Emma Raducanu hopes to hire Riccardo Piatti as new coach

Emma Raducanu 'could have a new coaching team led by Riccardo Piatti in place before next month's French Open' after the US Open champion split with Torben Beltz.

The 19-year-old British star said she was seeking a 'new training model' and one option is to hire experienced and well-respected Italian coach Piatti, who has previously worked with Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova. Piatti's academy boasts a number of experienced staff, including fitness trainers and physiotherapists, who could quickly form a team around Raducanu as she chases further Grand Slam success.

The Times report that negotiations with Piatti are ongoing but Raducanu's management company, IMG, are hopeful they could be working together before the start of the French Open in Paris on May 22. Raducanu recently travelled to Bordighera in Italy to train on clay courts at Piatti's academy as she prepared for her first tournaments on the surface.

During her stay, she was quoted as saying:

"The team [at the Piatti academy] have a good set-up. It was just a good experience to see how other places operate."

In the interim, Raducanu will use LTA coaches with the head of men's tennis, Iain Bates, accompanying her to this week's Madrid Open.