Mark Petchey acknowledges that Emma Raducanu can occasionally be a little stubborn, but he also points out that some of the allegations against her are false because he loved coaching the 21-year-old.
Before becoming well-known on the WTA Tour, the British tennis player spent ten months working with Petchey, Andy Murray’s former coach. Following her split from the former world No. 80, she also worked briefly with Nigel Sears at Wimbledon in 2021 and with Andrew Richardson when she won the US Open as a qualifier.
There is ample evidence to support the criticism of her frequent coaching changes, and she has been accused of being too difficult to work with. She defended herself in one of her interviews by admitting that her coaches were unable to respond to some questions.
However, Raducanu has been collaborating with Nick Cavaday all year long this season. The 2021 US Open champion was also one of the best to work with, according to her former coach Petchey, who previously worked with Maria Sakkari.
Petchey said in a recent interview: “In the 10 months we worked together, I was even more impressed by her application, desire, and inquisitive nature to learn about the game. She’s stubborn in certain areas, which is a great quality in tennis; you need that.”
He added: “You need to have a certain self-reliance; you need to be able to put things to one side and entertain thoughts that you don’t necessarily always need to implement into your game, but you must consider things. I can only talk from my experiences, but she was one of the best players that I’ve ever had as a tennis coach, and I wish her the very best.”
He further said: “I think it’s important for her to block out the noise. I think everyone’s going to have an opinion on her and broadcast it, but people are trying to insert themselves into her shoes, which they have never worn before, even in their own career or life. But it is easy to say these things from the outside, looking in.”
Emma Raducanu in 2024
Ranked world no.58, Raducanu played her last match on the 21st of September when she had to retire when playing against world no.9 Darya Kasatkina in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-1 .
At the moment, during this season Raducanu achieved a compiled 20-13 match record. Emma Raducanu’s best performance of this year was reaching the semifinal in Nottingham.
Emma Raducanu will fight against the world no.47 Viktoriya Tomova in the final. Their actual record is 1-0 for Tomova.
Emma Raducanu |
| Embed from Getty Images |
Emma Raducanu in 2024
Currently ranked no.58, Emma played her last match on the 21st of September when she had to retire when playing against world no.9 Darya Kasatkina in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-1 .
Until now, during this year the Brit has managed to achieve a compiled 20-13 match record. Emma Raducanu’s best result of the present season was reaching the semifinal in Nottingham.
Emma Raducanu will take on the world no.47 Viktoriya Tomova in the final. Their actual record is 1-0 for Tomova.
Emma Raducanu |
| Embed from Getty Images |