Emma Raducanu was dumped out of the Australian Open in the second round (Image: Getty)
Emma Raducanu‘s coach Francisco Roig has been accused of creating ‘confusion’ within her camp following her Australian Open exit. The one-time US Open champion was comfortably beaten by Anastasia Potapova in the early hours of Wednesday morning. She forced a tiebreak in the opening set but was unable to capitalise, before Potapova strolled through the second set to claim a 7-6 6-2 victory.
The result saw Raducanu bow out in the second round at Melbourne Park, with no end in sight to her Grand Slam struggles. Reacting to her defeat, Sky Sports commentator Jonathan Overend pointed the finger at Roig, who has been working with Raducanu since last year’s Cincinnati Open. He questioned whether Raducanu’s start to the season was symptomatic of an overloaded player under new tuition wanting to break free.
“When reading between the lines, it sounds to me like there is confusion, confusion which can often come from coaches,” said Overend.
“This isn’t being critical of Roig, he’s done a lot of good work with Raducanu, that much is evident. But the harsh reality of the player‑coach relationship is that the player is the boss, the employer.
“In some cases, the coach needs the job; in some cases, the coach wants the job; and in other cases, the coach neither needs nor wants the job but is in it anyway.
“There is always strategic, tactical, and technical advice a coach can offer because they are experienced and have a certain degree of success. But what is success when it comes to tennis coaching? It is a great unknown.
“How would a player have got on without the input of a certain coach? Would they have been as good? Could they have been better?
“It sounds to me like Raducanu is feeling shackled, feeling like she needs to be freer and, ultimately, needs to be her own boss.”
Raducanu has been through many different coaches since turning professional. Her first partnership with Nigel Sears ended after she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021.
She then decided against extending her contract with Andrew Richardson, who was by her side when she won the US Open later that year.
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Francisco Roig has worked with Raducanu since last year’s Cincinnati Open (Image: Getty)
Torben Beltz had a short spell as Raducanu’s coach until early 2022. He was replaced by Dimitri Tursunov, who warned of ‘red flags’ if Raducanu continued to listen to too many voices.
Her next coach, Sebastian Sachs, only lasted a few months before Raducanu reunited with Nick Cavaday, who mentored her as a junior player.
Cavaday later stepped back due to health reasons before Mark Petchey was brought in to fill the void. Raducanu played some of her best tennis under the 55-year-old’s guidance, but his TV commitments meant he was unable to coach her on a permanent basis.
Raducanu then turned to Roig, who has been with her for the last three Grand Slam events. She was beaten in the third round at Wimbledon and the US Open before falling in round two in Melbourne.
“I’m not suggesting she should go it alone or sack Roig, but when you think of some of Raducanu’s best moments in recent years, it’s when she’s smiling and enjoying herself on the practice and match courts, when she’s feeling free and ambitious,” added Overend.
“You want her to feel that more often. If she is feeling restricted by the extra variety she’s bringing into her game because of technical tweaking and experimentation, and it’s making her not enjoy her tennis, it’s a bad thing.
“Her comment about enjoying hitting the ball hard and fast into the corners, how she won the US Open. I’d say go for it, Emma, enjoy it. If that’s the part of the game you love, do more of it.”
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