Emma Raducanu to Continue Coaching Partnership with Mark Petchey on Ad Hoc Basis
British tennis star Emma Raducanu has announced that she will continue her coaching partnership with Mark Petchey on an informal basis, following her impressive quarter-final run at the Miami Open last month. In a joint interview with The Guardian and the BBC, Raducanu revealed that she and Petchey are taking things "week to week" and that he is helping her as much as he can alongside his current commitments.
According to The Guardian, Raducanu had initially arrived at the Miami Open on a trial with Slovak coach Vladimir Platenik, but opted to dissolve their prospective partnership on the eve of the tournament. She instead enlisted Petchey’s help, who was in Miami for his role as a broadcaster on the Tennis Channel, and was joined by former player Jane O’Donoghue, a close friend of Raducanu’s. The 22-year-old enjoyed their time together so much that she has continued their partnership despite significant obstacles.
Raducanu stated that she and Petchey are "keeping things informal for now and it’s been working." She added that Petchey is someone she has known for a long time and that she feels she can trust him. The Guardian reports that after Miami, Raducanu withdrew from the Billie Jean King Cup and the WTA 250 event in Rouen in order to "rest and recover" while executing a 10-day training block with Petchey in Los Angeles.
The partnership appears to be having a positive impact on Raducanu, who said: "We created our own little bubble and it was nice to be working on my game out there but at the same time having fun and enjoying it." Petchey will be in Madrid this week, along with O’Donoghue, but Raducanu stated that he is "fitting me in around" his other commitments. She added that she is happy with the set-up going forward, saying: "I’m happy with the set-up going forward right now – it’s been working well. I like him a lot and I’ve known him since before the US Open and it’s nice to have familiar faces around."
Raducanu’s decision to work informally with a coach is unconventional, but she believes it is working for her. She said: "It’s really difficult, because I think every decision I make is made on such a big scale that it’s up for judgment." She added that she is slowly learning how to block out the noise and lean on the people around her. The Guardian reports that Raducanu is trying to find a way to do what feels natural and authentic to herself, and to express herself in a way that feels true to who she is.
As The Guardian notes, Raducanu’s performances in Miami have taught her the importance of finding enjoyment in her daily life while also pursuing her goals. She said: "I think I’m just trying to keep things more lighthearted off the court, like I’m getting on site, and then trying to just get on get off, like, pretty soon." She added that she is trying to do things outside of tennis that make her happy, such as taking yoga classes and going on hikes. Raducanu concluded: "I’ll go on hikes. I’ll just do things that maybe, like, in the moment, or previously, I would be like: ‘Oh, maybe it’s not so professional; I need to just be locked in like, 200% of my day.’ But now I’m a lot more like: ‘No,’ because when I’m locked in I am so focused on the court, I give 200%. So I definitely need that area in my life to just decompress, relax and de-stress."
