Emma Raducanu is to continue working with coach and commentator Mark Petchey on an “informal” basis, rather than hunting for a permanent coach.
The British No. 2 had Petchey in her box at the Miami Open last month, alongside friend and mentor Jane O’Donoghue, with the more relaxed coaching set-up seeming to pay off as Raducanu reached her first-ever WTA 1000 quarter-final in Florida.
She has not played since losing to eventual finalist Jessica Pegula in the last eight, opting for a training block to “look after her body” rather than joining Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team in the Netherlands earlier this month.
“We’re keeping things informal for now and it’s been working,” Raducanu told BBC Sport and The Guardian ahead of her return to action at the Madrid Open. “He’s someone I’ve known for a long time and I do feel like I can trust him.
“For now there is no real thing set in stone but we’re taking it week to week and he’s helping me as much as he can alongside his current commitments,” referring to his commentary work.
The set-up is unusual for a top player but seems to reflect Raducanu’s more free-spirited approach to tennis this season. The pair have known each other since before her stunning and unexpected triumph at the US Open as a qualifier in 2021.
Raducanu has been without a permanent coach since Nick Cavaday stepped down after the Australian Open in January for personal health reasons. She arrived in Miami having ended a brief trial period with Slovakian coach Vladimir Platenik on the eve of the tournament, instead looking to Petchey, who formerly coached Andy Murray, and O’Donoghue for guidance.
The 22-year-old admitted when speaking to the press that the criticism she has faced throughout her career for frequently replacing her coaches has weighed on her mind.
“Every time I step on the court, every time I kind of make a choice, it is up for judgment,” she said. “And I just need to get to a place where I’m comfortable enough and secure enough in what I’m doing that it doesn’t matter what other people are saying.
“I think I’m trying to find a way now to just really do what is natural and what feels true to myself and what feels authentic.”
Raducanu pulled out of the Rouen Open, a WTA 250 tournament, as well as the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying ties, meaning she will make her season debut on clay at the Madrid Open this week.
Her opening match is against Dutch player Suzan Lamens, who beat Katie Boulter on clay in The Hague earlier this month.
“With the transition to a different surface on clay, I feel I’m not at the point that I can switch surfaces in back-to-back weeks,” she said.
