Emma Raducanu has split with coach Francis Roig after just six months together.
The decision comes just one week after Raducanu was knocked out of the Australian Open in the second round by Anastasia Potapova, the world No 59.
After a career spent coaching Rafael Nadal and other leading names, Roig was considered something of a coup when the relationship was announced in August last year.
But doubts began to emerge following Raducanu’s defeat in Melbourne last week, and Telegraph Sport understands that the British No 1 was seen training back at the National Tennis Centre under the watchful eye of doubles coach Louis Cayer, with Roig nowhere to be seen.
In an Instagram post (below), Raducanu said: “Francis, thank you for our time together. You have been more than a coach to me and I will cherish the many good times we spent together on and off the court.
“While we have come to the conclusion together that we ought not to move forward, please know that I am very grateful for all you have taught me and fond of our time shared.”
Raducanu’s camp insists that the agreement to go their separate ways was a mutual decision and that “their highly respected relationship” ended on “good terms”.
The relationship between Roig and Raducanu started in an almost ideal fashion, involving Spanish lessons, trips to the golf course, football warm-ups and celebratory steak dinners.
Trust is not something that comes easily to Raducanu, who opened up last year about being “burned” by some of those close to her and she has kept her inner circle small, yet Roig was able to break down some of those barriers almost instantly, in part because of his secrecy over his two-decade long relationship with Nadal.
A few months later however, Raducanu appeared to question his methods, stating openly in Melbourne: “I want to be playing a different way.” She has been trying to emulate the aggressive style that brought her US Open success in 2021, while Roig was employing a more cautious approach and trying to get Raducanu to develop a more Spanish-style forehand.
When asked about the sort of tennis she was looking for, Raducanu explained: “I just want to hit the ball to the corners and hard. I feel like I’m doing all this variety, and it’s not doing what I want it to do. I need to work on playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger.
“I always just changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it.” That comment was made in direct contrast to the new slices and loopier high balls that have been employed recently alongside regular ground strokes.
It came as little surprise afterwards that the pair announced the split after an off-season where the tweaks that Roig wanted to employ were most likely rebuffed, but it leaves Raducanu yet again in search of another coach.
Raducanu worked with both Mark Petchey and Nick Cavaday in 2025 as she strung together her best season since her 2021 breakthrough at the US Open.
But the latest split now means her full roll call of coaches from her professional career now features at least nine names, and also includes Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs.
There was also a brief interlude in Indian Wells in 2025 where Vladimir Platenik sat in her player’s box while she lost a first-round match against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima.
Raducanu does not yet have a replacement lined up and so will travel to Cluj next week for the Transylvania Open alongside Alexis Canter, who has operated as her hitting partner in recent times.