Emma Raducanu made a solid start to her Indian Wells Open campaign, defeating Anastasia Zakharova 6–1, 6–3. What made the result extra special was that it marked the British No. 1’s first victory since reuniting with former coach Mark Petchey. However, Raducanu didn’t appear to be entirely satisfied when talking about her performance after the match.

“That was a great show of my game today. I think I played really well. I don’t think it’s perfect yet, but I think it’s a lot better than where I was feeling. I’m not necessarily aiming for the stars right now. I think I just want to be doing my game better and better,” Raducanu told the BBC after the match.

“I think my game was in a really good place. I hadn’t necessarily felt so good for the last month, so I’m really pleased with the work we did for the last week, and just for it to transfer on the match court like that. It gives you huge confidence that you are doing the right thing. Today’s match was a great display for myself of how I want to be playing, of what I want to be feeling like when I’m on the court,” she added.

Mark Petchey, who also coached three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray for 10 months early in his career, previously had two coaching stints with Emma Raducanu. He first worked with her briefly in the summer of 2020 before reuniting with her in 2025 and stepping in temporarily at the Miami Open.

However, Petchey was only able to fully commit to the job for four months due to his broadcasting responsibilities for a variety of networks. He guided Raducanu until Wimbledon, and her performance improved significantly during that stretch. She maintained a record of 15-8 under Petchey, but his departure led to a decline in her results with 13 victories and 14 defeats.

Francisco Roig decided to join Raducanu in August 2025. This was a big appointment, as the Spaniard had spent years with Rafael Nadal’s coaching team. But the results never really followed through, and a second-round exit in the Australian Open proved to be the final straw. The 2021 US Open winner decided to part ways with Roig, bringing an end to the partnership that lasted less than six months.

While Raducanu did say that she was comfortable working with her hitting partner Alexis Canter and wasn’t looking to appoint a new coach, her struggles in the Middle East proved otherwise. She retired due to an injury in the Round of 64 of the Qatar Open against Colombia’s Camila Osorio 2-6, 6-4, 2-0. Things didn’t get much better for her in Dubai as she was defeated by Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 in the Round of 64.

Seeing her form drop once again, Raducanu decided to bring back Petchey before the crucial Indian Wells Open. Things did start on a positive note for her as she made it to the Round of 32 and will now be facing a formidable opponent in the USA’s Amanda Anisimova.

While her singles campaign began on a high note, the same couldn’t be said about her challenge in the women’s doubles.

Emma Raducanu’s doubles campaign ends in disappointing fashion

Soon after her win over Zakharova, Raducanu was in action once again, but this time in the women’s doubles. She and her Romanian partner Elena-Gabriela Ruse took on third seeds Katerina Siniakova of Poland and Taylor Townsend of the USA in the Round of 32. Things didn’t really go to plan for Raducanu and Ruse as they suffered a thumping 6-2, 7-5 defeat.

It proved to be a rather one-sided match as Siniakova and Townsend took control from the get-go. Despite having a chance to break their opponents’ serve on a total of six occasions, Raducanu and Ruse only managed to win one of those points. On the other hand, the higher-seeded duo managed to take four break points out of eight. This proved to be the difference on the day, as Raducanu failed to make it far in the doubles.

While she would obviously be dejected due to her early exit in the doubles, Raducanu will now be able to shift her focus solely to the singles competition. The Brit will be looking to go deep into the tournament, and it remains to be seen if Petchey will be able to boost her form like he did in the past.