Emma Raducanu brings in Rafael Nadal's former coach Francisco Roig

2021 US Open winner Raducanu has added Francisco Roig to her coaching set-up following a successful trial period after Wimbledon and he will be in her player's box at this week's Cincinnati Open.

The 57-year-old, of course, comes with a lot of pedigree as he is not only a former player as he peaked at No 60 in the ATP Rankings, but he also worked alongside all-time great Nadal for nearly 20 years.

Roig was part of Nadal's team from 2005 until 2022 and he first worked alongside Toni Nadal and later Carlos Moya, acting as alternate coach.

During his time with the team, Nadal won 22 Grand Slams, including a record 14 French Open titles, became world No 1 and was part of the Big Three with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer who dominated tennis for more than two decades.

After ending his working relationship with Nadal, Roig started working with Matteo Berrettini in December 2023 before they parted ways in October 2024.

Although the appointment of Roig came out of the blue, the decision to get a new coach is not a big surprise as both Raducanu and Petchey admitted that she needed a full-time mentor.

Petchey started working with the 22-year-old in March and they have enjoyed incredible results as she has climbed back into the top 35 of the WTA Rankings, having started the year at No 60 while she has also reached the semi-finals of the Washington DC Open in July.

But Petchey has not been able to accompany her to all tournaments due to his tennis commentary role as he admitted a few weeks ago: "I have some other commitments I can't get out of. Look, we are very aware she needs a second coach to come in on board, and maybe just one coach, not me as well.

"All I am trying to do here is try to facilitate the best possible environment for Emma to produce the tennis that she can, whether that involves me or doesn't involve me, it's really not a question I'm worried about.

"It just means we are trying to find something that is going to be really stable and good for her."

And they now have settled on that second set of hands with Roig's first assignment the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open where Raducanu will be seeded, meaning she gets a bye in the first round.

Petchey will not completely disappear as he will remain a close confidant of Raducanu.

But for Raducanu, Roig joins the long list of coaches she has worked with since she made her breakthrough in 2021 as she has worked with Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday, Vladimir Platenik and Petchey.

Some were only on a trial basis while others were with her slightly longer, but there will be some stability until at least the end of 2025 as Roig will be part of the team for the next four months.