'Stress and pressure' ended Raducanu coach link-up

BBC News

20-03-2025

Coach Vladimir Platenik says his very brief partnership with Emma Raducanu ended because the Briton "was feeling stressed and under a lot of pressure".Platenik told BBC Sport he was "absolutely surprised" but "not angry" when the 22-year-old called off the arrangement after only two weeks.The conversation took place after 10 days of training and on the eve of the British number two's first-round match at the Miami Open on Wednesday."I totally understand Emma, she's not in an easy position. The world is looking at her after the US Open [which she won in 2021] and everybody is expecting - including herself - what she is going to do next," Platenik said."So for me it's absolutely understandable that she's under a lot of pressure. She told me she was feeling stressed."There are no hard feelings from my side. She finished the relationship in a fair way, maybe too quickly, but this is tennis, this is sport. We need to respect that."She was not feeling OK, and that was her decision. I didn't want to go into deeper communication about that. I think the player needs to feel good, and the player needs to make a decision. Sometimes you make a good decision, and sometimes bad."Platenik said Raducanu's father Ian, with whom he exchanges messages from time to time, asked him at the end of last month whether he could recommend a coach.His daughter had been without a permanent coach since Nick Cavaday stood down for health reasons in January.Platenik explained that he initially suggested someone else's name, but was soon back in touch when his partnership with New Zealander Lulu Sun came to an unanticipated end.The 49-year-old Slovak promptly boarded a flight to Indian Wells and arrived on site a day before Raducanu's defeat by Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, and said he was "surprised by the way Emma was working.""She was not really able to stay in the rallies, there were a lot of problems to play on the move with the different speed, different spin and different angle," he said."We had a good discussion, the communication was good from her side. I was very happy because I really must say that I never had a player improving that fast - in eight, nine days."She was getting a lot of things very fast. And I think it also showed in the first round [victory over Sayaka Ishii in Miami]. She was playing very correct, technically and tactically - exactly what we were practising, so I'm happy and I hope that she could take something out of my help."
Platenik open to return in the future
Raducanu's representatives said she has the "utmost respect" for Platenik but the relationship "wasn't quite heading in the right direction".She said at Indian Wells that Platenik was "very serious and very professional", but stressed it was too early to know how they would get on, both on and off the court.Platenik, who has enjoyed success with Daria Kasatkina and Dominika Cibulkova, said they had made a tentative agreement to work together until the French Open - and he would be very open to work with Raducanu again in the future if she changes her mind."She needs to feel good. If she comes back in six months and says 'Vlado, I made a mistake because actually it was working and I just needed to try to find myself', it's OK - this is life," he said."You need to search for your best, you need to learn and only time will show what decision she will make and if they were correct or not."Platenik also confirmed that a very outspoken interview he gave to the Slovak newspaper Dennik N had caused some tension in the relationship. He suggested Raducanu had "gone through hell" in the aftermath of her 2021 US Open victory."Emma is stressed also about the newspaper article, so the agent made this comment: 'It's maybe a little bit unfortunate, but I'm not angry'," he added."I'm always saying the truth, because tennis is an honest sport."I was always honest, maybe I was too honest and a lot of players and parents and people around players don't like it, but tennis is an honest sport."