Emma Raducanu has dispensed with the services of another coach, with the debate over what comes next for the British No 1 raging as she prepares to play in the WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells.
Raducanu confirmed she had parted ways with Francisco Roig after the Australian Open, as the 23-year-old suggested she wants to deploy more aggressive tactics from the back of the court.
She has called on the services of her former coach Mark Petchey for the upcoming WTA 1000 tournament at Indian Wells, but this is set to be a short term solution to her coaching problem.
Now Tim Henman has joined the debate, with the former British No 1 not convinced the 2021 US Open champion needs to hire a full-time coach immediately, as he reflected on his own journey as a reference point.
“Maybe she is better off not having a coach and embracing that sort of freedom. She talks about wanting to own her identity – well, own it then,” Henman told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview at a Sky Sports Tennis event in London.
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“I had a couple of occasions in my career when I didn’t have a coach and I really enjoyed those periods.
“There may come a time six or nine months down the line, where she needs a bit of input and she might be struggling, but it’s not necessarily a bad idea not to have a coach for a period of time.
“From what we’ve seen over the last three or four years, coaches don’t last long. That’s her choice.”
Henman went on to suggest the expectations around Raducanu as not misplaced, as he argued the 2021 US Open champion is good enough to compete at the top level of the sport and she needs to ensure she is not usurped by younger players coming up the rankings and threatening to move past her.
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“She’s 23, you know, and there’s plenty of 18, 19, 20-year-olds now on the tour, who are overtaking her,” added Henman.”You can’t stand still, but she’s still very good player.
“It’s just my belief, and I think a lot of other people’s belief that she could be a lot better. And that’s an exciting, that’s an exciting thing. There’s no doubt that the scrutiny is a lot more for Emma than others, but she is used to that now.
“She’s 25 in the world, but a lot of us believe she can be a lot better. It will be exciting to see whether she can make that step now.
“It has been too stop start. Whether it is a change of coach or a physical setback. She has to become physically more resilient to be faster and stronger to compete with the biggest hitters.”
Raducanu has a chance to make some strides up the WTA Ranking list if she can string some wins together in Indian Wells and she will then have plenty of points to defend at the Miami Open later in March, where she was a quarter-finalist last year.
READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu: Why the critics are missing the point when they question the British No 1
Watch the WTA 1000 Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments live on Sky Sports Tennis in the UK and Ireland
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