Emma Raducanu has been known for chopping and churning coaches. It is something which has become synonymous with her, as the British number one looks to find the perfect partnership. If this is solved,
Patrick Mouratoglou believes she will become a 'great player' and able to challenge the best on a regular basis.
Roig has had prior prestige in the sport, coaching 22-time Grand Slam Rafael Nadal throughout an illustrious career. He will now be hoping to use that same magic with Raducanu. The pair seem to be motoring along nicely together. After a successful trial period at Wimbledon, Raducanu allowed the Spaniard to stick around for a while longer. Into the North American hardcourt and Asian swing, she prioritised her career, skipping events such as the Billie Jean King Cup Finals to compete in WTA events. This was to help boost her ranking while having more time to gel with Roig.
While the success and trophies have not come yet, there has been a lot of progress showcased in the 2025 campaign. After starting the year just inside the top 60, she clambered up into a finishing position of 29th. After overcoming off court incidents, she managed to reach a maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final, losing out to Jessica Pegula in three sets. In fact, playing against the top 10 players seemed to be a huge stumbling block for her. In all four Grand Slam events her progress was halted in the early rounds by either Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina. In the Asian swing, she squandered match points against Pegula to get a well-earned win. Despite this and a poor end to the year, she was able to make it back into a seeding position for the upcoming Australian Open, a big boost for what will hopefully be a deep run from the 23-year-old.
Mouratoglou believes in Raducanu's huge potential
Mouratoglou knows a thing or two about coaching. He was previously working with Serena Williams between 2012 and her retirement in 2022, overseeing 10 Grand Slam triumphs. He has since gone on to coach Naomi Osaka, Holger Rune, Simona Halep and Stefanos Tsitsipas. When asked about Raducanu's progress, he went straight to talking about her coaching past.
“I think her potential is very big,” he stated in an interview with
ITV. “I mean, she’s won a Grand Slam, but after that, it was very difficult for her. I think [she had had] way too many coaches working with her. I think if you look at all the very successful tennis players, you need to follow a path for a few years to build yourself through a project. Whenever you change coaches, you change your project. If you change your project every six months, it’s too difficult. So, for her, the big challenge is to trust someone for a period that is long enough, so she can really build something solid in her game for the future. If she’s able to do this, she’s a great player. No doubt.”
Her relationship with Roig will be a very key part to Raducanu's progress. The 2021 US Open champion is looking at another season filled with progression and ideally triumph. She will commence it while representing her country in the United Cup. Partnering alongside the returning Jack Draper, the duo will be making their debut campaigns in the event which will last from January 2-11. From then, she will traverse to Melbourne to face off against the best players in the world in the Australian Open. After a career-best third round last year, she will be hoping to once again make some more progress in the coveted event, which will be played between January 18 - February 2.