Former WTA star identifies key reason for Emma Raducanu hiring Mark Petchey

Ewan West 29 Apr 2025 11:19 AM

Emma Raducanu urged to find solutions by Mark Petchey

Mark Petchey and Emma Raducanu

Former WTA star CoCo Vandeweghe has shared her thoughts on Emma Raducanu adding Mark Petchey to her coaching team.

Nick Cavaday stepped down from his role as Raducanu’s head coach in January due to personal reasons, having joined her team last year.

Raducanu then collaborated with Croatian coach Vladimir Platenik on a trial basis, but the partnership ended after just one match — an opening round loss in Indian Wells.

The 22-year-old started working with Petchey, a former world No 80 who coached a young Andy Murray, at the Miami Open last month.

The Brit won four matches during an excellent run to the quarter-finals in Miami to achieve what is arguably her most impressive result since here stunning 2021 US Open title win.

Raducanu then opted to take a break at the start of the clay season as she withdrew from Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifying ties in the Netherlands and the WTA 250 tournament in Rouen.

The former world No 10 resumed her collaboration with Petchey when she returned to action at the Madrid Open.

The world No 49 defeated Suzan Lamens in the opening round at the WTA 1000 tournament, before falling to Marta Kostyuk in a hard-fought second round contest.

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During a discussion about Raducanu’s latest coaching move on Tennis Channel, Vandeweghe revealed why she thinks Petchey is a good appointment.

“They’re comfortable together, and that’s something that Emma Raducanu has looked for in a lot of her other coaches,” said the former world No 9.

“It’s just comfortability, not so much on the tennis court, but off. Someone that understands you, understands your day in, day out, what our life is at home.

“And I think that’s sometimes overlooked on the women’s tour is, how comfortable are you? Are you happy on your off-court life? Then does that translate onto your tennis right there.

“Petch is such a smart and intelligent tennis player himself, coach, he’s been in those difficult situations, understands what it means for British No 1, he was with Andy Murray before, so he understands what that comes with, the pressure of that, and it’s all about handling those emotions.

“I think Petch is a strong enough individual to be able to do that, I think he can stand on his own two feet, where maybe some of the other coaches she had were too much of a ‘yes man’, to be just happy.”