"There are certain tweaks": Emma Raducanu shares experience of working with Mark Petchey

Britain’s Emma Raducanu has revealed her experience of working with her new coach Mark Petchey. The 22-year-old has often being criticised for having too many changes in the coaching staff over the recent past. Many believe that is one of the primary reasons behind her struggles in the recent past as well.

Raducanu, who was once regarded as the next big thing after winning the US Open at the age of just 18, is going through a difficult phase. This year, she has not managed to cement a spot in the semifinal of any event. Her best outing came while playing at the Miami Open where she was knocked out after losing in the quarterfinal to America’s Jessica Pegula.

Those performances pushed Raducanu to make another change in the coaching staff, and she ended up adding Petchey, who previously worked with the likes of former world number one Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova. The former world number one 10, in her recent interview with Sky Sports, explained how it has been working with Petchey.

"He's not a super technical coach, there are certain tweaks, as always, but that is something I am going away from," she said. "I have been very technical in the past, there has been a time and a place for that because I needed to make improvements. But from now on, it's more about doing the right things, taking the ball on more, and just repetition of certain drills and patterns, which he is very good at setting up. It's a good challenge for my game. I want to work on doing things differently to try and bridge the gap between where I am now and where I want to be. I'm going to use the season to take pressure off, try and be more aggressive and play the way I want to more so, so it can help me on the other surfaces."