Fans weigh in on whether Emma Raducanu should bring in Andy Murray as her new coach

Is Andy Murray the right fit? Fans doubtful amid coaching uncertainty

Following her split with Francisco Roig, she began working with LTA coach Alexis Canter, and recently turned to Mark Petchey for support at Indian Wells.

But when Petchey leaves again, should she bring in another Brit, Andy Murray, to replace him? TalkingPoints fans don’t think so.

Murray, who took his first steps into coaching with Novak Djokovic last year, didn’t have the smoothest start to his new career path. His time in the role was brief, and he left before the clay-court swing really got going.

Despite not having coached since then, his name still comes up as a potential fit for Raducanu as she considers her next move.

The two have often been linked due to their status as Britain’s only Grand Slam singles champions in recent memory. The question now is whether bringing them together would work.

A poll run by HITC shows that opinion is far from unanimous. From just over 5,500 votes at the time of writing, about 55% of fans felt Murray wouldn’t be the right choice for Raducanu.

Some of this hesitation might go back to an incident at Wimbledon a couple of years ago when Raducanu pulled out of mixed doubles with Murray late in the tournament schedule. Judy Murray made a comment on social media that some fans interpreted as criticism towards Emma, even though she later clarified it was directed at event organisers.

“No, not Andy Murray. He has no experience to coach. Also, Emma Raducanu doesn’t like the Murrays, especially Judy,” one fan said.

“Absolutely not, she’s a disgrace. Andy is too good for her. She has absolutely no respect for her coach,” said another.

Another added: “I’m not sure Andy has the coaching skills… I think working with Djokovic, he was advising tactics… Is that what Emma needs?”

And while many questioned his credentials or fit for Raducanu specifically, others simply didn’t see it aligning with her needs right now: “She doesn’t seem like she wants a full-time coach and I don’t see why Andy would bother.”

What could Emma Raducanu accomplish at Indian Wells?

Raducanu received a bye into the second round, where she is set to face Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova.

Sitting 62 places higher in the rankings, Raducanu is expected to advance to the third round, where she would face either Anna Blinkova or Amanda Anisimova.

It’s there that her Indian Wells campaign is likely to end.

Anisimova has established herself as one of the best players in women’s tennis and won two WTA 1000 events last year.

She does, however, hold a losing head-to-head record against Raducanu.

If Raducanu were to extend that winning head-to-head record and reach the last 16, she could leave California very pleased with her efforts.

She won’t want to get ahead of herself, though, and will first focus on Rakhimova.

Raducanu will play Rakhimova in the second round on Friday, March 6th on Court Four. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. local time/3:00 a.m. GMT (March 7).