Emma Raducanu has turned to a familiar face after her latest coaching split, with the British star reuniting with former coach Mark Petchey ahead of the 2026 Indian Wells Open.
The 2021 US Open champion parted ways with Francisco Roig after her second round exit at the Australian Open last month, having worked with the Spanish coach since August.
Prior to hiring Roig, Raducanu enjoyed a successful collaboration with Petchey between March and August last year, while she was also coached by the former British No 1 in 2020.
According to The Times, Raducanu has brought Petchey back into her team “on an informal basis” before the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, which will begin on 4 March.
Petchey, who works as an analyst and commentator for Tennis Channel, will reportedly help Raducanu during practice sessions in Indian Wells.
The move comes after Raducanu said she was not “actively looking for a new coach” earlier this week.
It is unclear whether Petchey, who previously worked with Andy Murray, will continue coaching the world No 25 after the tournament in the Californian desert.
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Alexis Canter has served as Raducanu’s coach and hitting partner since her split with Roig, and he is expected to remain “a key part” of her coaching setup.
Following her loss to Anastasia Potapova at the Australian Open, Raducanu alluded to a disconnect between herself and Roig as she spoke of a “misalignment” with how she was playing.
“I think I want to be playing a different way. And I think the misalignment with how I’m playing right now and how I want to be playing is something that I just want to work on,” Raducanu said.
The 23-year-old added: “At the end of the day, I just want to hit the ball to the corners and hard. I feel like I’m doing all this variety, and it’s not doing what I want it to do.
“I need to just work on playing, in a way, more similar to how I was playing when I was younger. I always just changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it.”
During an appearance on Tennis Channel’s The Big T podcast this month, Petchey was clear on how he thinks Raducanu should be trying to play.
“I think from my perspective watching her play, she really only has one choice — she needs to stay up on the baseline, she needs to be able to redirect, and she needs to serve well,” Petchey said.
“And if she can put those components on the court, she’s going to give herself a chance to win big matches.”
Speaking on an episode of the same podcast in January, Petchey said he would “take a bullet” for Raducanu.
“Emma and I never fell out. It just got to the point where I felt I couldn’t be the No 1 coach [due to his media commitments],” the former world No 80 explained.
“We still chat, we’re still in good communication, she’ll still run some stuff past me. I’ll help her for ever. I’ll take a bullet for her.”
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