Emma Raducanu admits major change likely after Wimbledon – 'It's very difficult'
Emma Raducanu has admitted she may be forced to change coaches yet again after being knocked out of Wimbledon. Raducanu was beaten in straight sets by Aryna Sabalenka on Friday night, but she pushed the world No.1 hard and can take confidence from her performance.
The British No.1 led in both sets before Sabalenka's power and accuracy told in a 7-6, 6-4 win on Centre Court. Raducanu was excellent in her straight-sets victory over former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the previous round and has plenty of positives to draw from her form at the All England Club.
She has credited her coach Mark Petchey with her improved performances of late, having settled on him after going through a vast array of coaches in the past. Petchey is a former player himself but has primarily been working as a TV commentator in recent years.
Raducanu teamed up with the 54-year-old in April, but she has admitted that the agreement was only for the short-term. Asked if she would like to continue working with him, Raducanu replied: 'Yeah, it's very difficult. He obviously also has his commentating commitments.
'He agreed to 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. That's a conversation that we need to have after a few days and the dust settles a little bit.'
Raducanu has previously worked with Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs and Vladimir Platenik, but seems much happier with the more informal arrangement she has with Petchey. The 22-year-old former US Open champion has reached No.40 in the world rankings and has been tipped to return to the top 10 by Sabalenka.
'She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,' said Sabalenka. 'I fight for every point like crazy. I'm super happy to see her healthy and back on track. I'm pretty sure that she will be back in the top 10 soon.'
Raducanu believes her improvement is down to Petchey. "I'd give him 11 out of 10," she said after beating Mimi Xu in the first round. "He's been everything the last few months for me. I've really enjoyed being around him.
'He's helped me so much on all fronts, tennis, off court. I think the most memorable moment... We've had quite a few. There was one hike we did in L.A. We walked for two and a half hours. We spoke.
"It was one of those really, I guess, deep conversations where I was like, okay, certain things I need to do better. It was just one that I could take away and really reflect on."
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