Tim Henman has insisted Emma Raducanu’s next coaching move is not the most important factor in her hopes of building on her impressive performances at the Miami Open.
The 2021 US Open champion played her best tennis since that triumph in New York three and a half years ago as she made it through to her first WTA 1000 quarter-final in Miami, with her impressive run including a win against top 10 rival Emma Navarro.
Raducanu’s best performance may have come in her defeat against Jessica Pegula, as she pushed the eventual runner-up all the way in a high-quality three-set match.
If she can maintain the form she showed in Miami over the course of this season, Raduanu could be challenging for a place in the top 10 of the WTA Rankings by the end of 2025, but she still has some problems to solve.
Raducanu’s Miami Open started with her decision to part company with coach Vladimir Platenik after just one match working with him in Indian Wells.
She teamed up with her former mentors Jane O’Donoghue and Mark Petchey, with the duo creating an environment that allows her to thrive on court.
There are suggestions that Raducanu will look to work with Petchey once again when he is available outside of his commitments as a broadcaster with the Tennis Channel in America, yet former British No 1 Henman suggests her coaching concerns are not as important as the need to steer clear of injuries and stay active on court.
“She does it differently. She changes coaches. That isn’t necessarily what everyone else likes to do, but she is comfortable changing that up,” Henman told Sky Sports Tennis.
“For me, building physical resilience is most important because she has almost had her career back to front.
“Qualifying and winning that Slam without the foundation physically and her body was breaking down when she was in competition.
“The big positive this year is she has been able to compete more consistently and hopefully the results are going to come.”
He went on to suggest Petchey’s potential role in her set-up moving forward will be complicated by his limited availability.
“Petch is working for the Tennis Channel and has a commitment to working for them. It will be interesting to see what Emma’s next move is,” continued Henman.
“When she talks about having fun and being authentic, that gives her the opportunity to express herself on the court.
“She played some brilliant tennis in this tournament. She has been looking to build that momentum on the match court and it’s great that she has competed a lot more this year after Australia.
“The results haven’t been there, but when you are putting in that hard work [on court] and in the gym with her physical trainer, I thought her movement both offensively and defensively looked fantastic.
“The turning point was the Emma Navarro match, which she won 7-6 in the third. To beat a top 10 player in that fashion would have given her a lot of confidence.
“The four wins she had will give her a lot of belief moving forward.”
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova also gave her view on Raducanu’s future and she is convinced she will thrive if the 22-year-old can stay fit.
“If she stays healthy and plays this well, then she’ll be seeded at Roland Garros,” Navratilova told Sky Sports Tennis. “I think she’ll move up the ranking well enough into the top 30. The biggest question mark is her health.
“Hopefully she can sort out her coaching situation because she’s been in a state of flux, but I think she needs to commit to somebody and stay with them for a little bit, see how that works.
“If she played like she did against Pegula, then the sky’s the limit.”