Emma Raducanu’s new coach believes Brit can now realise her potential after ‘going through hell’ – as he reveals he twice turned down a role in her team

Emma Raducanu’s new coach believes that after ‘going through hell’ the time is right for her to realise her potential.

Vladimir ‘Vlado’ Platenik, who joined Raducanu here in Indian Wells and will work with her on a trial basis through the French Open, has revealed that he was offered the job twice before but both times was committed to another player. The first occasion was soon after Raducanu won the 2021 US Open – a job which Platenik has previously said would have been ‘coaching suicide’.

‘A young player takes off with one great result then has a hard time,’ the 49-year-old told Slovak daily newspaper Dennik N. ‘Her surroundings and the public expect her to repeat those results. Maybe 30 percent of players fall out of the top 100 in a season after their first big result. Names like Hingis, Capriati, Bencic also struggled.

‘The pressure is enormous. Emma approached me right after a great success, which is why I said it could be coaching suicide. But now she is in a completely different position.’

Raducanu has certainly had her fair share of troughs after that soaring peak, with ankle and wrist surgeries, six coaches and most recently the awful stalking ordeal in the Middle East.

‘She’s already gone through hell, she’s already been through the worst,’ said Platenik. ‘Today she’s more mature than with the previous offers – the time has come for me to try it.’

Until the eve of Indian Wells Platenik was working with Lulu Sun, the New Zealander who beat Raducanu in the fourth round of Wimbledon last year. Sun abruptly, but amicably, ended their partnership.

‘The Raducanu family had contacted me and asked if I could recommend a coach,’ reveals Platenik. ‘I recommended a name that I’ll keep to myself.

‘However, when Lulu was over, I wrote to Emma’s father, Ian, to ask if they had anyone, as I knew their interest in me was more long-term. Her father wrote back that they didn’t have anyone and would like to try working with me.’

It is an interesting detail that shows Ian Raducanu is still closely involved in the managing of his daughter’s career.

The appointment of Platenik represents the turning of a new page. Raducanu’s defeat to Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the first round at Indian Wells on Thursday was her fifth loss in six matches since trusted coach Nick Cavaday stepped down due to health issues after the Australian Open.

Platenik has only worked with Raducanu for a couple of days but is optimistic about the alchemy between them.

‘I was surprised by the symbiosis we had,’ he said. ‘She was very committed at the first training session, everything went in a good mood and she was satisfied with the two or three tips I gave her. I felt very good after that training session.

‘I see Emma as a talented player who I want to help reach her maximum without thinking about what happened in the past. I have a good feeling about her, even though we only train for a short time. I like that she communicates well and asks me for my opinion. This is what I often miss in tennis players. Many expect me to dictate what they should do. However, I prefer to work with tennis players like Emma, who show interest themselves.’

This is a significant green flag that suggests Raducanu has made a strong choice. She is a demanding player in the sense that, similarly to Andy Murray, she will not take her coaches’ advice as gospel, wanting to interrogate the advice for the reasons behind it. It appears this will fit in well with the way Platenik likes to operate.

‘I really like her because she approaches tennis differently than 95 percent of players I’ve coached. She wants to learn, she wants to communicate. We sat for an hour and a half watching a video of her next opponent and she kept asking me, “Vlado, what do you think about this?” 95 percent of players don’t have anything like this, I always had to encourage them to do it.’

Platenik already has a keen sense of which areas of her game require improvement.

‘She moves very well. She needs to work on her serve and forehand. Not only technically but also tactically, so she can keep the pressure,’ he says. ‘She plays very well for her height, she is explosive in her movements. Sometimes she lets go of the pressure and makes the wrong decisions in terms of positioning when hitting and loses pressure unnecessarily.

‘ I see Emma as a talented player who I want to help reach her maximum without thinking about what happened in the past. I have a good feeling about her.

‘She doesn’t look like she’s complacent at all. She has her feet firmly on the ground – she didn’t fly away after the Grand Slam title.

‘Many players who are 80 in the world and behave a thousand times worse. They are often arrogant; Emma talks to everyone and is smiling. I am very satisfied with her approach – both humanly and professionally.’