Emma Raducanu Banks on Rafael Nadal’s Former Coach to Help Improve 'the Overall Quality of her Game'

Emma Raducanu recently announced her partnership with Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach, Francisco Roig, ahead of the Cincinnati Open, which will be their first official event on tour. However, it was after a rather successful post-Wimbledon trial that she agreed to the collaboration and now looks up to the Spanish coach to help solve some of her problems on the court.

Not that Raducanu has several problems that she’s struggling with, but after her third-round loss to Amanda Anisimova in the Canadian Open, it was certain that she’s not yet at her best level. She managed to win just three games during the clash and only held the American star’s serve twice throughout the 2-6, 1-6 defeat.

But Roig comes with a lot of experience on the court, having worked with Nadal from 2005 until the end of 2022. In fact, he has been instrumental in helping the Spaniard claim his 22 Grand Slam titles, including fourteen Roland Garros crowns. After his partnership with Nadal, he worked with Matteo Berrettini and Sloane Stephens briefly.

Ahead of Raducanu’s Cincinnati Open first-round match, she was interviewed by The Guardian about her new coach. The 22-year-old revealed that she has been impressed with the Spanish coach’s experience in the game and that she’s looking forward to improving on her shot quality and overall game on the court:

First impressions are it’s going really well. We did a few days after Wimbledon together and I was really happy with how it went. I’m just so excited to have him on board, so much experience. I’m really looking forward to continuing. I think I can definitely improve on a lot of my shots, just the quality of them. I think I’ve been good at being creative, scrapping, and playing the big points well, but I think the overall quality of my game needs to be better.

It is worth noting that Raducanu had previously worked with Andy Murray’s ex-coach Mark Petchey. The pair didn’t split as their partnership was temporary. They began working together at the Miami Open in March and the collaboration yielded instant success as the British star reached the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Raducanu went on to also reach the fourth round of the Italian Open for the first time in her career. However, Petchey is also a long-time tennis commentator, and that has severely limited his ability to travel around the world with her. But he helped her get back into the WTA top 40 and become the British No.1.

Emma Raducanu hopes to be patient with new coach

Emma Raducanu has been a much better player since March this season. She earned her best run of the season at the Washington Open, where she got to the semi-finals before losing to Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets. Since the Wimbledon Championships, she has now won five of her seven matches on tour.