How Emma Raducanu is shaping up for French Open 2025 and Italian Open with Mark Petchey as coach - 'Informal' coaching, serve change, clay positives
Updated 30/04/2025 at 14:00 GMT+1
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Emma Raducanu is set to play the main draw of the French Open for just the second time this year. How is the former US Open champion looking ahead of the Grand Slam? Raducanu reached the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in March but was beaten early on her return at the Madrid Open. She is set to play the Italian Open before heading to Paris in May.
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With the 2025 French Open less than a month away, how is Emma Raducanu shaping up for the Grand Slam?
The former US Open champion will be playing the main draw at Roland-Garros for just the second time in her career, having missed the tournament for the last two seasons.
Her only appearance so far in Paris saw her make the second round in 2022.
This year, Raducanu is set to play the French Open - which will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - with an "informal" coaching set up and a changed service motion, as she looks to improve her clay record.
Petchey coaching relationship continues
Raducanu has cycled through coaches since her US Open triumph in 2021, not settling on one for any length of time.
There was another change at the Miami Open in March as she arrived on a trial with coach Vladimir Platenik but left having started a part-time partnership with Mark Petchey.
Petchey, a former coach of Andy Murray, was on Raducanu's team as she played her best tennis of the season in reaching the Miami quarter-finals.
He then joined her in Madrid, but the partnership remains "informal" for now due to Petchey's other commitments, which include regular television work.
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"I'm happy with the set-up going forward right now - it's been working well," said Raducanu in Madrid.
"I like him a lot and I've known him since before the US Open [victory in 2021] and it's nice to have familiar faces around.
"We're keeping things informal for now and it's been working. He's someone I've known for a long time and I do feel like I can trust him.
"For now, there is no real thing set in stone but we're taking it week to week and he's helping me as much as he can alongside his current commitments."
Raducanu has said that Petchey will "hopefully" be joining her at the Italian Open, which starts on May 6.
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Mark Petchey at the Madrid Open
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Former British No. 1 Tim Henman was impressed with Raducanu's level as she reached the quarter-finals in Miami.
"I was just so pleased to see Emma really out there competing and I think showing better physical endurance. She played a lot of tournaments this year and hasn't necessarily had the success after the Australian Open. But the fact that she was just out on the match court, competing against the other best players in the world, is a really good sign," Henman told TNT Sports.
"And because she's such a good tennis player, the results will come. Sometimes you have to remain patient and deal with the bumps in the road.
"But the way she played Miami, the second-round win against [eighth seed] Emma Navarro was brilliant. To win that match 7-6 in the third when Navarro served for the match was really impressive."
Service motion change
Petchey and Raducanu might not have been working together for long, but it seems they have already opted to make a tweak to her game.
Jim Courier spotted a change aimed at giving Raducanu "a little more power".
"He’s already changed her service motion by adding more shoulder turn there, which is the idea is to try and give her a little bit more disguise and a little more power," said Courier on Tennis Channel.
"I think overall this is a net positive for her on so many levels, we’ll see where it goes."
Raducanu said after her second-round defeat to Marta Kostyuk in Madrid that she still does not feel "comfortable" on clay.
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"I think it’s positive to get through and play two matches on the outdoor clay courts.
"I would say that it is pretty noticeable to me that I don’t necessarily feel very comfortable, but I think that’s something that I can improve on and work on.
"And it is my second proper clay season and the first one in three years. So I think I’m just trying to give myself a chance to play as many points as I can on it, and also [I need] time on the court training as well."
'Building blocks' for grass
Raducanu’s schedule is set to see her play the Italian Open and French Open, before focusing on grass.
So far in her career, she has looked far more comfortable on grass than clay, making the fourth round at Wimbledon twice and the semis of the Rothesay Open in Nottingham last year.
She has previously said: "I love the grass and think a lot of British players would say the same. I've always said that grass and hard courts are my favourite surfaces as they suit my game well."
Raducanu has signed up to play at Queen’s this summer in the first women's event at the venue since 1973.
Courier thinks the clay season is about "building blocks" for Raducanu ahead of the grass swing.
"No one’s expecting her to play well on clay, it’s not a natural surface for her," Courier added.
"Grass is a surface where she first surfaced, she made the round 16 before she won the US Open at Wimbledon so for me, it’s about the building blocks for the grass-court season."
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