Emma Raducanu has given a possible reason for her many coaching changes over the last two years, saying "provoking" and "challenging" questions could have been a contributing factor.
The 2021 US Open champion has had a difficult time on the WTA Tour since she became the first unseeded qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era. Her most recent tournament was the Stuttgart Open in April, where she lost to Jelena Ostapenko in the first round.
After this, she announced that she was taking a break to undergo surgery on her wrists and ankle and is now preparing to return in 2024. Aside from injuries, many fans have attributed her struggles to frequent coaching changes.
The 20-year-old began her career with Nigel Sears but split with him shortly after her breakthrough run to the fourth round of Wimbledon 2021. She then joined forces with Andrew Richardson who helped her to the title at Flushing Meadows.
Following this, Raducanu worked with Torben Beltz from September 2021 to April 2022, before switching to Dimitri Tursunov who warned of "red flags" for the young tennis star if she continued to listen to too many people in her career. The Brit then moved to train with Sebastian Sachs, but they parted ways in June of this year and she is yet to confirm a new coach.
"I ask my coaches a lot of questions," she explained on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, "On certain occasions they haven't been able to keep up with the questions I've asked and maybe that's why it ended.
"It's something I've always done. I keep provoking and asking questions to coaches and challenging their thinking as well. I'm not someone that you can just tell me what do and I'll do it, I need to understand why and then I'll do it," she continued.
Raducanu also opened up on her mentality ahead of her comeback to the sport, saying that she is looking forward to a re-set.
"I will be coming back with probably a lower ranking, but I'm actually looking forward to starting again, kind of resetting.
"I still have new goals, new things I want to achieve. But I've still got like 15 years left in my career, so there's no rush," she said.
Ready to return to tennis, 2021 US Open champion, Emma Raducanu, talks to @BBCr4today at 07.40 about resetting with new goals, having 15 years of career left, learning about her resilience while injured, questioning her coaches, possibility of playing at Paris2024 and turning 21
