It was an unwanted step back in time for Emma Raducanu on Tuesday afternoon as she suffered a shock first-round exit to Zhu Lin at the Ningbo Open. The Brit had been the heavy favourite against the wildcard opponent, who ranked 190 places below her in the WTA rankings.
Despite taking the opening set with relative ease, Raducanu – who struggled physically due to a back injury – huffed and puffed in the second, with Zhu capitalising on the former US Open winner’s mistakes. It was much of the same in the decisive third set, with Raducanu failing to put a point on the board in each of the final three games.
The results haven’t always gone Raducanu’s way this year, but for the most part, she’s played with a renewed vigour and purpose. That was not the case against Zhu with the Briton winning five and losing six of her 11 matches since appointing coach Francisco Roig.
Could Raducanu’s form lead to the unthinkable and the sacking of yet another coach? As a result of poor form and fitness issues, Raducanu has burned through plenty of coaches since winning the US Open four years ago.
Six mentors have come and gone: Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday and Vlado Platenik. Roig is the latest to join Raducanu’s camp, with the ex-Rafael Nadal coach having started the job in the summer.
A respectable showing at Flushing Meadows was a step in the right direction, but following the final Grand Slam of the year, Raducanu has struggled for form and has endured a torrid Asian swing so far. In the four competitions she’s played, Raducanu has won just two first-round matches.
Granted, her goal heading into the final part of the season was to secure a seeded spot for the Australian Open in January – something which looks to have been sewn up. But, even still, Raducanu hasn’t looked as if she’s been enjoying her tennis of late, which can only be considered a cause for concern.
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.