Emma Raducanu sees herself as ‘a loner’ after parting ways with former coach Torben Beltz
Torben Beltz, best known for coaching Angelique Kerber through her professional career, was hired by the US Open champion at the close of last season, but the partnership was short-lived. Emma Raducanu mentioned that she enjoys the independence of self-coaching since it allows her to learn a lot about herself.
Raducanu, who faces Bianca Andreescu in the Italian Open first round this week, said: “I’d describe myself as a loner. For the past year, I’ve had a lot of people around me a lot and very often. To be on my own is interesting because I’m kind of finding out a lot about myself, understanding what I need and what I don’t need.”
Raducanu has had inconsistent performances since winning her first Grand Slam championship at the US Open last year, but she has had a promising claycourt season, reaching the Stuttgart quarter-finals and the Madrid last-16. She played her first professional match on clay last month in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifications and claimed she is still learning about the surface.
She states that Clay is very new to her. She expresses that she has been progressing with each week. improving, getting a better understanding of how to play points, when to stay in the point or when to stay aggressive. Although she thinks that she isn’t the finished product under any circumstances but sees herself moving in a good direction.
Raducanu has a strong start to her clay season on the WTA tour. She defeated Storm Sanders and Tamara Korpatsch at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart before losing in the quarterfinals to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Both Raducanu and Andreescu are making their debuts in Rome, but one of them will be disappointed.
