Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has urged Emma Raducanu to maintain consistency in her coaching setup, pointing to Aryna Sabalenka’s success as an example of the benefits of long-term stability.
Sabalenka’s winning formula
Sabalenka recently achieved the “Sunshine Double” by winning both Indian Wells and Miami. She credited her victories to the continuity of her team, which includes coach Anton Dubrov, fitness coach Jason Stacy, hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski, and fiancé Georgios Frangulis. Bartoli highlighted that this kind of structure has been crucial to Sabalenka’s rise.
Raducanu’s coaching changes
Raducanu has experienced frequent changes since her 2021 US Open triumph. After parting ways with Francisco Roig, she worked with hitting partner Alexis Canter and briefly with Mark Petchey at Indian Wells. Bartoli expressed concern about the impact of these shifts. “Per Emma continuare a cambiare allenatori è un argomento difficile perché serve una certa stabilità. Quando guardi il sistema di coaching, Sabalenka ha avuto lo stesso allenatore per così tanto tempo e penso che per Emma si tratti di trovare la giusta sintonia!” Bartoli said.
Navratilova’s perspective
Martina Navratilova, winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, also advised Raducanu to carefully select her next coach and commit to the partnership for at least a year. She stressed that this would give Raducanu the time to adapt and fully integrate new methods.
Building physical strength
Experts have emphasized that Raducanu must also focus on improving her physicality to compete with top players such as Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff. Developing greater strength and endurance will be key to her progress on the tour.
Raducanu is scheduled to compete at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz from April 6-12, offering her the next opportunity to test herself against elite competition.
Aryna Sabalenka in 2026
Ranked world no.1, the Belarussian played her last match on the 28th of March when she overcame world no.3 Cori Gauff 6-2 4-6 6-3 in the final in Miami to win her 24th career title.
This season Aryna has managed to achieve an overall 23-1 record. Aryna conquered 3 titles in 2026 in Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami. The Belarussian reached the final at the Australian Open.
Emma Raducanu in 2026
Currently ranked no.28, the Brit played her last match on the 8th of March when she surrendered to world no.6 Amanda Anisimova 6-1 6-1 in the 3rd round in Indian Wells (draw).
During this season Emma has achieved an overall 7-7 record. Emma Raducanu’s best accomplishment of the current year was reaching the final in Napoca.
Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu played each other 3 times. Their record is 3-0 for Sabalenka.
