Emma Raducanu sacks latest coach after scathing Australian Open criticism

The Briton has split with coach Francisco Roig after six months, following her second-round exit at the Australian Open against Anastasia Potapova

Emma Raducanu has split from her coach, Francisco Roig, after lamenting that she had lost her tennis “identity” following her tame second-round defeat at the Australian Open.

The former US Open champion said following her loss to Anastasia Potapova that she wanted to “re-evaluate” her game and work on playing like she did when she was younger, in comments that appeared to signal her unhappiness at some of Roig’s instructions.

The Spaniard, who was part of Rafael Nadal’s team for 16 of his 22 grand slam titles, joined the Raducanu camp in August and before the US Open, but the British No 1 will now head in a different direction after confirming her latest coaching change.

Raducanu was knocked out of the Australian Open after losing to Anastasia Potapova (Getty)

A Raducanu statement on social media read: “Francis, thank you for our time together. You have been more than a coach to me and I will cherish the many good times we spent together on and off the court.

“While we have come to the conclusion together that we ought not to move forward, please know that I am very grateful for all you have taught me and fond of our time together.”

Last season, Raducanu enjoyed her best run of results working under coach and commentator Mark Petchey, as she reached the quarter-finals of the Miami Open, but he was unable to commit to a full schedule on tour due to his TV commentating commitments.

Raducanu is now looking for another permanent coach as the carousel of appointments since her US Open triumph in 2021 continues, having made the decision to not stick with Andrew Richardson following her remarkable grand slam victory as an 18-year-old qualifier.

She went into Wimbledon in 2022 under the short-term guidance of mentor Jane O’Donoghue, having dismissed Torben Beltz after six months. Dmitry Tursunov warned of “red flags” following a short trial period, and Sebastian Sachs only lasted 10 matches as Raducanu underwent wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023.

When Raducanu returned, there was an improvement under another former childhood coach, Nick Cavaday, but after working together for the entire 2024 season, he was forced to step down following last year’s Australian Open due to health reasons. Slovenian, Vlado Platenik, was then dismissed following a 14-day trial.

Although Raducanu spoke highly of Roig and their partnership was extended following a more positive 2025 season where the 23-year-old returned to the world’s top 30, there appeared to be differences when it came to her forehand shot, with the Spaniard pushing for a longer swing and Raducanu preferring a shorter, earlier strike.

Roig began working with Raducanu before the US Open. She is now searching for another permanent coach (Getty)

After her defeat to Potapova, where the British No 1 was subdued and barely interacted with her coaching box, Raducanu said: “I think I want to be playing a different way, and I think the misalignment with how I'm playing right now and how I want to be playing is something that I just want to work on.

“At the end of the day, I just want to hit the ball to the corners and hard. I feel like I'm doing all this variety and it's not doing what I want it to do. I need to just work on playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger.

“I always just changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it. I think I do have the ability to do many things on the court, but I feel like as I'm learning all those skills, it's like I need to stick to my guns a bit as well and work on that.”

Raducanu is next expected to play at the Transylvania Open in her father’s home country of Romania. The indoor hard-court WTA 250 event begins on 1 February, with Raducanu set to appear there for the first time since 2021.