Emma Raducanu splits from coach Torben Beltz after five months - BBC Sport
Emma Raducanu has split from coach Torben Beltz after only five months.
Last updated on .From the section Tennis

Emma Raducanu has split from coach Torben Beltz after only five months.

The 19-year-old US Open champion confirmed Beltz as her coach in November but believes a "new training model" is needed.

The LTA's head of women's coaching Iain Bates will work with Raducanu in Madrid this week.

"I want to thank Torben for his coaching, professionalism and dedication over the last half a year," said the world number 11.

"He has a huge heart and I have enjoyed our strong chemistry during the time together.

"I feel the best direction for my development is to transition to a new training model with the LTA supporting in the interim."

German Beltz, 45, previously coached former world number one Angelique Kerber when she won the Australian Open and US Open titles in 2016.

His successor will be British number one Raducanu's fourth coach in a year.

Nigel Sears was replaced by Andrew Richardson after last year's Wimbledon, but Richardson's contract was not renewed despite Raducanu's success in New York.

Raducanu spent a few days preparing for the clay court season at Riccardo Piatti's academy in Liguria earlier this month.

The highly-respected Italian coach has worked with Ivan Ljubicic, Richard Gasquet and Milos Raonic, and recently parted company with Jannik Sinner after guiding him through his teenage years and into the world's top 10.

Raducanu has won three of her first five professional matches on clay - one for Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in Prague, and two in Stuttgart last week in a run to the quarter-finals.

She will contest the Madrid Open, which begins on Thursday, at a career-high ranking.

Even though Torben Beltz has not had nearly long enough to shape the career of Emma Raducanu, his days have seemed numbered for a while.

Pre-season was ruined when the 19-year-old caught Covid just before Christmas, and a sequence of minor injuries have prevented the pair spending crucial time on the practice and match court since.

Raducanu's father Ian is driving these decisions, as you might expect of a parent in his daughter's first full year on tour.

He can be imaginative but also restless, and by constantly seeking alternative and innovative ways to train, has denied Raducanu the stability which would have been welcome as she navigates life as the unseeded qualifier who won the US Open.