Emma Raducanu to start trial with coach Vladimir Platenik at Indian Wells
Emma Raducanu will begin a trial period with Slovakian coach Vladimir Platenik when she plays her first-round match at Indian Wells on Thursday.
The 49-year-old was coaching Lulu Sun when the New Zealand qualifier beat Raducanu in the fourth round of Wimbledon last July.
Platenik worked with compatriot Dominika Cibulkova when she reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2009, and has also coached Russians Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova.
Loughborough Academy coach Tom Welsh agreed to join Raducanu for Indian Wells, but that was billed as a one-off arrangement.
Raducanu, who has been without a permanent coach since Nick Cavaday stood down for health reasons after January’s Australian Open, plays Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in her opening Indian Wells match.
“I don’t want to rush into anything, but I’m looking, I’m finding options and setting trials up,” Raducanu, 22, told BBC Sport before the tournament.
“I think once I have a structure in place, I will feel very set – whereas in the Middle East it was very difficult for me because I didn’t really have any direction or [advice on] which tournaments to play, and it was very difficult doing it all on my own.
“I’m that kind of person who needs a plan and needs preparation. That’s what I’m building and that’s making me feel more comfortable.”
Raducanu has won just one match since Cavaday’s departure but also had to deal with a man who followed her to four tournaments before being issued with a restraining order by Dubai Police.
