Emma Raducanu: Does British No 1 need to stick with same coach after split with Francis Roig ahead of tennis return at Transylvania Open?

Emma Raducanu is searching for a 10th coach in the last five years after splitting with Francis Roig following her early Australian Open exit.

Raducanu announced on Thursday that she ended her relationship with Roig, who helped Rafael Nadal win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles, after less than six months together.

Since her breakthrough at Wimbledon 2021 and that spectacular triumph at the US Open later that year, the longest period of time Raducanu has been with the same coach for is 13 months.

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"I don't necessarily disagree with the strategy of Raducanu. She's got to feel like the relationship is right," said Sky Sports Tennis commentator Jonathan Overend.

"She's got to feel like this is a partnership which is going to work. People say there's no point chopping and changing all the time. But, you change teachers most year at school, and you pick up the best elements of that teacher.

"And you move onto the next one, and you pick up new elements. So I don't necessarily disagree with it. But she's got to find the right fit."

Generally, tennis' top players have the same coach for several years - Andy Murray spent six years with eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl, Serena Williams had Patrick Mouratoglou for a decade and Novak Djokovic has been with Marian Vajda for most of his career.

Overend thinks Raducanu needs to "believe" in her way of playing which did not happen under Roig with the British No 1 even admitting herself that "I didn't play how I wanted to play" following her second-round defeat at the Australian Open.

"Whether she needs to bring in more advisors from outside, whether she needs to spend longer over the selection process, I don't know," said Overend.

"But she's got to get the right fit in order that an experienced coach can come in, improve her weaker areas, but still encourage her to exploit the positive areas of her game and enjoy her to have fun on the court. That, to me, is the most important summary."

Raducanu's coaching history

Raducanu's first professional tennis coach Nigel Sears left after she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021, before she chose not to extend her contract with Andrew Richardson, who helped the then 18-year-old to a memorable US Open title.

Torben Beltz had a short spell as her coach between November 2021 and April 2022, before being replaced by Dimitri Tursunov, who warned of "red flags" if Raducanu continued to listen to too many voices.

Sebastian Sachs lasted just the first half of 2023 as Raducanu's coach before reuniting with Nick Cavaday, who mentored her as a junior, at the end of 2024.

However, Cavaday stepped back at the start of last year in January for health reasons but worked with Raducanu again during the grass-court season, alongside Mark Petchey.

Raducanu played some of her best tennis under Petchey, whose television commitments meant he was always unable to become a full-time coach before she turned to Roig.

The early signs under Roig were positive as Raducanu clearly improved her serve and return, coming close to beating Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling second-round match at the Cincinnati Masters. That was the high point of Roig's spell with hindsight as Raducanu was thumped in straight sets by Elena Rybakina at the US Open then failed to win more than one match in her final five tournaments of the 2025 season.

A foot problem meant Raducanu was not fully fit when heading to Australia ahead of the first Grand Slam in Melbourne but in the matches she did play, there was clearly less on-court interaction between herself and Roig compared to the start of their relationship.

Overend said: "There was an inevitability to this from the moment there appeared a split in a small camp. When there's a disagreement about the way a tennis player is being told to play, it never ends well.

"I think it was then the case of when, rather than if, they were going to end their relationship. You can't have a situation like the one in Melbourne with Raducanu basically saying 'I'm not enjoying playing this way'. I prefer to play a different way.

"It's just not a contusive environment for a healthy working relationship. My instinct when I heard her say what she did was 'fair enough'. Ultimately, it's an individual sport and a player has to be comfortable with what they are doing.

"Sure, the coaches can play to offer their wisdom and advice. Francisco Roig has a lot of experience and wisdom to offer and I'm sure he can coach players into playing the way he feels is the best way to play. I absolutely have no doubt he can do that."

What's next for Raducanu?

Raducanu is set to play next week at the Transylvania Open in Romania, where she's the highest-ranked player in the WTA 250 event.

The 23-year-old will then head to the Middle East for WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha (February 8-14) and Dubai (February 16-22) before Indian Wells and the Miami Open in March, all on Sky Sports Tennis.

Whether she will have a new coach prior to those significant events in mid-February is unclear and Overend thinks the main priority for Raducanu is to enjoy her tennis again.

"When you hear Raducanu talk about hitting the ball fast and hard into the corners, that's clearly what she enjoys doing," he said.

"It's a game which is exciting to watch when it's working. So, my feeling is that, yes, there are a lot of other areas in her game that she does need to work on and improve. She knows that.

"I think the best use of a coach, and she absolutely needs a coach with experience, with wisdom, like Francisco Roig, who can improve those weaker areas of her game, but also encourage her to go about her business in that free and exuberant, exciting manner that allows her that free swing when she wants to, to go for those corners hard and fast, like she clearly wants to do. But still coach her in the areas that need improvement.

"I think changing the whole strategy to get her to play in a different way, and that may not necessarily be what has been attempted by Roig, but clearly that's the way it has been interpreted by Raducanu, that to me is restricting a lot of that freedom, which is so important in my mind for a young tennis player.

"Ultimately, this is a game. It's something that needs to be enjoyed. People need to have fun playing tennis. That's how you get into tennis in the first place. And that's how ideally young people to spend their careers, having fun playing a game.

"Of course, it's not that simple because the stakes are so high. But I think the more players can be encouraged to see the fun side of it, the better. It's going to help with their mental health in the long term. It's going to help with their career longevity, surely, by allowing her to go for her shots in the way she clearly feels she wants to more often. I think that can only be a good thing."

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