Emma Raducanu has begun working with a new coach as she prepares for the 2023 season, joining forces with the former German player Sebastian Sachs, according to reports.
Sachs is thought to be working with the British No 1 on a trial basis and would be Raducanu’s fifth coach in under two years. The 30-year-old only had a brief playing career on the Futures tour but has impressed as a coach, guiding Belinda Bencic to Olympic gold in Tokyo last year.
Raducanu has shown a willingness to chop and change coaches on a regular basis during her short career. After winning the 2021 US Open she stopped working with Andrew Richardson, who had stepped into the shoes of Nigel Sears.
The German coach Torben Beltz was recruited until April this year, when Raducanu turned to Dmitry Tursunov. After they went their separate ways in October, Tursunov described the player as “minimum, a one-year project but I would say that she’s probably a two-and-a-half-year project, to be on the safe side”.
Raducanu made an encouraging return from a wrist injury on Friday, falling to a narrow defeat to the world No 2, Ons Jabeur, in Abu Dhabi. The 20-year-old recovered from a break down to take the first set in the Mubadala exhibition event, but lost the second and was edged out 10-8 in the deciding tie-break.
It was a positive display from Raducanu, who will continue her preparations for next month’s Australian Open. “I’m rather pleased,” she said afterwards. “Been building in the gym, got back on court the last two weeks and now looking forward to 2023.”
Raducanu’s season will officially start in New Zealand at the ASB Classic in Auckland, which begins on 2 January.
