Andy Roddick Has One Request for Emma Raducanu After Her Loss to Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon

Emma Raducanu’s hopes of reaching the latter stages of Wimbledon came to an abrupt end after she fell to a straight sets defeat against Aryna Sabalenka. The British star performed beyond expectations pushing the World No.1 for exactly two hours. Tennis legend Andy Roddick has laid out one request for Raducanu following her loss to the Belarusian star.

Raducanu made a big statement in the second round of the Wimbledon Championship after beating former champion Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets. It was arguably her best tennis since claiming the US Open in 2021. She brought the same approach and intensity against Sabalenka and it worked.

The 22-year-old forced the World No.1 to a tiebreak in the first set, but would have had a chance to win the set while leading 6-5. However, Sabalenka found a way to dig deep and claimed the set. The second set followed up with Raducanu winning four of the five games, before Sabalenka rallied back into the match.

The Belarusian star then went on to claim a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory against the British star. Nonetheless, Raducanu’s impressive performance can be traced to her partnership with Mark Petchey. The British star began her collaboration with Andy Murray‘s ex-coach in March and he has helped her reach her first WTA 1000 quarter-finals at the Miami Open.

Andy Roddick stated in an episode of his Served Podcast that his only request will be that Raducanu doesn’t part ways with Petchey. The 22-year-old has had seven coaches in the past four years on tour and has always parted ways with her coaches. But Roddick has warned her not to fire the British coach and start all over again:

If I had one request leaving this tournament, please stay with Mark Petchey. It is working! You have looked better and better each time. Petchey is a really good coach, and you seem to have a great camaraderie. That is like, don’t fire someone and start over again and do the whole thing. Keep this continuity.

Also, since Petchey joined Raducanu’s team, she has featured in several tournaments, unlike in the past when she often withdrew from tournaments. That paid off during the clay-court season as Raducanu reached her first Italian Open round of 16 before losing to eventual runners-up Coco Gauff in straight sets.

Emma Raducanu opens up about the future of her partnership with Mark Petchey

It is worth noting that Mark Petchey and Emma Raducanu’s partnership is only temporary. The two agreed on that before they began in March because Petchey is also on contract as a Tennis commentator at Tennis Channel. However, it has been reported that he has been working on an ad hoc basis since they first linked up.