Emma Raducanu announced that she would work with Vladimir ‘Vlado’ Platenik on a trial basis just 14 days ago – but the Slovakian coach was not in her box for her win in Miami
Emma Raducanu has parted ways with coach Vladimir ‘Vlado’ Platenik after a brief collaboration lasting only one match. The British No.2 had declared just two weeks ago at Indian Wells that the Slovakian would be joining her team on trial.
Platenik was present for her first-round loss to Moyuka Uchijima but was noticeably absent from her player’s box during her victory at the Miami Open on Wednesday. This development follows an uncomfortable interview given by Platenik to Slovak media, where he claimed to have turned down two previous approaches from Raducanu, stating it would have been “coaching suicide”.
“Emma and Vlado have parted ways,” a statement read. “Emma has utmost respect for Vlado and the work they started but it wasn’t quite heading in the right direction. Emma is now focused on doing as well as she can here in Miami after her a solid start today and will continue looking for the right coach.”
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Since parting ways with Nick Cavaday in January, Raducanu has not appointed a permanent coach. Raducanu had shared news of her trial arrangement with Platenik ahead of her Indian Wells match two weeks prior.
The 49-year-old coach has a history of working with players like Daria Kasatkina, Dominika Cibulkova and Veronika Kudermetova, and was involved with Lulu Sun when she defeated Raducanu at Wimbledon last year.
However, the start of their partnership was less than ideal as Raducanu was defeated by Uchijima while Platenik looked on. Following the match, the British No.2 commented that it was too soon to judge their working relationship, reports the Express.
“We haven’t necessarily done that much yet, because he arrived very, very recently. So it was the day before the match where we don’t necessarily want to, like, change anything,” Raducanu explained.
“So we haven’t actually started, I’d say, like, proper work. Yeah, from how I have met him, he’s very serious, he’s very professional, gets on with it. So yeah, we’ll see how it goes.”
However, their partnership has fizzled out after just a fortnight. During Raducanu’s opening match in Miami this Wednesday, coach Platenik was noticeably absent.
Instead, LTA coach Colin Beecher was present in the British tennis ace’s corner, along with Jane O’Donoghue, one of her long-time advisors who has been a fixture at numerous tournaments over recent years. Fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura was also part of Raducanu’s team.
Platenik caused quite the buzz when he revealed he had previously declined two offers from Raducanu and her father, Ian, during an interview shortly after they teamed up.
Speaking to Slovakian publication Dennik N, Platenik said: “Emma also approached me in a similar situation right after a great success [in late 2021], which is why I said it could be coaching suicide [to work with her]. But now she is in a completely different position,” he remarked.
“She’s already gone through hell, she’s already been through the worst. She had a great year last year and they did a good job with her last coach. He left at his own request due to health problems. Today she’s more mature than [at the time of] the previous offers.”
Platenik had also popped up on Raducanu’s radar prior to her teaming up with Nick Cavaday for the 2024 Australian Open. “I wrote to Ian to ask if they had anyone, as I knew their interest in me was more long-term. Her father wrote back that they didn’t have anyone and would like to try working with me,” he shared.
Admittedly cautious of Raducanu’s history of frequently changing coaches having gone through six in just two and a half years of her professional career, Platenik seemed optimistic about the potential of forging a lasting coaching relationship.
He stated: “They [the Raducanu family] have been communicating with me for a long time because they consider me to be that kind of coach. Of course I perceive that they change coaches often. However, I want to help Emma and if both parties recognise that I am successful, I believe that the relationship will last longer.”
But the partnership concluded abruptly after only two weeks. Even without Platenik in the mix, Raducanu showed no signs of disruption in Miami where she swiftly dispatched teenage wildcard Sayaka Ishii in just 66 minutes, sailing into the second round.