Emma Raducanu is settling in with new coach Francis Roig, even if he’s had to be brutally honest.
The British No.1 swept aside Olga Danilovic at the Cincinnati Open, continuing her improved form in the prelude to the US Open, the Grand Slam she won in record-breaking fashion in 2021.
The 6-3, 6-2 win was her first match under the guidance of the vastly experienced Spaniard Roig, who coached countryman Rafael Nadal from 2005 to 2022.
It comes at a good time too, with Raducanu’s next opponent world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who knocked her out of home tournament Wimbledon just as she was looking to convert some strong form into a deep run.
Asked what impact Roig has already had, she admitted it was some brutally honest all round advice.
Speaking in Ohio, she said: “It’s just, ‘the level needs to be better’. In a good way, not in a negative way. It’s just calling it how it is.
“And I’m very like that. I’m very factual and I don’t necessarily like fluffing something up. I think that’s where we get on really well and we understand each other.
“Just in general, everything is like: ‘We need to improve. We need to get every shot better.’ And that’s exciting, because I feel like there’s a lot of potential to go and I don’t think I’m near it.”
Continuing on the impact on her first round win, she said: “You always feel a little bit of nerves before the first round, but I think that overall, I’m approaching everything in a lot more calm way, mature, and I think I’m trusting a lot more the work I’m doing behind the scenes.
“I know I’m putting a lot of hours in, and it takes some of the pressure off of the results.
“I think the way I’m playing, the movements of my shot, improving the quality of my shot.
“There were four or five points where I did something that we were working on, and it’s always really satisfying and rewarding when you hit a shot and you’ve worked on it in practice.
“So I think I’m going to improve a lot, hopefully doing the work day in, day out.”
Raducanu, who is just 22, has been through numerous coaches in her young career, something that’s drawn criticism from pundits inside and outside the game of tennis.
However, her approach has been defended by some of her fellow pros, including Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the Australian commented: “For some personalities, I think it’s overrated.
“For personalities like myself I wouldn’t want to put my coach through the ups and downs.”
“For someone like Emma, I think just finding someone that cares about her best interests, not only about the tennis, but getting to know these people off the court, what they love, what makes them tick. I think that’s maybe what she’s been missing in the past.
“She needs someone that actually cares about her well-being. But you know winning a Grand Slam at 18, it’s not easy.
“It came with a lot of things on the court and off the court a lot of responsibility, being in the spotlight.
“She’s had some good results over the last couple weeks, I’ve been following. It looks like she’s enjoying herself playing doubles with Katie Boulter.
“Just remembering that tennis is fun. You know, that’s why they were playing. Every time I see negativity in the media and all this I do feel sorry because it’s like she just wants to go out on court and play and enjoy it and get some good results.
“Hopefully she does find what works for her, but it’s not easy.”
The Bromley native went through injury hell after her 2021 US Open win and opted for surgery on both wrists and her ankle in 2023, which seems to have improved matters.
Now finding some consistency with repeat wins over opponents in the top ten, she’ll return to New York hoping to make her deepest Grand Slam run since that famous championship.