Emma Raducanu has trial with Johanna Konta's former coach Esteban Carril ahead of Transylvania Open trip
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Published 18/10/2021 at 14:48 GMT
Who is Emma Raducanu's potential new coach Esteban Carril and how did he help Johanna Konta climb from outside the top 100 to top 10 in the world? Raducanu is reportedly set to work with Carril as she looks to find an experienced WTA coach to help guide her following her stunning US Open victory last month.
Emma Raducanu
Image credit: Getty Images
Emma Raducanu is reportedly set for a trial spell with Johanna Konta's former coach Esteban Carril as she continues to search for a new coach.
The 18-year-old had Andrew Richardson in her box during her shock run to the US Open title, but his short-term contract was not extended. At Indian Wells last week she worked with former British No 1 Jeremy Bates on a temporary basis, but she made a plea for experienced WTA coaches to contact her following her second-round defeat to Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
According to the BBC and the Times the next step on Raducanu’s hunt for a new coach will see her join up with Carril, who helped Konta rise from outside the top 100 in the world to the top 10 and has previously worked with the Lawn Tennis Association.
Carril was with Konta when she made her first Grand Slam semi-final at the 2016 Australian Open and won her maiden WTA title in Stanford. The pair surprisingly split at the end of the 2016 season but Carril has continued to work with the LTA and British players, including Katie Swan and Jay Clarke.
Carril also played a small part in helping to develop Raducanu’s game, according to Mark Petchey, who worked with the new British No 1 for a few months in 2020.
“Emma was going out to play a British Tour match [in July 2020] and she said to me, ‘I can’t hit a kick serve’,” Petchey recalled to the Telegraph. “I didn’t want to address it until after the match, but it was because her technique needed a rejig. I had some help on that from Esteban Carril and now it’s looking a nice, smooth, technically correct motion.”
It is reported by the Times that if the trial with Carril goes well then “it is hoped by figures within British tennis that the partnership lasts for some time”.
Raducanu parted ways with Andy Murray’s father-in-law Nigel Sears after reaching the last 16 on her Wimbledon debut earlier this summer and then split with Richardson shortly after her US Open success.
Carril spent two-and-a-half years with Konta, joining her team in the summer of 2014 when she had dropped out of the top 100. The partnership appeared to be successful as Konta climbed the rankings - helped by a 16-match win streak in the summer of 2015 - and broke into the world’s top 10 in 2016. She was voted the most improved player on the WTA Tour at the end of the 2016 season.
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Esteban Carril with Johanna Konta
Image credit: Getty Images
Konta split with Carril shortly after the death of her sports psychologist Juan Coto, who she had worked closely with after being introduced to him by Carril.
Raducanu has pulled out of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow this week but is next set to play at the Transylvania Open in her father’s home country of Romania next week.
Halep tells Raducanu to be 'extra focused'
Simona Halep has urged Raducanu to stay “extra focused” as she aims to build on her US Open victory.
Raducanu was beaten in straight sets by Sasnovich at Indian Wells in her first match after winning her maiden major. She is set to return in Romania to play alongside home favourite Halep, who Raducanu has previously expressed admiration for her and called an idol.
Asked what advice she would give the British No 1, Halep said: “She has to stay focused, because, [she has] many, many years ahead of tennis, so I'm sure that she will win more. But, yeah, will be a little bit tough when she feels the pressure, I think.
Halep is set to compete at the Kremlin Cup in Russia and is scheduled to open against Anastasia Potapova. The former world No 1, who has not yet won a title this season, lifted her first major at the French Open in 2018 before following up with a second at Wimbledon in 2019.
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"I won my first Grand Slam late,” she said. “I won tournaments before, but you cannot compare that with the success of a Grand Slam.
"I cannot really talk about that, but I feel like from my experience that you have to be extra focused after those big successes, because you are so young and you don't really have experience on winning titles, because I think (US Open 2021) was the first title for Emma, and it was a Grand Slam."
Raducanu said after her Indian Wells defeat that she needs to “cut herself some slack” as she comes to terms with her new life as a Grand Slam champion.
“I’m kind of glad that what happened today happened so I can learn and take it as a lesson. So going forward, I’ll just have more experienced banked. I think it’s going to take me time to adjust really to what’s going on. I mean, I’m still so new to everything. I mean, I’m 18 years old. I need to cut myself some slack.”
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