'Maybe she doesn't need a full-time coach' – Barbara Schett backs Emma Raducanu to be 'dangerous' at French Open
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ByEurosport
Published 03/05/2022 at 08:20 GMT
"Maybe she is a player who doesn't need a full-time coach. She is still figuring all of that out, but at the moment, it looks like she's really on the right track" - Barbara Schett admits she was surprised to see Emma Raducanu split with Torben Beltz, but backed the Brit to perform on clay. Watch the French Open live on Eurosport and discovery+.
'Maybe she doesn't need a full-time coach' - Schett backs Raducanu to be 'dangerous' at French Open
Barbara Schett has said she was shocked to hear that Emma Raducanu had split with coach Torben Beltz, but said the Brit can still be dangerous in the clay-court season.
Raducanu split with German coach Beltz after just five months, and has worked with three coaches in the past year alone.
Andrew Richardson replaced Nigel Sears after last year's Wimbledon, but despite Raducanu's unexpected success at the US Open his contract was not renewed.
And while Schett said it may be unorthodox, she believes Raducanu could be benefiting from multiple coaches.
"It was a bit of a shock to hear that she split with Torben Beltz," she said. "But you never know. You have to work with somebody together for a few months to actually see if you're fitting or not - that could have been cultural differences.
"But I think even though Emma has had a few coaches along the way, in the last year or two, she's been really inhaling some sort of information from each of them, which actually makes her a bit of a better tennis player, and I think it shows in her form now.
"Maybe she is a player who doesn't need a full-time coach. Maybe she needs a hitting partner who travels with her who she can hit with all the time. She is still figuring all of that out, but at the moment, it looks like she's really on the right track.
"She's happy to learn. I mean, she's like a sponge. She [takes on] every [bit of] information, all the information in."
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‘I’ve still got a lot of work to do’ - Raducanu on breakthrough award
Raducanu has won her opening two matches at the Madrid Open and will play Angelina Kalnina for a spot in the quarter-finals.
It is her first professional season on clay, but has shown some promising signs on the surface in April after she represented Great Britain and the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers.
And Schett said there was no reason why Raducanu couldn't pose a danger on clay, and backed her for a run at the French Open too.
"Why shouldn't she play good tennis on the clay, even though she probably hasn't practised or hasn't trained much on it?" Schett added.
"But once that movement is good on the clay, she knows how to slide and she knows how to move towards the ball. And she's an absolute phenomenal athlete. She can do really well on clay, but I did not expect her going all the way, that's for sure.
"I don't think people will expect for Emma Raducanu to win the French Open but, you know, she could definitely be dangerous.
"We know a Grand Slam tournament is always different and especially in the women's side, things or draws or the sections do always open up somehow.
"But the big challenge will definitely be Wimbledon for Emma Raducanu. I think if she could reach a semi-final, that would be unbelievable."
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‘I was in exam halls’ – Raducanu rejects Swiatek breakthrough comparisons
All eyes are on Raducanu after her remarkable breakthrough 2021 saw her claim the US Open title.
But Schett warned against predictions that she can go and do the same on grass this summer, and urged the 19-year-old to ignore the weight of expectation.
"I don't think, you know, people should, especially the people in the UK, think 'okay, she's going to win Wimbledon," said Schett.
"That's a little bit too big of a task. But I think if she can just block out that whole stress or all the people around her who wants something from her, if she can block out all the expectation from all the other people, then she's going to be a winner.
"No matter how many rounds she's going to win because it's a long-term thing. It's not a sprint in tennis, it's a marathon."
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