Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu is working with a new coach after swapping mentors with reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
The British No.1 has started working with German coach Sebastian Sachs, whose former pupils include world No.1 Victoria Azarenka. Raducanu is currently in Dubai and is due to take on Ons Jabeur at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event on Friday.
Sachs, aged 30, has previously been working with Olympic champion Belinda Bencic - who has announced she is now working with Raducanu's old coach Dmitry Tursunov. The Russian had been working with the British star on a trial basis before the US Open.
Tursunov previously revealed that he split with Raducanu after the trial period due to failing to agree terms. Sachs will be Raducanu's fifth coach since she joined the WTA Tour 18 months ago. The British star has previously formally worked with Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz and Tursunov, and in between them coaches has also had advice from consultants.
During her first season on the WTA Tour, the 20-year-old has withdrawn from several tournaments due to fitness issues and only made one semi-final appearance. She has hit back at 'untrue' comments said about her but admitted to struggling with the physical demands of the professional Tour.
As part of her New Year's resolution of shaking off her injury woes, Raducanu has been working in the off-season with fitness coach Jez Green and is now in Dubai making her first preparations ahead of next month's Australian Open.
The British star is set to play world No.2 Ons Jabeur at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship as her preparations for 2023 begin.
“For next season I’m aiming to start again and try to learn from the lessons of last year,” Raducanu told reporters before the exhibition event. I don’t think it will necessarily be smooth-sailing but I’ll be more prepared and have a better idea of what to expect at each event.”
“For me now it’s all about increasing my hours on the court because that is something I am quite light on. Physically, though I am in a better place.
"Getting a sense of competition and being able to have a match before the new season starts is really important and I’ll be able to improve from there and see where I am competitively. It’s been a while since the last tournament, so just putting more time on the tennis court. I’m looking forward to playing this event.”
