Emma Raducanu reveals she may be looking for a new coach again after Wimbledon heroics
Emma Raducanu has revealed her brief partnership with coach Mark Petchey may now be over after her battling performance against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Petchey made a huge impact in Raducanu’s set-up after coming into the team during the Miami Open, where she reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Her performance in the 7-6(6), 6-4 defeat against Sabalenka highlights the strides forward she has taken with Petchey on her team, but their temporary agreement has now come to an end.
Petchey’s commitment to his broadcasting career means he is not willing to travel full-time with Raducanu and while he would not say this publicly, committing fully to a player who has changed coaches time and again since her 2021 US Open win might not be the best career move.
Now Raducanu has confirmed she does not know if she will work with Petchey again, even though she has clearly enjoyed having the former British Davis Cup player in her camp.
More Tennis News
What prize money and ranking points did Emma Raducanu earn for her Wimbledon campaign?
Emma Raducanu ‘romance’ rumours fuelled by the British media at Wimbledon
“He obviously has his commentating commitments. He agreed to kind of help me until the end of Wimbledon and then we kind of see from there because he gave up some work to work with me here, which I really appreciate and I’m grateful for,” she said.
“That’s a conversation that we need to have after a few days and the dust settles a little bit.”
The huge improvements made on Raducanu’s serve since Petchey came into her set-up were in evidence against Sabalenka, as she maintained a high level of play throughout against the best player in women’s tennis.
In addition to the technical improvements, Petchey has also brought an element of fun and joy back into the Raducanu camp and that has allowed her to clear her mind and play her best tennis once again.
“I cannot predict anything, but I definitely sure that, maybe not in a month, but maybe a bit longer period, but she definitely going to get back in top,” said Sabalenka as she spoke about Raducanu in her Wimbledon press conference.
“She’s fighting. She’s playing much better. She’s more consistent. I can see that mentally she’s healthy. I think that’s really important. Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s getting there.”
Raducanu has to take so much confidence from her display against Sabalenka, as recent clashes against the best players in the game have been one-sided defeats.
“It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top,” said Raducanu.
“Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence. At the same time, it’s very difficult to take right now.
“It gives me confidence that I’m not as far away as I perhaps thought before the tournament. I think before previously when I was playing those top-5 players, it was pretty convincing, the loss.
“To really push Aryna to the top, it gives me confidence. But at the same time, like, I feel like grass for me is a great surface. It’s a bit of a leveller in that sense. So I think taking it onto a different surface, where it’s a lot more lively in America, is another challenge in itself.
“Positives were that I was toe to toe with her. Before the match, I actually went into this match feeling more confident than in previous matches against the top, but I think there is a big difference in the first serve.
“I think that’s something that I need to improve on. I don’t know. I’m, like, always quite critical, so I probably will just, like, right now come off and tell you all the things that I could do better. I think the good things,
“I took my chances when it was there. I didn’t execute all the time, but I think I returned really well considering she’s got one of the best serves in the game. But yeah, I need to work on my own serve.”
READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu slams big Wimbledon problem as she reacts to Aryna Sabalenka defeat
