Britain’s No. 1, Emma Raducanu, parted ways with Francisco Roig after her second-round exit at the Australian Open, explaining she wants to rediscover the fearless style she played with as a youngster. The Spaniard had been her seventh full-time coach. Now, on the eve of her Indian Wells Open clash with Anastasia Zakharova, she delivered a candid stance on coaching, while making one strict condition clear.

Speaking with BBC after her practice, Raducanu said, “Right now, it’s more about bringing my instincts back out, getting back in touch with myself. I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit.”

She explained that she wants to return to the style that once made her successful. “So I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit. I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised – even if it’s a trial.”

Raducanu also spoke about the pressure that comes with hiring a full-time coach. She feels that every coaching decision is closely watched.

“I might feel the pressure to stick with them, even if it’s not necessarily the right decision. I would love to have a coach that works well, but I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be easy to find one person and they are going to check every box. I definitely have my mind open to it. It’s just that I would rather someone not come in and tell me ‘let’s do this’, and I disagree with it but have to listen to them.”

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For now, Raducanu is working with hitting partner Alexis Canter. She is also receiving guidance from Mark Petchey during the tournament. Petchey is balancing this role with his television commitments.

Canter mainly acts as a hitting partner and takes a quieter role when Petchey is present. The arrangement allows Raducanu to train without too much pressure. It also gives her flexibility while she searches for the right long-term setup.

Canter has worked with Raducanu before. He was her hitting partner in Washington last summer when she reached the semi-finals. He also joined her in Cluj last month when she made only the second final of her career.

Petchey has also been part of her team in the past. He helped during her run to the Miami Open quarter-finals last season. Now he is offering advice again during Indian Wells.

Before splitting with Francisco Roig earlier this year, Raducanu said she wanted to “re-evaluate” her game. She admitted she felt she had lost her tennis “identity”. She hinted there were differences between her ideas and Roig’s coaching instructions.

Even the the former US Open champion recently reached out to Petchey for support because she felt uncomfortable with parts of her game. She said the sessions have already helped her feel better on court. “I work really well when I’m with him,” she said. “I’m really happy to be on the court and just really enjoy it overall. I’m not sure, going forward, what it will look like.”

However, her frequent coaching changes have sparked debate in the tennis world. Critics have questioned the constant shifts in her team.

Kim Clijsters puzzled by Emma Raducanu’s frequent coaching changes

Emma Raducanu first worked with Nigel Sears during her breakthrough run at Wimbledon Championships. Soon after, she won the US Open with coach Andrew Richardson in 2021. The victory turned her into one of the brightest young stars in tennis.

Since then, Raducanu has worked with several coaches. These include Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday, Vladimir Platenik, Mark Petchey, and Francisco Roig. Roig was the latest addition to her team.

And right after parted ways with Roig, the decision again sparked debate in the tennis world.  Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters openly shared her concerns.  Clijsters said, “When I hear those kinds of things, I am curious to know who makes those decisions. Is it her? Her agent? Her father? There are many things that intrigue me in that situation. Who makes these decisions for her? Who makes her panic so quickly?”

She continued to stress the importance of stability in coaching. Clijsters added, “Because she has had very good coaches she has worked with in the past, coaches who take their time and understand that developing and adjusting technique and tactical gameplay takes time. Working on that takes time.”

Over the years, Raducanu has faced strong criticism for frequently changing coaches. Back in 2023, former Wimbledon champion Ann Jones also expressed her frustration. “To fire a coach after she had just won the US Open was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” referring to Andrew Richardson, who guided Raducanu to her historic 2021 triumph.

Another British tennis legend, Tim Henman, offered a different perspective. He suggested that Raducanu might even perform better without a permanent coach.

Henman said, “I wonder whether, in some respects, she’s better off without a coach. Just accepts some responsibility and just plays. Perhaps that would enable her to really accept the responsibility of her game style but I don’t know what she’ll do next, and she probably doesn’t either.”

For now, Raducanu heads into the Indian Wells Open without a full-time coach. After a difficult Middle East swing, she hopes to regain confidence and rediscover her rhythm. 

The big question now is whether she can rely on her own instincts and make a deep run in the tournament.