Revealed: How Emma Raducanu sacked her coach after just ONE match as he breaks his silence on shock split
Vlado Platenik has revealed he was sacked as Emma Raducanu’s coach by phone the night before her first-round win at the Miami Open – but insisted: ‘I have never had a player improve as fast.’
The Slovakian, 49, was hired by Raducanu before the Indian Wells Open a fortnight ago, with their trial period expected to last until the French Open in late May.
However, Platenik was absent from the British star’s box during her victory over Sayaka Ishii in Miami on Wednesday, with her management announcing they had split because the partnership was not ‘heading in the right direction’.
It leaves Raducanu, who faces American eighth seed Emma Navarro in the second round on Friday, searching for the eighth coach of her career.
‘Emma said she wanted to pause the collaboration,’ said Platenik. ‘I understand that she is under a lot of pressure and it’s not easy for her, so I respect her decision.
‘I wish I had more time with her, but that’s sport. Emma is super talented and I hope she could take some of my advice for the future. I wish her all the best. I never had a player who improved as fast as Emma.’
Emma Raducanu sacked coach Vlado Platenik by phone the night before her first round match
Platenik had begun working with Raducanu on a trial basis at Indian Wells just two weeks ago
The Slovakian claimed he never had a player ‘improve so fast’ despite the rapid split
Platenik infamously once described the Raducanu job as ‘coaching suicide’. But he spoke in glowing terms about the 2021 US Open champion on Thursday, comparing her potential to 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, who recently won in Dubai and Indian Wells.
‘If she can keep stabilising those things we were working on, she can get back into the world’s top 20,’ Platenik told The Telegraph. ‘But I am always careful about setting limits. If a girl is working there are no limits – look at Mirra Andreeva.
‘We had a hard but good eight or nine days of practice. We worked a bit differently than she was used to, improving a lot specially on footwork positioning.
‘We also improved the serve with higher toss and worked a lot on second serve where she also had a bad toss. Now she can use the kick-serve more and be more aggressive even on second serve.
‘I really like her progress and I liked the way she played her match in the first round. It was a very clean match technically and tactically.’
In the absence of Platenik, Raducanu is working in Miami with LTA coach Colin Beecher and her childhood coach Jane O’Donoghue.
