Emma Raducanu is close to settling on a long-term coach following a lengthy search, it has been claimed. The British tennis star has been working with Mark Petchey on a shorter-term basis of late, but the arrangement could be about to become a permanent one.
Raducanu, who has endured an injury-disrupted career since winning the US Open in 2021, worked with seven different coaches before recently bringing Petchey into her entourage for the Miami Open. The 54-year-old previously coached Andy Murray early in the former British No.1’s career, and currently works as an analyst with the Tennis Channel.
Since working with Nigel Sears and Andrew Richardson in the early part of her career, Radcuanu has had a wide range of coaches in her corner. Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs all spent time working with the 22-year-old before she reunited with junior coach Nick Cavaday ahead of the 2024 Australian Open.
Cavaday helped Raducanu return to the world’s top 100 last year, and she remains in the top 50 at the time of writing. However, he was forced to step away from coaching for health reasons in January.
After a brief trial with Vlado Platenik at Indian Wells, Raducanu brought Petchey and childhood mentor Jane O’Donoghue into her camp ahead of Miami. An impressive quarter-final run in Florida has led to discussions over a longer-term working relationship, according to BBC Sport, but Petchey’s TV requirements could yet prove to be an obstacle.
The Tennis Channel holds the rights to a number of tournaments for the United States market, including the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup. BBC Sport reports that negotiations would focus on how many weeks of the year Petchey and Raducanu would be able to work together while allowing the coach to continue fulfilling his broadcast requirements.
Petchey is understood to be set to work with Raducanu at Wimbledon, where The Tennis Channel does not hold the rights. The pair could also end up working together for the French Open, which begins on May 25.
“He is a great coach. He’s so experienced. He’s worked with so many players and brought them up to the top and developed players. I respect him a lot as a coach. It just wasn’t right at the time,” Raducanu said after parting ways with Platenik.
After linking up with Petchey, O’Donoghue and fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura for the Miami Open, she talked up the new combination. “I wasn’t necessarily feeling great about my tennis, about everything, but this week I have some really good people around me who I trust and who I have fun with off the court, and that’s extremely important,” she told Sky Sports.
Raducanu took Jessica Pegula the distance in her Miami quarter-final, with the American – ranked fourth in the world at the time – eventually winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-2. The Brit has pulled out of the upcoming Billie Jean Cup qualifiers as she continues to manage her workload after past injury issues, but could return for the Madrid Open later in the month.
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