It was an unwelcome regression for Emma Raducanu on Tuesday afternoon as she faced a surprising first-round elimination against Zhu Lin at the Ningbo Open. The British player had been the clear favourite against her wildcard opponent, who was ranked 190 places lower in the WTA standings.
Although Raducanu won the opening set with relative ease, she struggled physically due to a back injury in the second set, allowing Zhu to take advantage of the former US Open champion’s errors. The same pattern continued in the crucial third set, where Raducanu failed to score in each of the last three games.
This year has not always been favorable for Raducanu, but she has generally played with renewed energy and determination. However, that was not evident against Zhu, as the Briton has won five and lost six of her 11 matches since hiring coach Francisco Roig.
Could Raducanu’s current performance lead to the unexpected outcome of yet another coach being dismissed? Due to her inconsistent form and fitness challenges, Raducanu has cycled through numerous coaches since her US Open victory four years ago.
Six coaches have come and gone: Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday, and Vlado Platenik. Roig is the most recent addition to Raducanu’s team, having taken on the role in the summer.
A commendable performance at Flushing Meadows was a positive step, but since the last Grand Slam of the year, Raducanu has struggled with her form and has had a difficult Asian swing thus far. In the four tournaments she has participated in, Raducanu has only managed to win two first-round matches.
Admittedly, her objective for the latter part of the season was to secure a seeded position for the Australian Open in January – a goal that appears to be within reach. Nevertheless, Raducanu has not seemed to be enjoying her tennis recently, which raises concerns.
With a bit of luck, some rest and recovery in the off-season will put her back on track ahead of what will no doubt be a big 2026. But if the results continue to flounder and the stuttering performances don’t go away, she might find herself scouring the vacant coaches list once again.
