Tennis: Emma Raducanu Has Just Parted Ways With Her Eighth Coach Since 2021

Emma Raducanu is still young and talented, but her career continues in its chaotic downward spiral.


She sprung a surprise yesterday when revealing that another of her coaching relationships has turned out to have the lifespan of a butterfly, Sebastian Sachs joining others in being discarded.


Raducanu announced as cited by Sports Central: ‘I have really enjoyed Seb’s coaching and working with him, it’s unfortunate that circumstances made it unfeasible for both of us to continue and we have decided to part ways.’ 


Indeed, everything she had previously said about the 31-year-old German was positive. 


Now, it seems there is something insurmountable which prevents them from going on, as she recovers from three surgeries that will see her off the practice court for around two months.


So the search is on, yet again, for someone to try to impose a consistent identity on her game and a regime which will save her body from breaking down. 


The split from Sachs was described as ‘mutual’, but as in any break-up these things rarely are. 


Since her triumph at the 2021 US Open, a pattern has emerged of resistance to investing in anything solid and stable around her.


With every coach jettisoned, the recruitment of a high-class replacement becomes harder. So many have gone the same way — Sachs was a relative stayer at six months — that a natural wariness sets in among potential candidates.


Andrew Richardson, who guided Raducanu at Flushing Meadows, told Mail Sport he had wanted to carry on before negotiations abruptly broke down. Dmitry Tursunov went further and spoke of ‘red flags that couldn’t be ignored’, though he was complimentary about Raducanu and her work ethic.


Observers have remarked that a succession of different voices in her ear on technical matters such as stroke reproduction, fitness routines and racket stringing, will have contributed to her constant injury struggles.


Her father Ian, her career’s main influence, believes in using many sources of expertise. This clearly worked up to a point — it is hard to argue otherwise when someone wins a Grand Slam four months after their A-levels.


But with repeat ailments and a ranking that has dropped below 100, the evidence is overwhelming that it has been counter- productive since New York 2021.


As someone who has barely ever attended tour events, you do wonder what informs Raducanu Snr when directing the traffic, now his daughter is at elite level.


Raducanu has not only lost a highly regarded young coach, but it is also understood she is no longer working with former British player Chris Helliar. From her management company IMG, he has been one of the few constants in this period of dizzying transition, acting as an adviser and media go-between.


He was notably absent when she gave an awkward interview at the Madrid Open, prior to it emerging she would be off the circuit thanks to the operations.


There is no question Raducanu has enjoyed, understandably to a point, the fruits of her spectacular triumph in terms of excellent, if expendable, commercial deals.


Recently she was in Mexico with Dior and this month she is due to go to an exhibition in China where she will be a promotional adornment, rather than a player.


The difficult bit is that the game moves on, with new talents constantly emerging. The more months that are lost, the harder it will be to maximise what remains a highly unusual ability.


If she fails to learn from her mistakes, there is a real danger of it all going to waste.


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