Emma Raducanu’s Former Coach Says She has “One Choice” of Playing Style

Emma Raducanu‘s former coach, Mark Petchey, has analyzed the British No.1’s one choice of playing style that has made her ineffective against top players on tour since winning the 2021 US Open in New York. Raducanu is yet to win a tour-level title since his famous victory at Flushing Meadows.

Raducanu and Petchey enjoyed a successful partnership last year. The pair worked from March to August, with Raducanu winning 20 of her 30 matches with Petchey as coach. During their time together, Raducanu reached her maiden WTA 1000 quarter-finals, beating Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova en route to the last eight.

She also reached the semi-finals of the Citi Open before falling to Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets. But currently, the 23-year-old is without a permanent coach as she recently parted ways with Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach, Francisco Roig. Roig was the eighth coach she has worked with since 2021.

She has been heavily criticized for hiring and firing coaches after a short spell working together. In fact, last year she worked with four different coaches, which hindered her on-court development. This season, he has won only one match in big tournaments, as it was at the WTA 250 event in Cluj that she made a name for herself.

In Cluj, she won four matches before losing to Sorana Cirstea in straight sets in the final of the Transylvania Open. During a conversation on The Big T podcast, Mark Petchey analyzed that for Raducanu to get the best of her game on the court, she needs to serve better, while making sure that her forehand shots are more precise:

I think from my perspective watching her play, she really only has one choice — she needs to stay up on the baseline, she needs to be able to redirect, and she needs to serve well. And if she can put those components on the court, she’s going to give herself a chance to win big matches. I thought she did well to kind of get through the draw. I don’t necessarily feel her tennis was where it needed to be. I do think that she was suffering a little bit from health problems.

Raducanu won only one match at the Australian Open before losing to Anastasia Potapova in the second round. In the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha, she retired in her opening match against Camila Osorio in the third set. She had won the first set but lost the second and was down 0-2 in the third set.

Emma Raducanu’s concerning record against top players on tour

One of the biggest concerns about Emma Raducanu’s form in recent months is her poor record against top players. The 23-year-old is known to beat players ranked outside of the top 50 but has increasingly found it difficult to beat power players such as Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff.

The evidence is clearly from her head-to-head record against those players. Raducanu has lost all 12 matches against those players, including 3 against World No. 1 Sabalenka, 5 against Swiatek, 2 against Australian Open champion Rybakina, and 2 against Gauff. In fact, six of those 12 meetings against those top players came in 2025.

Raducanu’s inability to beat top players in tournaments makes it difficult for her to have a deep run in big events. That’s one of the reasons she does better in WTA 250 and 500 tournaments. Her best run at a WTA 1000 tournament came last March at the Miami Open, where she reached the quarter-finals before losing to Jessica Pegula.

Her poor run in big tournaments also underscores her inconsistent form since winning the 2021 US Open, which recently prompted tennis legend Boris Becker to give a blunt response to a social media response hailing her for having a good run at the Transylvania Open in Cluj last week.

Also Read: Alex de Minaur Pays Classy Tribute to Stan Wawrinka After Beating Him at the Rotterdam Open

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