Emma Raducanu has decided to reunite with her former coach, Mark Petchey, ahead of the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open. The move comes almost a month after Raducanu parted ways with her previous coach, Francisco Roig, following her heartbreaking second-round loss to Anastasia Potapova at the Australian Open.
Petchey previously coached the 2021 US Open winner between March and August last year and for some time in 2020. Since parting ways with Roig, Raducanu has entered three WTA events with Alexis Canter serving as her hitting partner and coach. Petchey has been brought on to the Brits’ camp on a trial basis, and it remains unclear whether he will extend his tenure beyond the Indian Wells and Miami Open.
Raducanu’s decision to hire a coach came just a day after she said she didn’t need one and wasn’t actively looking for one. Speaking to the media at the official announcement of her sponsorship with Uniqlo in Tokyo, Japan, the World No. 25 said she was happy working with Canter.
“Right now, I wouldn’t say I’m actively looking for a coach. I think I had a great experience with Francis in terms of how we got on so well … the rapport was great. I think in the end, we just weren’t aligning on certain key aspects. But we still maintain a really good relationship,” Raducanu said.
“Right now, I have Alexis in my corner. He knows me as a person. He knows me as a player. And I’ve actually had some success with him in the past year in Washington [where she overcame Naomi Osaka in the second round] and Cluj … so it’s going well,” she added.
Mark Petchey Was Clear With the Way Emma Raducanu Should be Playing
During an appearance on “The Big T” podcast this month, Petchey had a clear stance on how Raducanu should approach the game and the areas where she could improve to get back to winning ways on the WTA circuit.
“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,” Petchey said.
“Emma and I never fell out. It just got to the point where I felt I couldn’t be the No 1 coach [due to his media commitments]. We still chat, we’re still in good communication, she’ll still run some stuff past me. I’ll help her forever. I’ll take a bullet for her,” he added.
Raducanu has already begun training for the Indian Wells Open, which starts on March 4.
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