Emma Raducanu`s promising performances at the Madrid Open have drawn attention, as she is working with coach Mark Petchey specifically to enhance her serve before Wimbledon.
The 22-year-old achieved her first victory on outdoor clay courts since 2022 by winning in straight sets against Suzan Lamens in the Spanish capital. However, her potential for a deeper run in the WTA 1000 event ended with a second-round defeat to Marta Kostyuk.
The former US Open champion took a break from the WTA Tour after reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals last month. She used this time for a dedicated training block with Mark Petchey ahead of the clay court season.
Tennis commentator Colin Fleming felt that Raducanu, being relatively new to clay, could learn significantly from her match against world No 36 Kostyuk, who is considered a clay court specialist.
“This was a good level at times on a surface where she hasn`t played a lot of tennis recently,” Fleming commented during the broadcast.
“If she can keep working, keep finding her feet on the clay, improve her movement, her balance and just comfort on this surface, I think she can still have some great results in this clay-court season. I think it will serve her well for beyond that into the grass and the hard courts.”
“A lot of positives to take from this one,” he added.
Fleming also noted that Raducanu`s play provided clear evidence of the aspects she`s been focusing on with coach Petchey since their informal collaboration began after her Miami campaign.
Petchey`s coaching experience includes a period with former world No 1 Andy Murray, helping him break into the top 50 before they parted ways in 2006. He also briefly worked with Greek player Maria Sakkari.
“She`s gone back to her more natural service motion since working with Mark Petchey recently,” Fleming observed. “She had previously worked with Nick Cavaday [former coach] on adjusting the motion.”
“She`s always had a natural, flowing rhythmic service motion, and it became a bit more abbreviated with the work under Cavaday. I understand why! Trying to get the serve bigger, more impactful during matches. It`s back to that longer, flowing rhythm.”
In her win over Lamens, Raducanu served four aces, won 56 per cent of her first serve points (25/45), and 66 per cent of her second serve points (19/29), with only one double fault. In contrast, against Kostyuk, she served no aces, hit four double faults, won 60 per cent of her first serve points (35/58), but only 41 per cent of her second serve points (14/34).
Lamens vs Raducanu: Momentum plots
Raducanu vs Kostyuk: Momentum plots
Jim Courier, a former four-time Grand Slam champion and now a tennis analyst, expressed his hope that Raducanu will maintain her working relationship with Petchey through the grass season, where he believes she can perform strongly.
“When Covid-19 hit, they went to work together, in private in the UK, so he knew her before she became a star,” Courier stated on the Tennis Channel.
“That`s obviously important for her in a time when she`s not been able to find a regular relationship with coaches.”
“Relying on someone that she knew before it happened is really important. I don`t know how long it can last, but frankly the fact that they`re spending time together right now is really important. What I do hope is that it`s able to last at least through the grass-court season.”
“No one`s expecting her to play well on clay, it`s not a natural surface for her. Grass is a surface where she first surfaced, she made the round 16 at Wimbledon before she won the US Open. So for me, it`s about the building blocks for the grass-court season.”
Courier also suggested that the young British player is focusing on making her service motion less readable and increasing its power in preparation for Wimbledon, which is scheduled to begin on June 30.
Before the grass season, however, Raducanu is set to compete in the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, followed by the French Open.
Courier added, “What I do know already is he`s changed her service motion by adding more shoulder turn, the idea being to try and give her a little bit more disguise and a little more power. But I think overall this is a net positive for her on so many levels, we`ll see where it goes.”
Raducanu has been without a permanent coach since her collaboration with Nick Cavaday ended in January.
Before teaming up with Petchey, the British star had a two-week trial with Vladimir Platenik.
