John McEnroe has just made a really bold claim about Emma Raducanu’s coaching future, and whether he’d be interested in the post.
The British number one when Wimbledon began, this has been a great year for the youngster, who has steadily risen up the world rankings after finding form and fitness at last.
After all, in the years beforehand, her inability to avoid physical issues left her constantly hampered, halting any progress she threatened to make.
Few could deny her talent, but being unable to play simply prohibits progression.
Mark Petchey must therefore be praised for not only getting her game back on track but managing her body intelligently now too.
And yet, despite all the success they have enjoyed together in such a short space of time, his time as her coach might be coming to an end.
What John McEnroe said about coaching Emma Raducanu
Although he has plied his trade as a tennis coach in the past, nowadays Petchey is far more comfortable behind a camera, boasting numerous commitments with a handful of broadcasters.
It is these very commitments which seem set to scupper any chance of him continuing his working relationship with Emma Raducanu.
Speaking on BBC’s 6-Love-6 just last night, McEnroe was shockingly asked if he might be available to take up the vacancy.
He responded: “I don’t think that would be the answer for her problems. First of all, I would have to get to know the person a bit, I don’t know her.
“She has got some game. But I would really like to take a closer look before I start pontificating about what she has got to do.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup
“She showed some battle against Sabalenka, so that was good.”
Raducanu gave an update on Petchey’s future after losing at Wimbledon earlier this month.
Emma Raducanu and John McEnroe’s coaching history
Raducanu, despite being young, boasts a lengthy list of tennis coaches who have come and gone with limited success.
The man who led her to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2021 was Nigel Sears, but he departed right before Andrew Richardson joined, sitting beside her as she shockingly soared to the US Open title.
It marks the biggest triumph of her career to date, but also the result that arguably led her astray in terms of where to go next from there.
That partnership sadly ended though after his trial period, before brief spells with Torben Beltz and Iain Bates eventually saw Raducanu return to the LTA for coaching.
Jane O’Donoghue and Louis Cayer worked in tandem during the 2022 Wimbledon, with Dmitry Tursunov later having a short spell at the helm too.
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Eventually hiring Sebastian Sachs, injury was the main reason for this failed partnership, as they split after just six months, mid-way through June.
In the end, Nick Cavaday returned, one of her first coaches, to provide some much-needed stability, joining Petchey.
McEnroe, meanwhile, has only really enjoyed two notable coaching spells, one of which was as the captain of the Laver Cup.
The other saw him enjoy a four-month partnership with Canadian Milos Raonic, who reached the Wimbledon final under his guidance.