Emma Raducanu is back in action this week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, determined to wrest back control of her natural tennis style. She says she is eager not to be bound by the diktats of a single coach or a style that does not feel right. 'I want to come back to my natural way of playing,' Raducanu said.
' She explains that she has had a lot of people telling her what to do and how to play, and it hasn't necessarily fit. Raducanu does not necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone she brings in will be scrutinized, even if it's a trial. She might feel pressure to stick with a coach even if it's not the right decision, and while she would love to have a coach that works well, she doesn't think it's necessarily going to be easy to find one person who checks every box.
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.
Raducanu has had another turbulent start to a season, going into the Australian Open underprepared because of a foot injury. She parted ways with coach Francisco Roig after a second-round Australian Open defeat by Anastasia Potapova, having voiced her unhappiness with the way she was playing under his guidance. Currently, Raducanu will be helped again in California by Mark Petchey, who served as an ad hoc coach for several months during the spring and summer last season, while her hitting partner, Alexis Canter, is providing day-to-day support.
Raducanu is not ruling out hiring another full-time coach, stating she definitely has her mind open to it. Much of the focus is again on Raducanu's coaching strategy as she aims to improve her world ranking of 24th, with a good run at Indian Wells potentially lifting her position. Meanwhile, Tim Henman, Raducanu's compatriot and former world No 4, believes work in the gym and on the practice court should be the priority.
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. So far Alexis has been really good, but I am definitely going to tap into a few people here and there.
'It's still too stop-start,' Henman says of Raducanu's progress. ' Henman understands the way Raducanu wants to play, describing her as an attacking baseline player, but says if he could add one element to her game, it would only be on the physical side – to get stronger, faster, to hit the ball harder. He notes that Raducanu is not at the physical level of players like Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, or Elena Rybakina, and with her physique, she might not ever be at that level, but she's got to close the gap.