Emma Raducanu Parts Ways With Coach After Australian Open Exit

The tennis world is buzzing once again as Emma Raducanu, the British No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion, faces another crossroads in her young but eventful career. Following her second-round exit at the Australian Open, Raducanu announced her split from coach Francisco Roig, marking another chapter in her ongoing search for stability and success on the WTA Tour. With the dust still settling from the drama in Melbourne, there’s no shortage of opinions, optimism, and speculation about what comes next for the 23-year-old star.

Raducanu’s journey at the 2026 Australian Open was cut short by a determined Anastasia Potapova, who dispatched the Brit in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-2. The loss not only dashed Raducanu’s hopes for a deep run in the season’s first Grand Slam but also triggered a dip in her world ranking, dropping her from 29th to 30th. Despite the setback, she maintains her position as Britain’s top-ranked woman, though the competition from compatriots like Sonay Kartal, Francesca Jones, and Katie Boulter is heating up.

In the aftermath of her Melbourne exit, Raducanu revealed her decision to part ways with Roig, who had joined her team full-time in August 2025. Roig, a seasoned coach with Grand Slam pedigree—having served as a long-time member of Rafael Nadal’s coaching staff—was brought in to provide the kind of experience and stability many believed Raducanu needed. Yet, after just six months, the partnership ended by mutual agreement.

Raducanu addressed the split in a heartfelt Instagram post, stating, “While we have come to the conclusion together that we ought not to move forward, please know that I am very grateful for all you have taught me.” This marks Roig as the eighth coach to work with Raducanu since her meteoric rise at Flushing Meadows in 2021, highlighting the ongoing challenge she faces in building a long-term support system.

The coaching carousel has become a recurring theme in Raducanu’s career, prompting much debate among fans and pundits alike. Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski weighed in on the situation, offering candid advice and a dose of optimism. Speaking on his podcast, Rusedski suggested that Raducanu’s struggles in Melbourne were compounded by health issues, observing, “It sounded like she wasn’t clear what she wanted to do on the court and I don’t think she was 100 percent healthy going into the Australian Open because we saw slices, we saw drop shots being used. There wasn’t always that clarity at the big moment.”

Rusedski, who knows a thing or two about the pressures of British tennis stardom, urged Raducanu to revisit the aggressive style that propelled her to the US Open title. “When she won the US Open and burst on the scene and won the tournament, she was super aggressive. There wasn’t a case of trying to add that variety into her game, but there was clarity at the big moment. She was going to play aggressively. She was going to go after it,” he explained. “And I think she’s got to get back to where she was with that sort of mentality and approach to her game.”

It’s a tricky balance, Rusedski admits. “When you’re coaching someone, it’s a really tricky balance because you’ve got to add layers to their game. But the player has to be confident to add those layers in practice sets and then bring it into a match. But when push comes to shove, your natural character has to come in.” He noted that some of Raducanu’s shot selections against Potapova—such as short slices and drop shots at critical moments—may have reflected uncertainty or lack of confidence at key junctures.

Despite the turbulence, Rusedski remains upbeat about Raducanu’s future. “I still think she has a lot of potential, but maybe she hasn’t found that right relationship yet. I think you just need somebody to give the stability and the belief around her,” he said, drawing parallels to Carlos Alcaraz’s successful partnership with Juan Carlos Ferrero. “Enjoy your tennis, enjoy your practice section. How lucky are you to do this for a living? But if you’re putting pressure and expectation and all these things on yourself all the time, where’s the enjoyment? Come on, you’re doing something unbelievable for a living.”

Rusedski’s advice is clear: take it step by step. “She’s done the hardest thing first, winning the US Open. And all the pressure and expectation went on her. You know, let’s try to win a WTA Tour title at the lowest level and build up from there. It’s a game of building and getting the joy back for a game. So I’m still super positive about Emma. I still think she has a very bright future ahead of her. If she can be 100 percent healthy and get the right sort of love back to the game, there’s no reason why there can’t be great results there.”

While Raducanu navigates her next steps, the WTA Tour landscape continues to shift. Aryna Sabalenka remains the world No. 1, holding a commanding lead over second-placed Iga Swiatek by more than 3,000 points. However, all eyes were on Elena Rybakina in Melbourne, as the Kazakh star clinched her first Australian Open title with a gritty 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Sabalenka. The win catapulted Rybakina up two spots to world No. 3, just 368 points behind Swiatek, and reignited memories of her 2022 Wimbledon breakthrough.

Rybakina’s post-match comments resonated with many players searching for confidence and consistency. “I always believed I can come back to the level I was [but] we all have ups and downs. I thought maybe I will never again be in the final, or even get a trophy. But we’ve been putting in a lot of work as a team and in the moments when I was not that positive they would be helping out. When you are getting big wins against top players, then you start to believe more and you get more confident.”

Meanwhile, Sabalenka, ever the competitor, praised her rival and kept her focus on the future: “It was great tennis from her. Maybe not so smart for me. Today I’m a loser, maybe tomorrow I’m a winner, maybe again a loser. Let’s see.”

For Raducanu, the road ahead is filled with both challenges and opportunities. The search for a new coach is on, and the pressure to deliver results remains as fierce as ever. But with the support of seasoned voices like Rusedski and a determination to rediscover her aggressive edge, there’s every reason to believe that the best chapters of her tennis story are still to be written. The WTA Tour waits with bated breath to see how Britain’s brightest hope will respond—step by step, match by match.