criticised for it.
“It is typical of Raducanu that she desires to maintain re-evaluating and discovering out what’s finest for her on and round a tennis courtroom.
“That challenge continues, and to some extent it is a struggle, because finding the right balance is so hard, but I think she is slowly getting [it], not in terms of her Grand Slam results but in terms of that re-evaluation process.
“What’s it she actually desires for herself on a tennis courtroom and in tournaments?”
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