Emma Raducanu will work with Mark Petchey on an informal basis on Indian Wells (Image: Getty)
Tim Henman has declared that “coaches don’t last long” with Emma Raducanu, and the retired ace would now like to see the British No. 1 accept responsibility for her own game. Raducanu parted ways with Francisco Roig following the Australian Open, her ninth coach split in under five years. Shortly before they called it quits, the world No. 24 admitted she wasn’t happy with the way she was playing.
Henman got an inside look at Raducanu’s relationship with Roig when he captained Britain’s United Cup team at the beginning of the year, and was surprised to see them stop working together. The former world No. 4 said: “I was surprised on the one hand, but then we’ve seen that coaches don’t stay long with Emma.
“I was with them in United Cup and saw them working on court, and I think Francis is a great guy and a very good coach with a lot of experience. And so I was surprised that they went their separate ways, but again, it’s Emma’s prerogative, and we’ve seen in the last three or four years, coaches don’t last long, so that’s her choice.”
Raducanu has already said she is not actively looking for a new coach and will instead link up with old mentor Mark Petchey in Indian Wells this week. Petchey also worked with the British No. 1 on an ad hoc basis last year, but his broadcasting commitments mean he can’t always be available.
Henman preferred the stability of the same coaches during his own career, but after seeing Raducanu split from nine in the last five years, he’d like to see her go it alone. He added: “I worked with three coaches in 15 years. I liked consistency and continuity, that’s not what Emma does. When will we not be surprised when she makes coaching changes? Because that’s what she does.
“Petch is someone that has worked with her a few times before, and she feels comfortable with Petch, but obviously Petch has his broadcasting commitments, so that’s not going to be a full-time position. That’s not going to last long. I wonder whether in some respects, she’s better off without a coach, and just accepting responsibility, and just plays, and perhaps that would enable her to really accept the responsibility of her game style. But I don’t know what she’ll do next, and she probably doesn’t either.”
Tim Henman wants to see Emma Raducanu work on her physicality (Image: Getty)
Whatever the 2021 US Open champion decides to do, Henman believes she should focus on her physicality and not her game, despite Raducanu’s recent claims that she wants to play the way she did when she was younger. “I understand the way she wants to play. She’s an attacking baseline player,” the Sky Sports pundit explained.
“If I could add one element to her game, it would only be on the physical side. To get stronger, to get faster, to hit the ball harder. Her game technically, people will try and point to changes, whether it’s a serve or a forehand, it’s nothing to do with that. She won the US Open – her game is good enough.
“Tiny little tinkering, whether it’s the string or the weight of the racket, it’s not about that at this stage. You look at the physicality of Sabalenka, Swiatek, of Coco Gauff, Rybakina, Emma’s not at that level. And to a certain extent, with her physique, she might not ever be at that level, but she’s got to close the gap. So for me, it’s nothing technical or mental. I would be focusing wholeheartedly on that physical side, so that she’s stronger, she hits the ball harder, and she’ll have more physical resilience. She won’t get those little injuries and setbacks.”
However, fellow retired British star Laura Robson believes that Raducanu will only feel more confident on the court once she’s found her identity as a tennis player. The former world No. 27 wasn’t as surprised as Henman when she learned that Raducanu and Roig parted ways.
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“In Australia, when I was out there, they got on really well, but from what I was picking up, there were just certain areas that they didn’t gel with. So, I think she said the same thing when they announced that they were splitting up, she felt like they were going in different directions with their game style. So, in a way, it was not surprising. And also not a surprise to see her with Petch in the next few weeks,” Robson said.
“If you’re second-guessing yourself all the time, you’re not sure the type of tennis player you are, that’s difficult to experience, and I think that’s where she was at. I wouldn’t say [her identity] as clear as other players. I’m not sure that I’d put Emma in the big hitter category, when you’ve got players that hit a ball as big as Sabalenka and Rybakina.
“So she kind of slots into half big hitting, half counter puncher. I think she moves really well, which is a massive benefit to her. I think it’s still a work in progress with her, which is what she was learning as well.
“In Australia, there was a little bit of variety and Francisco was trying to get her to use slice a bit more on the backhand and she doesn’t feel like that’s the type of player she wants to be. Once she nails that down, then it’s going to feel a lot more simple.”
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