"Emma Raducanu is not in an easy position" - Coach Platenik reveals his true feelings after abrupt end to 2-week trial

Emma Raducanu's split with coach Vladimir Platenik after only a two-week partnership has surprised many in the tennis world. The Slovak has now himself come out to shed light on some of the behind-the-scenes developments.

Speaking to BBC Sport, the coach said while he was surprised at the decision, there was no anger directed towards anyone. He, in fact, empathized with his former charge, saying she was in a difficult position being someone whose every move is heavily scrutinized.

"I totally understand Emma, she's not in an easy position. The world is looking at her after the US Open [which she won in 2021] and everybody is expecting - including herself - what she is going to do next," Vladimir Platenik said.

"So for me it's absolutely understandable that she's under a lot of pressure. She told me she was feeling stressed," he added.

While conceding that he would have liked to have had more time to develop the coach-trainee relationship with Raducanu, Platenik said he harbored no hard feelings. At the end, he said, it is the player who needs to feel good about their team to move ahead.

"There are no hard feelings from my side. She finished the relationship in a fair way, maybe too quickly, but this is tennis, this is sport. We need to respect that," Emma Raducanu's former coach said.

"She was not feeling OK, and that was her decision. I didn't want to go into deeper communication about that. I think the player needs to feel good, and the player needs to make a decision. Sometimes you make a good decision, and sometimes bad," he added.

Notably, Raducanu has had a hard time landing a full-time coach ever since her breakthrough US Open triumph in 2021. She has had short stints with the likes of Torben Beltz, Nick Cavaday, Dmitry Tursunov, and Andrew Richardson among others.

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Emma Raducanu's coach leaves door open for future partnership

Emma Raducanu at the Miami Open. (Source: Getty)

Vladimir Patenik, however, left the door open for a possible return to the role as Emma Raducanu's coach in the future, were she to approach him again.

The Slovak said it takes time for players to find the right fit for their team. He circled back to his situation with Raducanu, saying only time will tell if splitting this early was the right call.

"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," Emma Raducanu's former coach said.

"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," he added.

Raducanu is currently playing at the Miami Open, where she won her opener against Sayaka Ishii. She is set to take on Emma Navarro in her next match.