Emma Raducanu’s ex-coach gives brutally honest verdict on ‘stubborn’ Briton

Emma Raducanu’s former coach Mark Petchey doesn’t think that every questionable move the “stubborn” 21-year-old has made over the last couple of years should necessarily be considered “a bad decision” as he believes she will learn from everything and ultimately get to where she wants to be.

Since becoming a Grand Slam champion in one of the most unique ways possible, the 2021 US Open champion hasn’t won any titles nor managed to establish herself as one of the best players in the game as some tipped her. And after the Briton started to struggle with her game and results, it led to scrutiny and she has since become one of the most criticized players.

One of the first things that was used to criticize the 21-year-old was her frequent coaching changes. Then, some also claimed that she wasn’t focused enough on tennis and that it was leading to constant injuries and poor results.

This year, Raducanu didn’t have to deal with that criticism because she didn’t change coaches or battled injuries. But she has been scrutinized over some other things as many think she has been making some pretty questionable scheduling decisions over the year.

Most recently, the former world No. 10 started her North American hard-court swing in the opening week in Washington but then went without action until the US Open although she was healthy. Addressing her scheduling, the 21-year-old insisted that she knew what she was doing but then lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows and later broke down in tears.

Petchey: She’s stubborn, but you don’t make mistakes at Raducanu’s age…
Petchey, who worked with Andy Murray at the start of the former three-time Grand Slam champion’s career, also had a chance to work with the 2021 US Open before she became known on the tennis scene. Reflecting on her fast start to her career and everything that has happened since, the British coach and commentator acknowledges it has been “bumpy” but remains optimistic that the 21-year-old can turn it around.

“I’m a big believer that you don’t really make mistakes at Emma Raducanu’s age. I think you make decisions and then you see solutions and that’s where we find ourselves with Emma at the moment and where she finds herself. I always said right after she had the fairytale run in New York that she was going to have a pretty bumpy couple of years. But I hoped that some things would have been different and not quite so rough for her, as I’m sure the people around her would have hoped for too,” Petchey told Bally Casino.

“She’s stubborn in certain areas which is a great quality in tennis, you need that. 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’m sure she now wishes that some things had been different.

“But the reality of life is that if you find yourself at a crossroads, you need to make another decision about how you go forward from here. From Emma’s perspective right now, there’s no point looking back over the last couple of years overthinking, it’s all wasted energy. Hopefully, the bumpy ride has shown her a roadmap or a signpost of where she wants to go from here to progress as a player.”

Raducanu admitted that she made a mistake
Going into the US Open, the Briton’s scheduling drew lots of negative attention and it was clear that critics were just waiting on her to lose early so they could use that as an argument that she was wrong and that they were right. And after Sofia Kenin beat Raducanu 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the first round in a match where the 21-year-old looked like someone who was lacking matches, the former world No. 10 confessed that she felt “down” and that it was a mistake not playing more leading up to the tournament.

“I was maybe a bit slow starting. Yeah, I would have preferred to probably play, a little bit more before coming into the US Open. You know, I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good. You feel like everything’s automatic. So yeah, I think I can learn from it. And you know my manage my schedule slightly differently,” she admitted.

“I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and train and analyze where I went wrong and try and improve for the rest of the season. Obviously the Slams are over for this year, but it’s not actually that long until Australia comes around again.”

Meanwhile, Raducanu is playing at this week’s WTA 500 tournament in Seoul, where she starts against Peyton Stearns.