Emma Raducanu will work with her former short-term coach Mark Petchey ahead of the upcoming Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells, after the British No 1 insisted she would not be making a permanent hire any time soon after splitting with Francisco Roig.
The 23-year-old and Rafael Nadal’s former mentor parted ways after an uneven start to her season with a string of early exits, including in the second round at the Australian Open.
Raducanu has since been working informally with British ex-professional Alexis Canter, who accompanied her on her run to the final at the Transylvania Open at the start of the month.
Following her announcement as a global brand ambassador for Uniqlo this week, Raducanu confirmed that hiring a new coach was not an immediate priority.
But as per the Times, the former US Open champion will be calling in more robust, if temporary support for Indian Wells in the form of Petchey, who worked successfully with Raducanu for a sizeable chunk of last year.
Canter is set to remain in Raducanu’s corner, and she shared on Tuesday that his support is important because he ‘knows me as a person’.
Emma Raducanu has reappointed Mark Petchey to support her on a short-term basis after a promising four months together last year
‘He knows me as a player,’ she added. ‘And I’ve actually had some success with him in the past year in Washington and Cluj… so it’s going well’.
Petchey, who previously worked with Andy Murray, began working with Raducanu in March of last year during the Miami Open, which follows Indian Wells as part of the ‘Sunshine Swing’.
Balancing a coaching arrangement with Raducanu with his commentary duties for a number of broadcasters, Petchey nonetheless advised her through a promising run on clay and grass, which saw her make the quarter-finals at Queen’s and test Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon.
With the nature of their partnership inherently short-term, Petchey then stepped back after helping advise Raducanu over the selection of Roig as his successor.
More importantly, Raducanu is thought to have a strong personal bond with Petchey – she is good friends with his daughters Nicole and Myah, and at Wimbledon last year, admitted that he had been ‘everything’ for her during their four months of working together.
As she looks to play more freely and aggressively following the departure of Petchey, the re-appointment of Roig speaks to Raducanu’s wish to be empowered through being surrounded by familiar faces.
For his part, Petchey has remained a source of encouragement for Raducanu away from her player box, sharing in January that they still spoke and were in ‘good communication’.
‘I’ll help her forever,’ he told The Big T podcast. ‘I’ll take a bullet for her.’
Raducanu will look to get her season back on track on the heels of her budding performance in Romania, after struggling with a virus in the immediate aftermath which saw her bow out in the first round of the Dubai Open.
