Emma Raducanu's coaching trial with Vladimir Platenik ends

Emma Raducanu's trial partnership with coach Vladimir Platenik lasted only two weeks before coming to an end. The British No. 2 defeated Japanese junior player Sayaka Ishii in straight sets in the first round of the Miami Open. This swift decision highlights the competitive nature of professional tennis coaching relationships.

However, Platenik was not present in her coaching box. In fact, he had flown to California two days before Raducanu's first-round loss to Moyuka Uchijima at Indian Wells earlier this month. Despite training together before the Miami Open, the brief trial relationship officially ended on Tuesday. This raises questions about the factors influencing coaching decisions in high-pressure environments.

According to Raducanu's team, the decision was made by Raducanu herself. They emphasized that Raducanu has "great respect" for Platenik, but the relationship was "not heading in the right direction." The 49-year-old Platenik recently gave a candid interview to Slovakian newspaper Dennik N, in which he suggested they had reached a preliminary agreement to work together until the French Open in May. This discrepancy suggests differing expectations or visions for the partnership.

Platenik, who has worked with prominent players such as Daria Kasatkina and Dominika Cibulkova, is a highly regarded coach. However, one former player described him as a "freight train," characterizing him as passionate and confident, but not always easy to get along with. Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, has been without a long-term coach since Nick Cavaday stepped down for health reasons after the Australian Open. Previously, she has worked with a string of coaches including Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson (her coach during her New York triumph), Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, and Sebastian Sachs. This frequent change in coaching personnel underscores the challenges of finding the right fit in professional tennis.

On the court, Raducanu appeared unaffected, defeating Ishii 6-2, 6-1. She will face American eighth seed Emma Navarro in the second round on Friday. Jane O'Donoghue, a friend who has worked with Raducanu on a temporary basis in the past, was in the coaching box alongside Colin Beecher, who is in charge of the Lawn Tennis Association's (LTA) National Tennis Centre. Raducanu said in Indian Wells that Platenik was "very serious and very professional," but she emphasized that it was too early to judge how they would work together on and off the court. They had some prior experience working together, having had a two-week trial when Raducanu was 17. This previous trial suggests a level of familiarity, yet the current partnership proved unsustainable.

Raducanu needed just over an hour to defeat Ishii in Miami. At Indian Wells earlier this month, she suffered a first-round loss in her first tournament since experiencing a stalking incident in Dubai. "I'm very proud of how I fought through today. It wasn't easy for me to come out here, but I felt like I dealt with it well," Raducanu said. "I've never won here before in my career. For me to be able to get a win, I'm very happy." This victory marks a positive step forward amidst personal challenges and coaching changes.

Raducanu started tentatively, but she secured the first break of serve and grew in confidence thereafter. Unforced errors also hampered Ishii, with the 19-year-old hitting 12 unforced errors in the first set compared to Raducanu's six. By then, the writing was on the wall, and Raducanu cruised to victory, winning the next five games in a row and serving out the second set 6-1. This dominant performance demonstrates Raducanu's resilience and ability to adapt despite ongoing off-court adjustments.