Emma Raducanu has scored a coaching coup by making an agreement with Francis Roig, a former top-60 player who was part of Rafael Nadal’s coaching team for 17 years.
Raducanu’s long roster of previous coaches includes a number of highly respected names, but no one who has spent so much time working alongside a tennis legend.
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A 57-year-old from Barcelona, Roig has not coached on the WTA Tour before. After ending his time with Nadal in 2022 – because, in his own words, “I felt like I needed a new challenge in my life” – he spent the best part of a year with former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.
The fact that Roig has signed up with Raducanu for the rest of 2025 speaks for the potential that he must see in her. According to sources, the pair began talking about a collaboration during this summer’s Wimbledon, and then did a coaching trial before Raducanu entered the US hard-court swing.
Raducanu had reportedly begun discussions with Francis Roig during her run to the third round at SW19 in July – Heathcliff O’Malley
Raducanu is well known for being a keen student of the game, and for having a knack for picking up new skills quickly. As a result, she should benefit from working with a man who – according to Nadal’s biographer Christopher Clarey – “is an excellent swing doctor, adept at fixing glitches in strokes.”
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In the same recent book on Nadal – which is entitled The Master – Clarey quotes the former Spanish No 2 Feliciano Lopez, who describes Roig as a uniquely skilled observer.
“Technically I think he’s the best coach in the world,” Lopez said. “He doesn’t use that much video analysis, but he sees things that the rest of the coaches don’t see. He’s able to see things in Rafa’s forehand or movement that no other guys would notice, and it allowed them to be very specific and precise.”
As Clarey’s book goes on to explain, “Roig provided Rafael with another voice on tactics and technique for nearly 20 years, helping him in particular with his volleys and slice backhand.”
Francis Roig (seen here with Rafael Nadal in 2011) was credited with sharpening the Spanish great’s game, particularly his sliced backhand and volleying – Getty Images/Michael Regan
Roig is understood to have recently joined Raducanu in Cincinnati, where she is scheduled to play in the final build-up tournament before the US Open. The concluding grand-slam event of the tennis year – which she famously won in 2021 – is set to begin in three weeks’ time.
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While Raducanu’s path has been a bumpy one in recent seasons, she is showing signs of improving her consistency, both in terms of fitness and form. Since teaming up with long-time associate Mark Petchey in Miami in March, she has won 20 of 24 matches against opponents ranked outside the top 10, and generally avoided the sort of niggling injuries that have dogged her progress over the past four years.
Raducanu has seen an upturn in form since working with Mark Petchey on a casual basis – PA/Mike Egerton
The problem has been her inability to defeat the elite, as demonstrated by her 0-6 record against those in the top 10 during that time. This is where Roig’s input could be particularly useful. While consistent and disciplined from the back of the court, Raducanu is not as physically imposing as most of the leading players, and often lacks the weight of shot to trouble them.
Nevertheless, her ranking now stands at No 33 in the world – the highest it has been since the points from her US Open triumph dropped off in September 2022 – and a strong campaign in Cincinnati could potentially earn her a seeding at Flushing Meadows this year.
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Her form across the Atlantic has been promising so far, with three wins in Washington and two in Montreal, although she was given a 6-2, 6-1 schooling by this year’s Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova in her most recent match.
Raducanu had previously been working with Petchey for much of this season, but his long-standing broadcasting arrangements had constrained their arrangement. Petchey made it clear that would not sacrifice his commentary career in order to become her full-time coach.
Before that, Raducanu had spent the 2024 season with Nick Cavaday – formerly the director of tennis at her childhood academy in Orpington – before he was forced to step down in February due to chronic health issues.
The full roll-call of coaches from her professional career now features at least eight names, and includes Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs. There was also a brief interlude in Indian Wells this year where Vladimir Platenik sat in her player box while she lost a first-round match against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima.