Emma Raducanu isn’t looking for a coach, but she must take action while a top mentor is available (Image: Getty)
Emma Raducanu has made it clear that she’s not looking for a coach right now. Not only that, she’s happy to spend periods of her career without a full-time coach, instead tapping into some mentors and trusted faces.
That’s something she’s been doing since she split from Francisco Roig in January. The British number one has travelled with hitting partner Alexis Canter, also seeking out Mark Petchey’s guidance in Indian Wells earlier this month.
But the tennis coaching carousel is a funny one. It’s rare that top coaches are available in the middle of the year – most of the chopping and changing, naturally, happens during the short off-season around November or December. So, when one of them is suddenly free, you’ve got to jump at the opportunity.
And that’s exactly what Raducanu must do here. Wim Fissette, seen as a « super coach », is available. The Belgian has just ended his working partnership with world number three Iga Swiatek. And he is exactly the type of coach Raducanu needs.
The 46-year-old has an incredible wealth of experience on the WTA Tour. He’s worked with Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep, Qinwen Zheng, and Kim Clijsters, just to name a few. Yes, there’s really more than that.
He’s seen as a super coach because he’s been part of seven Grand Slam victories, including Swiatek’s Wimbledon win last summer. He’s also worked with former British number one Johanna Konta, so he knows how the set-up works for the Brits, who often train at the National Tennis Centre.
More importantly, in Raducanu’s case, he knows what it’s like to work with players who receive intense levels of attention, and he can block out that noise.
There are several experienced WTA Tour coaches with a proven track record of success. But Fissette may be one of the very few who understands what it is to work with players who have gone beyond the tennis sphere and live in a heightened spotlight.
Osaka is a superstar who has been open about the pressures of being a top tennis player and a celebrity in her own right. Like Raducanu, she’s inked plenty of brand deals and has often faced more scrutiny than her rivals for certain decisions on and off the court.
Fissette remained a key part of Osaka’s team from 2020 until her pregnancy break in 2022, and started coaching her again when she returned from pregnancy in 2023, until their split a couple of years ago.
Wim Fissette is available following his split from Iga Swiatek (Image: Getty)
He was there while she struggled with media duties and withdrew from the 2021 French Open. He was a trusted figure and a rock for Osaka in those times. So it seems like he’d completely understand the unique position Raducanu is in, as a historic Grand Slam champion whose every move has been dissected and discussed over the past five years.
Fissette himself is also known for cycling through plenty of top players. His coaching resume is vast and impressive, but that also means he’s never been a lifelong coach who sticks by one or two competitors for five-plus years. And for Raducanu, whose own chop-and-change coaching history has often been a hot topic, that could take the heat off if and when a potential partnership with Fissette would come to an end, because it wouldn’t be unusual for him to hang around for a year or so before walking away.
Raducanu’s current approach to coaching and not actively seeking out a full-time mentor isn’t a bad one by any means. In fact, given her situation and the constant scrutiny of her coaching relationships, it’s smart. Still, the Brit must recognise that she can’t stick to her guns and shut herself off to a valuable opportunity if it presents itself.
At the very least, her team should be reaching out to Fissette right now to see whether he’s interested.
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