"Pick the right coach and stick with him or her, please" - Calls for a long term coach get louder for Emma Raducanu as former Wimbledon champion advises Sabalenka approach

Emma Raducanu is still without a coach, and has been since the conclusion of the Australian Open, where she and Francisco Roig parted company. Her inconsistent form has brought up other issues aside from her apparent coaching woes with Marion Bartoli and Martina Navratilova stating how important it is for her to find a coach and stick with it for the long term.

That has not been something Raducanu has been doing since her US Open triumph. Continuously chopping and changing coaches like clockwork has gained a lot of attention and even some criticism. Her latest partnership with Roig seemed to have buckled the trend after some consistent form on court saw her rise back into the top 30. However, a poor start to the year slightly blighted by injuries and a disagreement in playing styles saw the Spaniard leave Raduanu's side.

The 23-year-old responded remarkably well to this. Right off the bat she reached the final of the Transylvania Open, a first WTA final since the 2021 US Open triumph. She would still have that as her only title to date with home favourite Sorana Cirstea wiping the floor with her in a damaging defeat to end a positive week.

Hitting partner Alexis Canter has stepped in for the time being to guide Raducanu through this period. The British number one has stated her case for not rushing to get a new coach in, biding her time for the right person. Since the final in Romania, her form has not been great. A virus picked up in the Middle East has wreaked havoc with her progress in the first four WTA 1000 tournaments of the year. She retired in her opening match of the Qatar Open before losing in three sets to lucky loser Antonia Ruzic in Dubai. Her Indian Wells campaign ended in the third round in a thrashing at the hands of Amanda Anisimova before she made the executive decision to skip her quarterfinal defence at the Miami Open to get a head start on the clay swing while getting over the lingering illness.

The Brit now has her full attention on the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. She is currently ranked as the fourth seed in the 500 tournament with a great chance to get some much-needed points on the board to cement her position in the top 32.

Whatever the result in Austria, her need for a coach is still a number one priority for many people looking in on the situation. Former Wimbledon champion Bartoli was one for Raducanu getting a long term coach, using the world number one Aryna Sabalenka as a case study.

"For Emma to keep changing coaches is a difficult topic because you need to have some sort of stability," she told Sky Sports Tennis. "When you look at the coaching system, Sabalenka has had the same coach for such a long period of time and I think for Emma it's about trying to find the right fit."

It is a proven method that could help Raducanu rocket back up the rankings, with the French woman adamant that this is the right thing to do. "I do strongly believe she will need to find someone she can trust for a long period of time if she wants to improve."

Navratilova backed up this claim from her colleague. The 18-time Grand Slam champion called for care when picking out a suitable coach to take her, most importantly, long into the future.

"I mean, I don't know what's the record for a coach - maybe six months," she said. "So, I wish that she would really pick whoever she wants to be her coach carefully and then stick with it. Give it a year because it takes a while to be comfortable with making changes and being able to incorporate the person into your game."

There has also been a lot of analysis around the physicality of Raducanu. Compared to the best players in the world, she is simply not at that level, and according to Navratilova, will need to prioritise this along with the job of getting in a new coach. "The biggest thing I see I think she could get fitter which the coach has nothing to do with, but you know, the coach can only do so much. Pick the right coach and stick with him or her, please."