Emma Raducanu is set to team up with a new coach for the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells. The Brit has been without a permanent coach since splitting with Nick Cavaday earlier this year. Since then, she’s leaned on junior team members and LTA staff for temporary guidance.
Now, world No. 55 Raducanu will trial Slovakian coach Vlado Platenik during her two-week stint in California. Platenik’s résumé boasts WTA names like Lulu Sun, whom he coached to a Wimbledon upset over Raducanu last summer.
Raducanu’s hunt for a steady coach continues after her 14-month run with Cavaday, a childhood mentor, ended when he stepped back to focus on his health. The 22-year-old has taken her time, using stopgap coaches at recent events, but seems to be testing the waters for something lasting with Platenik.
Platenik’s past gigs include Daria Kasatkina, Dominika Cibulkova, and Veronika Kudermetova. In 2024, he guided Sun—then No. 123—through Wimbledon qualifying to the main draw, where she ousted Raducanu in the fourth round before bowing out in the quarters.
Interim coach Tom Welsh, joined by fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, was already slated to accompany Raducanu to Indian Wells. Welsh, who’s worked with Leylah Fernandez—Raducanu’s 2021 US Open final foe—has been spotted coaching her on-site. That US Open win made Raducanu the first qualifier to snag a Grand Slam.
She kicks off Thursday against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, with No. 3 seed Coco Gauff looming in round two. Indian Wells holds fond memories—last year, she hit the third round before falling to Aryna Sabalenka, and in 2023, she roared to the fourth, toppling two top-20 seeds.
This marks Raducanu’s return since a stalker scare in Dubai. A man showing “fixated behaviour” approached her, then appeared at her second-round match against Muchova. Distraught, she saw him courtside, later saying, “I didn’t know how I’d finish. Facing Karolina, top 17-ish, I couldn’t see the ball through tears. I needed a breather—those first four games slipped away.”
The man was ejected, banned from WTA events, and signed a restraining order after Raducanu opted not to press charges. Now in California, she’s pushing past it, Platenik in tow.
