Patrick Mouratoglou has made his feelings clear on coaching British tennis ace Emma Raducanu as she once again begins the search for a mentor. Raducanu, 22, has developed a reputation for her short-lived coaching relationships, though this latest switch has been forced upon the youngster.
That’s after Nick Cavaday revealed their work together had reached its conclusion due to health reasons. Not long after celebrating their first anniversary as an official working duo, the London native confirmed he had to call time on their union.
“I am very happy to have been able to work with Emma over the last 14 months,” wrote Cavaday in a statement as he confirmed their split. “At this moment in time, it’s important for me to spend some more time at home and prioritise getting back to full health, which is hard to do with the extensive calendar.”
Her split from Cavaday coincided with a disastrous first-round exit at the Singapore Open on Monday, where she lost to world no.101 Cristina Bucsa. The recently retired Andy Murray has also been mooted as a potential coaching successor as his future working with Novak Djokovic appears to be undecided.
Raducanu – who shocked the world by winning the US Open in 2021 – has had six coaches since she first broke out almost four years ago. Her relationship with Cavaday – whom she has known since she was 10 years old – appeared to be her steadiest to date and was bearing fruit after an impressive run to the third round of the Australian Open.
And Mouratoglou – who coached Serena Williams to the vast majority of her Grand Slam success between 2012 and 2022 – has had his say on working with the Briton. However, it all boils down to assurances over whether theirs could be a long-term investment.
“I don’t know,” he told Sky Sports in 2023 upon being asked whether he would mentor Raducanu himself. “I haven’t thought about it but all I can say is is she ready to trust someone?
“Can she trust a project and to follow that project for long enough to be able to make real progress that she needs to do in order to achieve her potential? What hurt her so much is all those changes, because you cannot change your tennis project every three months, it doesn’t make sense.”
Mouratoglou, 54, trained Williams for a decade and led her to 10 Grand Slam titles, Olympic gold and three straight WTA Finals crowns. He also had a brief stint working alongside another British star, Laura Robson, and is currently coaching Naomi Osaka.
