Emma Raducanu reunites with Mark Petchey ahead of the Indian Wells Open
WTAThursday, 26 February 2026 at 13:15
Emma Raducanu is back in the market for a new coach after her latest split with Francisco Roig. The British number one is coming up to an important part of the season with a brace of WTA 1000 events on the horizon as she looks to continue rising up the rankings. For the time being, she will call upon Mark Petchey once more to aid her through this period.
While it looked like the partnership with Roig was proving useful with Raducanu enjoying a lot more consistency on court which saw her rise into the top 32 again, it has ended in them going their separate ways. It was the longest period Raducanu had with a coach since the 2021 US Open triumph, launching her into the mainstream of tennis.
Numerous coaches have come and gone with the target to keep her at the forefront of tennis but this has not worked out. Despite formerly working with Nadal, Roig was unable to work his magic to the extent Raducanu may have been hoping, with the pair leaving on good terms. This split occurred just before the Transylvania Open, in which Raducanu made it to the final before being thrashed by a rampant Sorana Cirstea. She then suffered early exits in the Qatar Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, costing her the chance to earn more ranking points. Her hitting partner, Alexis Canter, had taken up a temporary coaching role for these events but it is time for someone else to regain the reigns.
Petchey returns to Raducanu's side
Before Roig came in, Petchey was overseeing the progress of Raducanu. He was in her camp for a grand total of four months before the Spaniard took over duties at the 2025 Wimbledon.
According to The Times, he will join Raducanu on the practice courts before also doing his broadcasting duties for the Tennis Channel at the upcoming Indian Wells Open. Canter will remain in the hot seat for the first part of the Sunshine Double, with the Miami Open soon following with there a possibility that Petchey could stick around for that heading into the clay swing.
It makes sense that Raducanu has called Petchey back on a temporary basis with the hunt for a coach ongoing and the 55-year-old someone Raducanu trusts. “Emma and I never fell out," Petchey explained on the Tennis Channel's Big T podcast back in January. "It just got to the point where I felt I couldn’t be the No1 coach [due to his media commitments]. We still chat, we’re still in good communication, she’ll still run some stuff past me. I’ll help her for ever. I’ll take a bullet for her.”
As for Raducanu, there is no rush to find a suitable replacement for Roig as she continues to look ahead towards the upcoming tournaments. “Right now I have Alexis in my corner," she said after her sponsorship deal with Uniqlo was unveiled. "He knows me as a person. He knows me as a player. And I’ve actually had some success with him in the past year in Washington and Cluj … so it’s going well.”
The Indian Wells Open will take place from March 5-14 with the best players in the world looking to make some headway into the tournament to reap the rewards. Raducanu has a best result of a fourth round back in 2023 but her WTA 1000 for leaves for much improvement with just one quarterfinal at the Miami Open last year.
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