Emma Raducanu‘s former coach Mark Petchey has issued a defiant defence of his former charge as the British No 1 gears up to mimic her 2021 US Open triumph at Flushing Meadows this week.
Raducanu began working with Petchey during the Miami Open, and under the former coach of Andy Murray‘s aegis, the 22-year-old has experienced a consistency in her form that has only ever been rivalled in her career during those months ahead of her miraculous victory in New York four years ago.
After improving her limited clay-court prowess, Raducanu enjoyed strong outings on grass, playing one of the matches of the tournament at Wimbledon against world No1 Aryna Sabalenka.
During the American swing, Raducanu has also impressed, reaching the semi-finals in Washington DC, and taking Sabalenka the distance in their second meeting this summer at last week’s Cincinnati Open.
Now working with Rafael Nadal‘s old mentor Francisco Roig, Raducanu will be keen to make a deep run at the US Open, having never come close to replicating her debut success.
But Petchey was bullish about the British No 1’s chances to again hit the heights she did with her first Grand Slam win, in part due to her total immersion in the sport.
Emma Raducanu’s former coach Mark Petchey has offered a strong defence of his ex-player
The 22-year-old has been experiencing an uptick in her consistency on court this season
‘From my perspective, I hope people can really understand how much she loves tennis,’ Petchey told OLBG as he reflected on the ‘awesome’ experience coaching Raducanu short-term.
‘She’s totally invested in it. She watches it all the time. She practices as hard as anyone I know and has spent more time on the court, or as much time on the court, as everybody else. And obviously she’s living a very different life.
‘She’s living a lot of her career in reverse and that’s not been easy. Having set the bar so high so early on in your career every week you are measured not just by other people’s expectations but also your own expectations. That is a good thing because it drives you to be as good as you can be.
‘But on the other hand, it’s difficult, because at times it can feel like you’re not hitting the standard you want to because that’s where your bar is at. From that perspective, her work ethic and her desire to be able to do what she did back in 2021 is as great as I remember it in 2020 when I first had a chance to work with her.’
Petchey and Raducanu only worked together formally until the end of Wimbledon due to the short-term nature of their partnership, which was in part dependent on his ongoing broadcasting commitments.
During their handful of months together, Petchey was at times unable to watch Raducanu’s matches – such as at the French Open in May, when his daughter Myah filled in as a ‘mini-Mark’ while he was offering up punditry on air.
In Roig – who cut an encouragingly vocal presence in Cincinnati, their first tournament together – Raducanu will be able to rely on a constant figure, something Petchey believes will be an enormous benefit to the young player.
‘The way we stopped working together was totally amicable,’ Petchey continued. ‘My job at the start with her was going to be just Miami. Then obviously it became longer through to Wimbledon, and then obviously she had three days with Francis Roig, Rafael Nadal’s former coach, after Wimbledon and that went well.
Raducanu has been working with Rafael Nadal’s former mentor Francisco Roig for two weeks
The Spaniard almost got the British No1 into trouble due to his enthusiastic coaching on-court in Cincinnati
‘But he couldn’t start due to other commitments until Cincinnati. So, around the work stuff that I have, we stayed in contact, and I helped her up in Montreal as best I could.
‘But eventually my commitments were going to be too much to be a lead person for her in that environment. I think it’s really a great opportunity for her to work with somebody like Francisco who has worked with one of the best players of all time.
‘To have time alone with Francisco, to work on the stuff is a golden opportunity for her and him to try to take her game to the next level where she’s going to be able to win majors.
‘I think they’ll be great, I think they’ll be a great partnership. I’m super happy for her and I’m super excited about her potential.’
‘We never got to the stage where we discussed whether it would be a full-time role. But she knows where I am. I’m not planning to change my number!’
Raducanu’s time in New York got off to an exciting, if not particularly successful, start on Tuesday afternoon, when she partnered up in a hotly anticipated mixed doubles pairing with Carlos Alcaraz as part of the US Open’s revamped event.
Raducanu’s return to New York started with a bang as she partnered with Carlos Alcaraz
Although the pair did not progress past the first round, their connection on-court was clear
Although competing for an eye-watering $1million prize, Alcaraz and Raducanu looked completely at ease with one another’s company, laughing and chatting between points and displaying what Raducanu referred to as their ‘genuine connection’ on-court.
The players’ pairing-up had first sparked romance rumours, but both were insistent that they are simply good friends.
But friendship alone could not help the two strong singles players against fierce opposition, with fellow British No 1 Jack Draper and his partner, ex-world No 1 in doubles Jessica Pegula claiming the win in straight sets.