MELBOURNE — In the immediate aftermath of her second-round defeat at the Australian Open, Emma Raducanu offered a series of comments that, in hindsight, were a clear harbinger of the coaching change that would follow just weeks later. Her candid admission of dissatisfaction with her own game style and training methods pointed directly toward another impending split.
Speaking after a 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 loss to China’s Wang Yafan, a match she led by a set and a break, Raducanu’s frustration was palpable. The 2021 US Open champion, playing in her first Grand Slam in a year due to triple wrist and ankle surgeries, was not lamenting her physical condition. Instead, she pinpointed a deeper, more systemic issue: her approach to the game itself.
A Candid Admission of Discontent
When asked to assess her performance and the state of her game, Raducanu did not hold back. "I think that my game, in general, is just not where I want it to be right now," she stated bluntly. "I think it's going to take a lot of time, a lot of work. I'm just not very happy with where my game is at the moment."
This was more than just the typical disappointment of a player exiting a major. Raducanu was critiquing the very foundation of her tennis identity post-surgery. She elaborated, suggesting the problem was not effort but direction: "I know I've done the work. I just think it's going to take more time to really allow everything to come together."
The Specifics: A Style at Odds with Instinct
Raducanu went further, providing specific and telling details about the disconnect she felt. She revealed that the aggressive, first-strike tennis that had become her trademark—and the bedrock of her Flushing Meadows triumph—was being consciously suppressed in favor of a more conservative, percentage-based style.
"I've been spending a lot of time in the gym, trying to make my base fitness as good as possible. But I think that I'm spending maybe too much time in the gym and not enough on the court," she admitted. This gym-heavy regimen, she implied, was coming at the cost of the nuanced, feel-based practice needed to hone her attacking instincts.
The evidence was in her play. Against Wang, Raducanu’s initial aggression faded as the match progressed. "In the first set, I was playing very good tennis. I was dominating. Then I think I just got a bit passive," she analyzed. This shift from proactive to reactive play was the core of her frustration.
Key Indicators in Her Melbourne Comments:
Raducanu’s post-match press conference was littered with red flags regarding her coaching situation with Sebastian Sachs, whom she had hired in December 2022. The issues she highlighted included:
- A perceived over-emphasis on physical conditioning at the expense of tennis-specific skill work.
- A game plan that encouraged consistency over the aggressive shot-making that feels natural to her.
- A clear dissatisfaction with the "process" and direction of her training block.
- An expressed desire to return to a more instinctive, "see-ball, hit-ball" style.
The Inevitable Split Confirmed
Less than a month after those telling comments, the logical conclusion arrived. In late February, Raducanu confirmed she and Sachs had parted ways. The announcement was made via a brief social media statement, a familiar format for Raducanu’s numerous coaching changes.
She wrote: "I have really enjoyed Seb’s coaching and working with him, but it is time for a change. As I look forward to the next phase of my development, I will be transitioning to a new training model with a LTA-supported women’s coach which I’m excited about."
The "new training model" hinted at a direct response to her Melbourne grievances. By aligning with a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) coach, Raducanu signaled a move away from the high-profile, tour-based coach model and towards a more integrated, likely UK-based, training setup focused squarely on her stated needs.
A Pattern of Seeking the Right Fit
The split with Sachs marks the sixth coaching change in Raducanu’s young professional career. Her journey has seen her work with, among others, Nigel Sears (Wimbledon 2021), Andrew Richardson (US Open 2021 win), Torben Beltz, and Dmitry Tursunov.
Each split has underscored a recurring theme: Raducanu possesses a clear, unwavering vision of how she wants to play and train. When a coach’s philosophy or methodology drifts from that vision—whether on technical style, practice intensity, or public commentary—the partnership has proven fragile.
Her comments in Australia were a public airing of that private misalignment. By stating she was unhappy spending "too much time in the gym" and was playing "passive" tennis, she was indirectly but unmistakably critiquing the direction Sachs was steering her.
Looking Ahead: A Return to Instinct
The positive takeaway from Raducanu’s candidness and subsequent action is her proactive ownership of her career. She is not willing to persist with a plan she feels is wrong for her game, even if it means more instability in the short term.
Her goal, as hinted in Melbourne, is to rediscover the fearless tennis that defined her breakthrough. "I think that when I was playing freely, that's when I was playing my best," she reflected. The new LTA-supported setup appears designed to foster that freedom, prioritizing court time and tactical clarity over a rigid, gym-centric regimen.
While the frequent coaching changes draw scrutiny, Raducanu’s self-awareness remains her greatest asset. The Australian Open comments were not the words of a defeated player, but of a discerning athlete conducting a frank audit. They served as the definitive sign that another change was not just possible, but inevitable, as she continues the complex journey of building a career that matches the extraordinary heights of her unforgettable New York fairytale.