Vladimir ‘Vlado’ Platenik has addressed his sudden split with Emma Raducanu, who ended their coaching trial after just 14 days together. The world No. 60 announced that the Slovakian coach would be accompanying her in Indian Wells earlier this month but he was nowhere to be seen during her first-round win in Miami on Wednesday.
Raducanu quickly confirmed that they were no longer working together as the partnership wasn’t going “in the right direction”. Platenik has now had his say on their short-lived coaching stint and has nothing but glowing praise for the Brit despite getting the axe.
Raducanu and Platenik joined forces the day before her opening match in Indian Wells, where she lost to Moyuka Uchijima as her new mentor watched on from her box. After the match, Raducanu admitted that she and Platenik had yet to start any “proper work”.
And they barely got stuck in before the 2021 US Open champion pulled the plug on their trial partnership. After Raducanu won her first-round match in Miami, her team confirmed that the pair had parted ways in a statement.
“Emma has utmost respect for Vlado and the work they started but it wasn’t quite heading in the right direction,” it read.
Platenik has now addressed her decision to end their trial, claiming that Raducanu was the fastest learner he’d seen.
“Emma said she wanted to pause the collaboration. I understand that she is under a lot of pressure and it’s not easy for her, so I respect her decision,” the Slovakian coach told the Telegraph.
“I wish I had more time with her. But that’s sport, Emma is super talented and I hope she could take some of my advice for the future. I wish her all the best.”
Platenik spent a week working with Raducanu in Florida and he was immediately impressed with what he saw. He continued: “I never had a player who improved as fast as Emma.
“We had a hard but good eight or nine days of practice. We worked a bit differently than she was used to, improving a lot especially on footwork positioning.”
Although Raducanu axed him before her first match in Miami, Platenik was impressed with her performance during her 6-2 6-1 victory over Sayaka Ishii.
“I really like her progress and I liked the way she played her match in the first round. It was a very clean match technically and tactically,” he added.
“If she can keep stabilising those things we were working on, she can get back into the world’s top 20, but I am always careful about setting limits.”
Raducanu is still on the hunt for a full-time coach after her 14-month partnership with Nick Cavaday came to an end in January, with Cavaday needing more time at home to deal with a chronic health issue.
She has been joined by long-time mentor Jane O’Donoghue and LTA coach Colin Beecher in Miami this week but neither will be able to take on a permanent role in her team.
