Emma Raducanu is currently working with coach Vlado Platenik on a trial basis.
The 22-year-old British tennis player is participating in the Indian Wells tournament this week. This marks her first competition since experiencing a stalker situation in Dubai.
Raducanu has been without a consistent coach since Nick Cavaday stepped down due to health issues earlier in the year.
Since then, she has temporarily collaborated with several coaches from her junior career, including Jane O’Donoghue and Roman Kelecic.
The former US Open champion is now training with the experienced Platenik at Indian Wells.
Platenik’s coaching history includes work with prominent WTA players such as Daria Kasatkina, Dominika Cibulkova, and Veronika Kudermetova.
Notably, Platenik was also coaching Lulu Sun when Sun achieved a surprising victory over Raducanu in the fourth round of Wimbledon last summer.
With Platenik as her coach, Sun was recognized as the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year in 2024.
In addition to Platenik, Raducanu has also been training with interim coach Tom Welsh at Indian Wells.
Previously, Raducanu worked with Leylah Fernandez, whom she defeated in the 2021 US Open final.
Fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura, who has previously worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, is also part of Raducanu’s coaching team at Indian Wells.
Raducanu is scheduled to play her first-round match against Moyuka Uchijima of Japan later today.
This match will be her first since withdrawing from the Dubai tournament against Karolina Muchova.
During that match, Raducanu was visibly upset and tearful after spotting her stalker in the audience.
The individual, who displayed “fixated behaviour,” was removed from the venue and apprehended by authorities. However, charges were later dropped after he agreed to a restraining order.
Reflecting on the incident upon her arrival in California, Raducanu stated: “I was obviously very distressed. I saw him in the first game of the match, and I didn’t know how I was going to finish.
“I literally couldn’t see the ball through the tears. I could barely breathe, and I was playing Karolina, who is ranked around top 17 in the world. I couldn’t see the ball.”
If Raducanu wins against Uchijima, she is set to face Coco Gauff in a highly anticipated second-round match.
