Tennis star Emma Raducanu has revealed she has ‘challenged’ her different coaches, admitting ‘I’m not someone they can just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.’
The 20-year-old, who won the US Open in 2021, has worked with five coaches in around two years, admitting she asks them a lot of questions ‘so maybe that’s why it ended’.
She told the Radio 4 Today programme her father has always provoked her to think and ask questions, saying her intellectually curious mind has influenced the way she trains.
Raducanu said she believes at times her coaches ‘haven’t been able to keep up with the questions’ she asks – adding that she always needs to understand the reason why she is being asked to do something.
‘I was always very intellectually curious from a young age. My dad always provoked me to think, ask questions,’ she said. ‘I got my logical side from him.
Emma Raducanu said she believes at times her coaches ‘haven’t been able to keep up with the questions’ she asks
Former coach Nigel Sears with Emma Raducanu at a practice session in July 2021
Raducanu with her then coach Andrew Richardson after defeating Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada during the second set of their Women’s Singles final match on Day Thirteen of the 2021 US Open, pictured on September 11, 2021
Raducanu with another of her former coaches, Torben Beltz, pictured on January 5, 2022
The tennis star pictured with former coach Dmitry Tursunov during a practice session on August 28, 2022
Raducanu with her coach Sebastian Sachs who she parted ways with earlier this year
‘I think maybe I do shape the way I train or approach certain decisions differently and I think that gives me an advantage.
‘I’m not necessarily the biggest hitter or the strongest or the fastest but I think I can use my brain in ways that can give me an advantage.’
The tennis star added: ‘I ask my coaches a lot of questions. I think that on certain occasions they haven’t been able to keep up with the questions I’ve asked so maybe that’s why it ended but it’s something I’ve always done.
‘I keep provoking, I keep asking questions to coaches and challenging their thinking as well.
‘I’m not someone they can just tell me what to do and I’ll do it, I need to understand why and then I’ll do it.’
Raducanu sprung a surprise in June when she revealed she had parted ways with coach Sebastian Sachs.
She announced: ‘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.’
Before Sachs and in around two years time she had also worked with coaches Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz and Dmitry Tursunov.
She told Radio 4 that resilience is something she has had since she was a child and that it’s something she learned from her mother
The 2021 US Open winner has been out of action for months and missed the French Open, Wimbledon, and American Grand Slam this year.
She has not played since her defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in April and had surgery on both wrists and her ankle in May. But she says she will return for the start of the next season.
‘I will be coming back with probably a lower ranking but I’m looking forward to starting again, resetting,’ she said.
‘I still have new goals, new things I want to achieve but I’ve still got 15 years in my career so there’s no rush.’
She told Radio 4 that resilience is something she has had since she was a child and that it’s something she learned from her mother.
Raducanu spoke about having setbacks throughout her whole career, but said ‘you learn how to deal with losses and how to deal with the car ride home when you lose a tournament when you’re six.
‘I think that’s something that’s grown and developed but I definitely carry that into what I do now.’
In May, Raducanu underwent a raft of surgeries in a bid to clear up persistent injury issues
Talking about how she deals with the global fame, she said it’s not something you learn overnight.
She admitted in certain scenarios she is still trying to get her ‘bearings’ but overall she is getting better at it.
‘I just feel like it’s part of my life now. It’s not just tennis and fitness, it’s the commercial side as well and that’s totally OK because you have to think ahead about your life after your career is over.’
But she said at the end of the day tennis is her priority.