Emma Raducanu splits from coach Sebastian Sachs amid injury layoff
Emma Raducanu will have to find another new coach when she makes her return to professional tennis after announcing she has parted ways with Sebastian Sachs. Raducanu, who is recovering from surgeries to both hands and her ankle, said the decision was mutual in a statement on social media.
“I have really enjoyed Seb’s coaching and working with him, it’s unfortunate that circumstances made it unfeasible for both of us to continue right now and we have decided to part ways,” she wrote on Twitter. “I wish Seb all the best moving forwards.”
Sachs is another addition to the long list of coaches who have briskly entered and departed Raducanu’s inner circle in such a short amount of time. Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz and Dmitry Tursunov have also enjoyed brief stints with the Briton in the two years since her emergence at Wimbledon in 2021.
The 20-year-old has also sought out temporary help from other figures, including Jane O’Donoghue and the LTA coaches Louis Cayer and Iain Bates.
Even in a sport that sees a quick turnover of coaches, Raducanu has also built a reputation for her inability to establish a long-term partnership, particularly after her decision to not continue with Richardson immediately after her US Open title.
In this case, however, it is quite a predictable consequence of Raducanu’s injury layoff. Raducanu and Sachs were still in the early stages of their partnership, having started work together in December.
Raducanu had to either commit to paying his salary throughout her period of inactivity, which is likely to last a similar period to the amount of time they have actively worked together, or else break it off and start again when she returns. Months of inactivity would have also been far from an ideal arrangement for Sachs, who at 31 is a young coach still trying to make his mark.
Raducanu’s return remains uncertain; she is unlikely to be back in time for the US Open, which begins in August, but her team are confident she will play before the end of the season. With her comeback still far away, they have not begun to consider any future coaches.
When she does begin her return, Raducanu will have time to figure out her next candidate at her own pace but it remains to be seen if she will find a partnership that finally lasts.