Emma Raducanu’s new coach has been cautioned about the adjustments he’ll need to make while training the British tennis sensation. The 22-year-old Raducanu has hired Francis Roig until the conclusion of the 2025 season, following a trial period with him since Wimbledon.

This will be uncharted territory for the 57-year-old Roig, who was part of Rafa Nadal’s coaching team from 2005 to 2022 and later spent a year coaching Italian player Matteo Berrettini. Despite Roig’s extensive experience, his tenure with Raducanu marks his first time coaching a professional female player.

Meanwhile, she has already been dealt a huge U.S. Open setback.

Davide Sanguinetti, another coach, found himself in a similar situation at the beginning of the year. Having only previously worked with ATP Tour players, the Italian acknowledged that a different approach would be required with the 2022 Wimbledon champion.

“We definitely need to be more sensitive to girls, who have different ways of interacting,” he stated. “It was new to me; I’m learning and adapting.”

The decision seemed to bear fruit in May when Rybakina clinched the Internationaux de Strasbourg title. This victory ended a 13-month drought without a tournament win, although the world No.11 has not advanced beyond the fourth round in any of this year’s Grand Slam tournaments.

Mark Petchey has also lent his expertise to Raducanu on a part-time basis this season. She’s seen a resurgence in her game, reclaiming her position as the top British player after advancing to the third round of Wimbledon, where she was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka.

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She also made it to the semi-finals of the Citi Open in Washington last month. This marked her first time reaching the final four of a tournament since her stunning U.S. Open victory in 2021.

Since that memorable run at Flushing Meadows, Raducanu has worked with a series of coaches. In March of this year, before joining forces with Petchey, she ended her trial period with Valdimir Platenik, stating that the partnership wasn’t “heading in the right direction.”