Emma Raducanu’s Ex-Coach Makes a Bold Prediction About the British Star at the US Open

Emma Raducanu‘s ex-coach Mark Petchey has declared that the British star has a good chance of winning the 2025 US Open. Raducanu, who has never reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament since winning the New York major tournament in 2021, opened her campaign with a straight-set win over Ena Shibahara.

The win over the Japanese was Raducanu’s first victory at the US Open since winning the title in 2021 when she beat Leylah Fernandez in the final. The 22-year-old crashed out of the event in the opening round in 2022 and 2024, while missing the 2023 edition due to injury. She has been outstanding this season, and that can be traced to her partnership with Petchey.

She worked with Petchey from March until August, and during their time together, she reached her first WTA 1000 quarter-finals at the Miami Open and then enjoyed her best run on clay by getting to the fourth round of the Italian Open. At the Washington Open, she reached the semi-finals for the first time in her career.

However, Raducanu’s partnership with Petchey came to an end after the Canadian Open, and she announced Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach, Francisco Roig, as her new coach. Since then, there has been more progress in her game, which has seen her contend against Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Cincinnati Open.

She’s currently ranked World No.36 and not seeded at the US Open. However, she’s expected to reach the third round before a potential meeting with Elena Rybakina. During an interview with OLBG, Petchey proclaimed that Raducanu has the chance of winning the major title at Flushing Meadows:

She’s close, I genuinely think she’s close. I really do. She’s got something that you can’t teach, which is complete courage. She’s an unbelievable athlete. I’d back her in nearly every situation — if she can get sets to four-all — to beat most players. And she loves the big stage. And not everybody does love the big stage. Not everybody goes out there and embraces it. I honestly say this, and I’m not saying this for effect, I honestly think she could win the US Open. I really do.

Raducanu has not gotten beyond the third round of any Grand Slam tournament this season. At the Australian Open in January, she reached the third round before losing to Iga Swiatek, and reached the same round before losing to Sabalenka. At the French Open, she lost to Swiatek in straight sets in the second round.

Emma Raducanu could break into the top 30 with a second-round win at the US Open

Before the 2025 season kicked off, Emma Raducanu revealed that one of her targets is to end the year in the top 32 of the WTA rankings, which will ensure that she’s seeded for the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2026 Australian Open. It was a big task for the British star, who had slipped outside the Top 300 before the start of the 2024 season.