Emma Raducanu is hitting the "reset" button in the California desert. After parting ways with her seventh full-time coach, Francisco Roig, following a "style disagreement" at the Australian Open in January, the 2021 US Open champion is embracing a more fluid, ad hoc setup. She is moving away from rigid coaching templates to relearn the aggressive, early-ball-striking tennis that defined her rise as a teenager.
Currently ranked world number 24, Raducanu is ditching the "scrutiny circus" that follows every new hire. Instead, she is "tapping into a few people", most notably former Andy Murray mentor Mark Petchey, to regain her confidence ahead of her second-round clash at Indian Wells.
Raducanu’s philosophy for 2026 is clear: identity over influence. After a series of partnerships that she feels "coached the instinct out of her," she is prioritizing her own internal compass.
I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn't necessarily fit. I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that's something that has been coached out of me a little bit.
Emma Raducanu
Health check: Recovered from the chest infection that hampered her Middle East swing (Doha/Dubai).
"Petchey factor": Raducanu admits she "works really well" with Petchey, whose day job with the Tennis Channel allowed for this convenient "day-to-day" arrangement.
Tactical focus: "Hitting the ball to the corners and hard"—returning to the high-velocity game she employed as a teenager.
Next opponent: Following a first-round bye, she faces qualifier Anastasia Zakharova on Friday.
Raducanu is acutely aware that any new face in her player box becomes an immediate lightning rod for media scrutiny. By avoiding a formal "trial" or a full-time appointment, she is attempting to lower the pressure cookers of expectation. For now, the focus is on the "thin desert air," the "Californian sun," and the feeling of the ball on the strings.
Whether this decentralized coaching model can propel her back into the top 10 remains to be seen, but Raducanu is betting on herself, and her instincts, to find the answer.
