"I am definitely going to tap into a few people here and there" - The hunt for new coach prolongs as Raducanu outlines what she is looking for

Emma Raducanu is still without a coach heading into the Sunshine swing. Her career has been constantly swayed by the changing of the guard, and she is on the hunt for a 10th different coach. This decision has taken some time, with the British number one wanting someone who will let her play the way she wants to.

This was one of the main reasons why she split with Francisco Roig. It was one of her longest and seemingly most successful coaching partnership, lasting six months in total after a successful trial period at Wimbledon. She was churning out consistent results on court which steadily saw her rise back comfortably in the top 30 but the deep runs were lacking, with just one semi-final at the DC Open the standout result.

After the Spaniard left, Raducanu made it all the way to the Transylvania Open final, her first since the 2021 US Open. Unlike at Flushing Meadows, she was not able to produce the result intended with home favourite Sorana Cirstea coming out on top. A chest infection was one of the main reasons why she failed to win a match in either of the first WTA 1000 tournaments of the year in a huge blow amid the amount of points on offer, but she is feeling much better ahead of Indian Wells.

It has been a tournament she has regularly appeared at, featuring every year since 2021. It will be her sixth appearance at Tennis Paradise, with her not competing in more than three of any of the other WTA 1000 tournaments. After receiving a bye into the second round, Anastasia Zakharova will be her first task, with world number six Amanda Anisimova a possible opponent in the third round.

After completing a practice session, Raducanu discussed her intentions surrounding a new coach, with one main thing on her mind. "Right now, it's more about bringing my instincts back out, getting back in touch with myself," Raducanu told BBC Sport.

"I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn't necessarily fit. So I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that's something that has been coached out of me a little bit."

She unveiled a new setup plan with more than one coach in the hot seat due to the pressure that will come with it. "I don't necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised - even if it's a trial," she admitted. "I might feel the pressure to stick with them, even if it's not necessarily the right decision."

The dream is obviously to find that coach that she will instantly click with and want to work the rest of her playing career with at the highest level. In contrast, some players find that person and are able to have an extended career, but that cannot be said for Raducanu. "I would love to have a coach that works well, but I don't think it's necessarily going to be easy to find one person and they are going to check every box," the 23-year-old commented.

"I definitely have my mind open to it. It's just that I would rather someone not come in and tell me 'let's do this', and I disagree with it but have to listen to them.

Recently, hitting partner Alexis Canter has filled into this role with Raducanu regularly singing his praises, but this was always going to be a short-term role. "So far Alexis [Canter] has been really good, but I am definitely going to tap into a few people here and there."

Mark Petchey has been back in the news after he agreed to split his broadcasting duties in Indian Wells to come and aid Raducanu on the training court, offering her advice in what is still a healthy relationship after a period working together last year.

"I work really well when I'm with him," she said "I'm really happy to be on the court and just really enjoy it overall. I'm not sure, going forward, what it will look like." That certainly remains a mystery with more from this story to come over the next days and weeks.