Former British No.1 believes Emma Raducanu’s biggest concern isn’t her coaching situation but this
Emma Raducanu is likely to be without a coach after her impressive run at the Miami Open, where she reached the quarter-finals.
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Emma Raducanu’s concerns with her coaching situation have been making headlines since she won the 2021 US Open. The British star has partnered with seven coaches since 2021 and is currently without one. However, former British No.1 believes the 21-year-old needs to stay fit and healthy rather than seek another coach.
Raducanu played her best tennis in three and a half years at the Miami Open, where she made it to the quarter-finals. The British star enjoyed an impressive run at the tournament, including her Top win over Emma Navarro in the second round. Also, she ended the run of Mirra Andreeva’s conqueror, Amanda Anisimova, in the third round.
But the 21-year-old star’s run came to an.end against Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals. Raducanu’s run saw her climb to World No.48 in the WTA rankings and she now has the Top 10 in sight if she can continue with the form in the clay season. Nonetheless, Raducanu’s Miami Open started by parting ways with coach Vladimir Platenik.
She teamed up with former Andy Murray’s ex-coach Mark Petchey and former mentor Jane O’Donoghue and thrived on the court. Tim Henman believes the Brit doesn’t need to deal with her coaching situation but her physical resilience.
She does it differently. She changes coaches. That isn’t necessarily what everyone else likes to do, but she is comfortable changing that up. For me, building physical resilience is most important because she has almost had her career back to front. Qualifying and winning that Slam without the foundation physically and her body was breaking down when she was in competition. The big positive this year is she has been able to compete more consistently, and hopefully, the results are going to come.
Tim Henman said on Sky Sports via Tennis365
During Raducanu’s loss against Pegula, she complained about feeling dizzy in the second round of the match and looked exhausted in the third. She added Maria Sharapova’s former physical trainer, Yukata Nakamura, to her team earlier this year and was with her at the Miami Open.
Tim Henman believes Emma Raducanu needs to sort out replacements from Mark Petchey and Jane O’Donoghue
Emma Raducanu’s partnership with Mark Petchey looks likely to have ended at the Miami Open. This is a result of his contract with Tennis Channel as a commentator. Also, Jane O’Donoghue is in finance and was on a sabbatical during the Miami Open. However, there is no suggestion she wants to return to the far less secure world of tennis coaching permanently. This has led Tim Henman to believe that Raducanu needs to sort out her coaching situation before the European clay swing.
Petch is working for the Tennis Channel and has a commitment to working for them. It will be interesting to see what Emma’s next move is. When she talks about having fun and being authentic, that gives her the opportunity to express herself on the court. She played some brilliant tennis in this tournament. She has been looking to build that momentum on the match court and it’s great that she has competed a lot more this year after Australia.
Tim Henman said
Raducanu needs to deal with the coaching situation, as that will help her focus on the upcoming clay tournaments. Also, she’s known to play poorly on clay, so she needs a strong plan to counter her abysmal record on that surface.
Emma Raducanu has yet to announce which tournament she play in after the Miami Open
Emma Raducanu has yet to decide which tournament she will begin with after the Miami Open. The WTA Tour has switched to the European clay season. The British star played in only two clay tournaments last season: the Stuttgart and Madrid Open. She reached the quarter-finals of the former and lost in the first of the latter.
However, before that, she will turn her attention to the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers against Germany and the Netherlands from 11-12 April. She represented Great Britain at the national event last year and also helped her team reach the semi-final before losing 1-2 to Slovakia in Malaga.
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