Coach Mark Petchey Reveals Real Reason Why Emma Raducanu Re-Hired Him

Emma Raducanu will clash with Anastasia Zakharova to kick off her campaign at Indian Wells.

Coach Mark Petchey Reveals Real Reason Why Emma Raducanu Re-Hired Him

Mark Petchey, Emma Raducanu (Image via Nine, X/Tiempo De Tenis)

In Short
  • Emma Raducanu has re-hired coach Mark Petchey to improve her game after recent struggles.
  • She previously worked with Petchey in 2025 before switching to other coaches following early tournament exits.
  • Tim Henman emphasized the need for Raducanu to enhance her performance to keep pace with younger players on the WTA Tour.

Emma Raducanu was not happy with her game, and so she decided to add a familiar figure to her coaching team. Raducanu, who is in Indian Wells, will be working with Mark Petchey.

The British ace hired Petchey for the first time earlier in 2025, but they split following Wimbledon, where she made the third round. The 23-year-old then hired Francisco Roig, Rafael Nadal‘s former coach.

But they ended their partnership following the Australian Open, where Raducanu lost to Anastasia Potapova in the second round. Next, she started working with Alexis Canter, and under him, she played the final of the Winners Open, also her best run since her victory at the 2021 US Open. She lost the match to Sorana Cirstea. Petchey, during Tennis Channel’s The Big T Podcast, revealed why Raducanu decided to re-hire him.

She found herself in a situation once again where she didn’t really have somebody she could lean on. She didn’t like where her game had been heading. The flare went up, and I said I’d come to Indian Wells early and try to help her. That’s kind of where we are.

Prior to arriving at Indian Wells, Raducanu suffered early round exits in the two WTA 1000 events on the Middle East Swing. After giving the walkover to Camila Osorio in the opening round of the Qatar Open, she lost to Antonia Ruzic in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

I know everybody feels there isn’t really this big plan at this particular stage. The plan is day by day, and we will figure out where she goes. I love her to bits, and we will try and help her, but we will have to try and figure out how this works around these other commitments.

Mark Petchey added

At Indian Wells, the 25th seed is set to lock horns with Anastasia Zakharova in her opening round. Raducanu produced her best Indian Wells performance in 2023, reaching the fourth round. The third WTA 1000 of the season kicked off on March 4.

Tim Henman urges Emma Raducanu to keep improving her game to ensure she is not left behind

Three talented youngsters on the WTA Tour have been making headlines every now and then thanks to their on-court performances. Teenagers Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva have already added Big Titles to their trophy cabinet, while 20-year-old Alexandra Eala, after her historic run at the 2025 Miami Open, played the Eastbourne International final the same year.

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu (Image via X/Emma Raducanu Fan)

Amidst the rise of these youngsters, Tim Henman urged Emma Raducanu to continue to improve her game so that she is not left behind. He told Tennis 365:

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. She’s 25 in the world, but a lot of us believe she can be a lot better. It will be exciting to see whether she can make that step now. It has been too stop-start.

Raducanu produced her best performance in the WTA 1000 events when she made the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open. At that time, it was her best run since her fairytale campaign at the 2021 US Open. Apart from the Miami Open, Raducanu also made the fourth round of the Italian Open last year.

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