Emma Raducanu's coach of 2 weeks Vladimir Platenik breaks silence on potential tensions that led to sudden split

Emma Raducanu ended her partnership with coach Vladimir Platenik after their two-week trial. Platenik has now shared his experience of coaching the Brit and the potential reason for their sudden split.

Raducanu is presently competing at the 2025 Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami Open). The 22-year-old’s campaign at Indian Wells ended in a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the opening round. Just a day before her match, she started a trial with Slovak coach Platenik, who previously coached the likes of Daria Kasatkina and Dominika Cibulkova. The pair reportedly planned to work together through the French Open.

Before her Miami Open run, though, it was announced that Emma Raducanu had decided to discontinue her collaboration with the Slovak. She reunited with her longtime mentor, Jane O'Donoghue, who previously accompanied her during the Middle East swing.

Vladimir Platenik addressed the abrupt end during a recent conversation with BBC Sport. The Slovak pointed to “stress” and “pressure” as the primary reasons for their split. He also suggested that a candid interview he gave to the local publication, Dennik N, about his partnership with Raducanu, where he highlighted her struggles, seemingly didn’t sit well with the Brit, causing tension in their relationship.

"Emma is stressed also about the newspaper article, so the agent made this comment: 'It's maybe a little bit unfortunate, but I'm not angry'," he said, according to BBC.

The coach, however, stood by his comments.

"I'm always saying the truth, because tennis is an honest sport," he said. "I was always honest, maybe I was too honest and a lot of players and parents and people around players don't like it, but tennis is an honest sport."

Platenik even addressed a potential reunion with Raducanu in the future.

---

Vladimir Platenik addresses potential reunion with Emma Raducanu

Platenik (extreme left) pictured in Raducanu's box at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells - Image Source: Getty

During the aforementioned conversation, Vladimir Platenik said that he was open to rejoining Emma Raducanu’s camp if she were to change her decision.

"She needs to feel good. If she comes back in six months and says 'Vlado, I made a mistake because actually it was working and I just needed to try to find myself', it's OK - this is life," he said.

Raducanu has garnered a reputation for her string of unsuccessful coaching partnerships, having collaborated with a staggering seven coaches over the past four years, Nick Cavaday being the most recent.

"You need to search for your best, you need to learn and only time will show what decision she will make and if they were correct or not," Platenik said about their split.

Despite lacking a main coach in her players’ box at the 2025 Miami Open, Emma Raducanu has staged a commendable run at the tournament so far. After easing past Japan’s Sayaka Ishii (6-2, 6-1), she edged out Emma Navarro 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(3) to claim her career’s third top 10 win. She faces either Linda Noskova or McCartney Kessler for a spot in the fourth round.