Emma Raducanu Receives Doubtful Look After Surprising Reunion with Mark Petchey

Emma Raducanu has hired Mark Petchey as her temporary coach ahead of the Indian Wells Open.

Emma Raducanu Receives Doubtful Look After Surprising Reunion with Mark Petchey

Mark Petchey, Emma Raducanu (Image via The Sun, X/LTA)

In Short
  • Emma Raducanu has reunited with coach Mark Petchey ahead of the Indian Wells Open, but the partnership is considered temporary.
  • She has struggled with consistency, working with eight different coaches in five years and recently parting ways with Francisco Roig.
  • Tim Henman suggests Raducanu may benefit from a period without a full-time coach to embrace her independence and identity.

Emma Raducanu recently announced a working reunion with Mark Petchey ahead of the Indian Wells Open. The two parted ways in August last year, five months working together, because Petchey still had to continue with his role as a tennis commentator and analyst. Their reunion is now regarded as just temporary.

One of Raducanu’s major problems since 2021 has been her lack of a long-term partnership with a coach. The British No.1 has worked with eight different coaches in five years, and last year, worked with four coaches. Recently, she parted ways with Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach, Francisco Roig, after six months working together.

Their split came as a big surprise, as Roig was known to be among those who helped Nadal win his 22 Grand Slams on the court, and he worked with the tennis legend for over a decade on tour. However, since Raducanu parted ways with Riog, she has not had a consistent performance on the court.

The 23-year-old reached the final of the Transylvania Open, her first tour-level final since winning the US Open in 2021. However, she failed to win the tournament, losing to Sorana Cirstea in straight sets. Since then, she has not been able to win a match, losing in the opening round of the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships.

There have been debates about whether she should continue without a coach for a while before hiring one. Some analysts have also advised that she hire a permanent coach, but she has gone for a temporary partnership with Petchey. During a conversation on Sky Sports, former British player Tim Henman revealed that Raducanu doesn’t need to hire a full-time coach:

Maybe she is better off not having a coach and embracing that sort of freedom. She talks about wanting to own her identity – well, own it then. I had a couple of occasions in my career when I didn’t have a coach and I really enjoyed those periods. There may come a time six or nine months down the line, where she needs a bit of input and she might be struggling, but it’s not necessarily a bad idea not to have a coach for a period of time.

Raducanu made significant progress in her game after hiring Petchey last year. She reached the fourth round of the Italian Open for the first time in her career before reaching the semi-finals of the Citi Open. She also climbed more than 20 places in the WTA rankings during their partnership.

Tim Henman says Emma Raducanu has not done well since winning the 2021 US Open

Emma Raducanu became famous after winning her maiden Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open, beating Leylah Fernandez in the final. The British star has since then failed to perform to expectations on the court, losing early in Grand Slam tournaments, and has not been able to compete with top players.

Emma Raducanu Australian Open 2026
Emma Raducanu (Image via Australian Open)

The former World No.10 has also gotten media scrutiny for the past five years. Several pundits and former players have slammed her for her attitude, as they believe that the US Open triumph was just out of luck. Speaking in the aforementioned discussion, Tim Henman noted that he believes that Raducanu could have done better on the court after 2021 triumph in New York:

She’s 23, you know, and there’s plenty of 18, 19, 20-year-olds now on the tour, who are overtaking her. You can’t stand still, but she’s still very good player. It’s just my belief, and I think a lot of other people’s belief that she could be a lot better. And that’s an exciting, that’s an exciting thing. There’s no doubt that the scrutiny is a lot more for Emma than others, but she is used to that now.

Raducanu will be back on the court at the Indian Wells Open, where she will be hoping to pick up ranking points as she will have a lot of them to defend at the Miami Open, having reached the quarter-finals last year. The WTA 1000 tournament is set to begin on March 4.

Also Read: Kim Clijsters Backs Carlos Alcaraz for Criticizing ATP Rule During Argument with Umpire