Emma Raducanu believes her style of tennis has been “coached out of me” and has suggested she could “tap into a few people” for guidance in the short-term rather than appointing a full-time coach.
The British No 1 split with Francisco Roig following her second-round exit at the Australian Open, explaining that she wanted to go back to playing like she did when she was younger.
The 23-year-old, who arrives at Indian Wells following a difficult swing in the Middle East, will work with hitting partner Alexis Canter, as well as receiving some help from Mark Petchey.
Petchey was part of Raducanu’s team for her run to the Miami Open quarter-finals last season, and will offer Raducanu guidance at Indian Wells along with his TV commitments for Tennis Channel.
Raducanu has employed several full-time coaches since winning the US Open in 2021, and told BBC Sport that she is not necessarily in a rush to employ another.
“I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit,” Raducanu said ahead of her second-round match, having received a first-round bye.
“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.
“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.”
Before splitting up with Roig, Raducanu said at the Australian Open that she wanted to “re-evaluate” her game and lamented that she had lost her tennis “identity”. She hinted at fundamental differences with Roig and his instructions.
“I definitely have my mind open to it,” she said. “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.”
