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Emma Raducanu recently disclosed the interaction between her and Andy Murray's ex-coach Mark Petchey, which led to the latter joining her coaching setup. Petchey had previously worked with Raducanu in 2020, and his current collaboration with the 2021 US Open champion is a rather unconventional one.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Raducanu revealed that she had approached Petchey for "help" at this year's Miami Open, in one of the Hard Rock Stadium's corridors. She recalled her initial apprehensions while talking to the former ATP player, who is a noted tennis analyst and commentator these days.
"Mark was already there, commentating, and it happened that I bumped into him in one of the corridors in Miami and the Dolphins’ stadium. He’s someone that I trust. So we were just talking. And then I was like: ‘I need to do this.’ It was me being scared to ask: ‘Can you help?’," Raducanu told The Guardian.
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According to Emma Raducanu, Petchey agreed, but on the condition that he would work with the Brit around his broadcasting commitments and schedule.
"And it was him not wanting to push himself. So I was just like: ‘Oh, can you maybe help me?’ And he said ‘I can help you around the commitments and stuff.’ That’s how it started. Ran into each other in the corridor," she added.
Raducanu's decision to rope in Petchey as a sort of part-time coach came on the back of her surprising choice to part ways with Vladimir Platenik.
"Emma Raducanu told me she was feeling stressed" - Vladimir Platenik on Brit's decision to call off working arrangement after just two weeks
Slovakian tennis coach Vladimir Platenik briefly coached Emma Raducanu earlier this year before the Brit decided to end the partnership, which lasted just two weeks. The former WTA No. 10 played only one competitive match under Platenik's tutelage; a crushing 3-6, 2-6 first-round loss to Moyuka Uchijima at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Later, Platenik spoke up on the two-week-long partnership in an interaction with BBC Sport. The 49-year-old didn't hold any grudge or animosity towards Raducanu, saying:
"I totally understand Emma, she's not in an easy position. The world is looking at her after the (2021) US Open and everybody is expecting - including herself - what she is going to do next. So for me it's absolutely understandable that she's under a lot of pressure. She told me she was feeling stressed."
"There are no hard feelings from my side. She finished the relationship in a fair way, maybe too quickly, but this is tennis, this is sport. We need to respect that," he added.
Raducanu is in Rome right now for the 2025 Italian Open. She is set to get her campaign at the WTA 1000 event started against qualifier Maya Joint in the first round on Wednesday, May 7.
