Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has advised Emma Raducanu to emulate the stability of Aryna Sabalenka’s coaching setup by committing to a long-term coach. Bartoli pointed to Sabalenka’s sustained team — long-term coach Anton Dubrov, fitness coach Jason Stacy, hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski, partner Georgios Frangulis and the addition of Max Mirnyi — as a model that has coincided with Grand Slam success, the Sunshine Double and a run to world No. 1.
Raducanu has taken a different path since her 2021 US Open breakthrough, cycling through a series of coaches. After parting ways with Francisco Roig following her Australian Open second-round exit, she has used short-term arrangements with Mark Petchey and leaned on hitting partner Alexis Canter, a 27-year-old British former player, in recent weeks. Raducanu reached her first final since New York 2021 at an event in Romania and is scheduled to play the Upper Austria Ladies Linz (April 6–12), broadcast live on Sky Sports Tennis.
Bartoli urged Raducanu to prioritise continuity: when speaking in Miami she stressed that frequent changes make it hard to build progress and that Emma will likely need “someone she can trust for a long period of time” if she wants to improve.
Martina Navratilova echoed that view, asking Raducanu to choose a coach carefully and then give the partnership time. Navratilova suggested a year as a reasonable window to settle into new coaching methods and to allow changes to be absorbed into match play. She also noted that while coaching matters, fitness and physical resilience are crucial elements that a coach can only partly address.
Sky Sports analyst Tim Henman zeroed in on fitness as the most urgent area for improvement. Reflecting on Raducanu’s match against Amanda Anisimova, Henman said she needs greater physical resilience to withstand sustained power from top opponents such as Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff. He urged more on-court physical work to build strength, speed and serving power, believing that improved conditioning would reduce small injuries that interrupt momentum and development.
Raducanu is currently ranked world No. 28. Henman believes she can push back into the top 20 and potentially challenge for the top 10 if she pieces together the right elements — coaching stability, improved fitness and added weapons to handle the heavy hitters on tour.
Coaching timeline since the 2021 US Open (brief):
– Nigel Sears: Joined April 2021; helped her break through at Wimbledon.
– Andrew Richardson: Guided her through the US Open title run; short trial.
– Torben Beltz: Worked together for five months, ending in April 2022.
– Dmitry Tursunov: Short trial in summer 2022; did not continue.
– Sebastian Sachs: Joined late 2022; partnership paused due to Raducanu’s surgeries.
– Nick Cavaday: 14-month stint, longest in her post-2021 career; helped return to top 60; stepped down early 2025 for health reasons.
– Vlado Platenik: Trial in March 2025; partnership lasted around two weeks.
– Mark Petchey: Temporary coaching/tactical role early 2025, including at Wimbledon.
– Francisco Roig: Appointed August 2025; left after the Australian Open in January 2026.
Raducanu remains a high-profile prospect with clear talent. Commentators agree that to fulfil her potential she will likely need a stable coaching relationship and improved physicality to cope with the power and consistency of the current top players.