Frances Tiafoe Explains What Emma Raducanu Should Do to End Coaching Issues

Emma Raducanu parted ways with her seventh full-time coach since her 2021 US Open triumph. Following her Australian Open exit, Rafael Nadal‘s former coach Fransico Roig decided to end the partnership.

Raducanu then worked with the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) coach Alexis Canter, who is also her hitting partner. Under his guidance, the 23-year-old reached the final of the Winners Open, her best run since the 2021 US Open, but failed to go past Sorana Cirstea.

The British ace then re-hired Mark Petchey, who had been a part of her team for about four months last year. Petchey, however, will not be working as her full-time coach. Raducanu, prior to starting her campaign at Indian Wells, said she doesn’t want to stick to just one approach and would sometimes prefer to figure things on her own.

Her fellow players have been asked to comment on her constant chopping and changes of her coaches, and whether they would like to work without having someone to guide them. When Frances Tiafoe, following his win over Jenson Brooksby, was asked the same, he cited his own example to give advice to the one-time Major champion.

At her age, I also went through a phase like that, but there comes a time when you have to look in the mirror and ask yourself what you really need and how much you want to achieve something. Emma is very talented, but she needs to find someone to support her through her ups and downs, someone who will tell her the truth without dramatizing every defeat and who will give her that much-needed daily discipline.

In the third round of Indian Wells, the American is scheduled to lock horns with Flavio Cobolli. Raducanu, on the other hand, will be clashing with Amanda Anisimova, against whom she holds a 2-1 head-to-head edge.

Coco Gauff on Emma Raducanu’s coaching situation

Even Coco Gauff was asked whether she would feel comfortable competing on the tour without a coach. She said that for her, it would be difficult because she needs her team’s guidance sometimes.

I don’t think it would go well. There are tournaments where I may not listen to my coach that much at all, so maybe it is self-coaching. No, I think, I mean, for me personally, I feel like it’s always good to have some direction. I feel like the team I have now they don’t overcoach. They let me, think it through. Like today, I didn’t look at my box for advice once. That’s how I usually prefer it. But, I don’t know, I think it’s nice to have a coach with you, but every player is different.

The two-time Grand Slam singles champion knocked out Kamilla Rakhimova in her opener to schedule a third-round clash with Alexandra Eala, against whom she holds a 1-0 head-to-head following their match in the quarterfinals of this year’s Dubai Tennis Championships.

Gauff is chasing her fourth Masters 1000 title and her first since the 2025 Wuhan Open. Prior to arriving in Indian Wells, the 21-year-old suffered an early-round exit at the Qatar Open and later lost to Elina Svitolina in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It was the Ukrainian ace who knocked her out in the quarterfinals of this year’s Australian Open.

Gauff is a one-time semifinalist at Indian Wells. Raducanu, on the other hand, has yet to progress to the quarterfinals. Last year, Gauff’s campaign ended in the fourth round, while Raducanu crashed out in the first round. Raducanu produced her best performance in a WTA 1000 event when she reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open.

Also read: Jannik Sinner Reveals Changes in his Training After Losing in Doha

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