Emma Raducanu’s 2025 season has been a rollercoaster, marked by flashes of brilliance and persistent challenges, but her recent collaboration with coach Mark Petchey has sparked renewed optimism. The 22-year-old Brit, whose meteoric rise to the 2021 US Open title captivated the tennis world, has struggled to find consistency since that historic triumph. Now, with Petchey’s guidance, she’s showing signs of rediscovering her spark, particularly evident in her quarterfinal run at the Miami Open in March 2025. Four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier, a respected voice in tennis analysis, recently shared his candid thoughts on this partnership, highlighting its potential to stabilize Raducanu’s career and detailing a key technical tweak Petchey has introduced to her game.
Raducanu’s coaching carousel has been well-documented, with a string of short-lived partnerships since her US Open victory. From Nigel Sears to Andrew Richardson, who guided her to that improbable Grand Slam, to Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, and most recently Nick Cavaday, who stepped down in January 2025 for health reasons, Raducanu has cycled through seven coaches in four years. A brief trial with Vladimir Platenik ended abruptly before the Miami Open, leaving her without a permanent coach. Enter Mark Petchey, a familiar face who first worked with Raducanu during the 2020 pandemic summer at the National Tennis Centre in London. Their reunion in Miami, alongside longtime mentor Jane O’Donoghue, proved transformative, with Raducanu delivering her best tennis of the year, defeating top players like Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova before falling to Jessica Pegula in a hard-fought quarterfinal.
Courier, speaking on Tennis Channel, described Petchey’s addition as a “net positive” for Raducanu, emphasizing the importance of their pre-existing relationship. “When COVID-19 hit, they went to work together, in private in the UK, so he knew her before she became a star,” Courier noted. “That’s obviously important for her in a time when she’s not been able to find a regular relationship with coaches.” This familiarity has fostered trust, a critical factor for Raducanu, who has faced intense scrutiny for her frequent coaching changes. “Relying on someone that she knew before it happened is really important,” Courier added, expressing hope that the partnership endures at least through the grass-court season, where Raducanu has historically thrived, reaching the Wimbledon fourth round in 2021.
Beyond the emotional stability Petchey provides, Courier pinpointed a technical adjustment already bearing fruit: a refined service motion. “What I do know already is he’s already changed her service motion by adding more shoulder turn there,” Courier explained. “The idea is to try and give her a little bit more disguise and a little more power.” This tweak addresses a persistent issue in Raducanu’s game—her serve, which plagued her with double faults earlier in 2025. Former doubles player Colin Fleming, commenting on Sky Sports Tennis, noted that Petchey has restored Raducanu’s “natural, flowing rhythmic service motion,” moving away from a more abbreviated version developed under Cavaday. This change was evident in Madrid, where, despite a second-round loss to Marta Kostyuk, Raducanu showed improved serving consistency on the challenging clay surface.
Petchey’s impact extends beyond technique. Raducanu has praised the relaxed yet focused environment he fosters, allowing her to express herself authentically. “I think just a relaxed environment, but focused when needs to be,” she said in Miami, crediting Petchey and O’Donoghue for creating “small doses of happiness” through pre-match routines like playing Spikeball. This balance has helped Raducanu manage the pressure of public expectations, which she admitted weighs heavily. “Every decision I make is made on such a big scale that it’s up for judgment,” she told reporters in Madrid, reflecting on the criticism she faces.
As Raducanu prepares for the Italian Open and French Open, where clay remains an unnatural surface for her, Courier remains cautiously optimistic. “No one’s expecting her to play well on clay,” he said, viewing her current efforts as “building blocks for the grass-court season.” Petchey’s commitments as a Tennis Channel commentator pose a challenge to a formal, full-time role, but Raducanu is content with their informal arrangement for now. “We’re keeping things informal for now and it’s been working,” she said, valuing Petchey’s thought-provoking conversations and trusted presence.
With her ranking climbing back to world No. 49 and a renewed sense of purpose, Raducanu’s partnership with Petchey could be the foundation for a career resurgence. Courier’s endorsement underscores the potential for this collaboration to unlock the talent that once stunned the tennis world, setting the stage for a compelling summer on the grass courts where Raducanu first emerged.
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