Emma Raducanu tipped to hire ‘one of the very best coaches in the sport’

Piatti is the favourite to take on a coaching role in Raducanu’s team after the 19-year-old announced she would “transition to a new training model” after parting ways with Torben Beltz after five months. She was first spotted training at the Italian’s academy a few weeks ago but her management dispelled rumours that she would be hiring him, as Raducanu competed in Stuttgart with Beltz by her side.

But less than a week after making it to the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the world No 11 confirmed she was no longer working with Beltz and Piatti has since emerged as the frontrunner to replace him. Now, Raducanu has been told she will be hiring one of the very best as former pro-turned-pundit Barry Cowan told Sky Sports: “In my opinion, he is one of the very best coaches in the sport.”

Piatti recently split with ATP world No 12 Jannik Sinner, and Cowan urged Raducanu to sign him on while he was still available. “I’ve been saying that consistently,” he continued. “He is the one if you can get, I would go and get him, because not only is his tennis knowledge incredible, he has the experience of being able to develop players and the job he did with Jannik Sinner was nothing short of remarkable.”

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The 47-year-old also explained why Piatti was the man to hire, adding: “What he is, is a great guy. He is someone who will invest massively into any player that he works with and he can see the long-term vision but also know that you’ve got to be winning matches now. If he is on the market, my advice would be to tap into Riccardo Piatti.”

Raducanu’s split with Beltz marks the third coaching partnership she has ended in the space of nine months. The US Open champion parted ways with Nigel Sears after her breakthrough Wimbledon run as a wildcard and opted not to extend her trial with her LTA youth coach Andrew Richardson after becoming the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title in Flushing Meadows last year.

Cowan admitted he had been “very surprised” by the teenager’s decision to axe Richardson at the time but didn’t think she would return to either of her former coaches. “He was a great fit for Emma and I think anyone can see the way that he handled the situation in New York over three weeks which were very intense and coming through seven matches of the main draw and three matches of qualifying. He is an unbelievable ball striker as well,” he said.

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