'But I told him, it's okay': Emma Raducanu's ex-coach shares details of father's reaction after split decision

Ex-coach of the British tennis star Emma Raducanu, Vlado Platenik, has shared an interesting story about connection with the youngster’s father. The 49-year-old worked with the former world 10 for a brief period before the two parted ways.

Platenik recently spoke to Diary of a Professional Tennis Coach, where he shared his experience of working with the player who was once regarded as the next big thing when she lifted the US Open back in 2021. The Bratislava-born shared how grateful Raducanu’s father, Ion Raducanu, was for helping out his daughter. Platenik also went on to state that even her father was surprised when the former world number 10 decided to part ways with the coach.

“I was really happy, because I never heard a father thank me so many times that he thanked me after the practices,” said Platenik. “He was like, ‘Wow, you are doing everything what I wish a coach would do with my daughter, and she was improving’, and we were having discussions and like I said, it’s understandable, and I want to educate the parents, and I want to tell them what I'm working on with the player, and because I want them to feel comfortable that, you know, they can put the kid in my hands. You know what I mean?.”

He continued by saying: “He [Ion] was as surprised as me, you know, when Emma stopped the cooperation. But I told him, it's okay, Ion, it's fine, you know, don't worry. I said, Emma was just little bit stressed, so and I told him, it's I don't blame you. I don't blame her. It's just too much pressure. And she was not doing well for such a long time, since US open. And probably she wants to win another grand slam, and she wants to prove everybody that she can do it. Which is a bad motivation.”

Platenik also stated that the two ended on a good note and expressed his willingness to work in the future with Raducanu, who is currently taking part in the Strasbourg Open, where she has already cemented her spot in the second round after beating Australia’s Daria Kasatkina in straight sets. “I said, like, if she decides to work later with me because it was just too fast or whatever, and like, I said, she was playing good and she was improving, and then, you know, I told him that it’s absolutely no bad feelings,” he said.