Emma Raducanu will return to action at Indian Wells with the support of fellow Brit Tom Welsh as she continues her search for a permanent coach.
The former US Open champion is currently playing on the Tour without a full-time mentor after the departure of Nick Cavaday earlier this year due to health reasons. She has worked with various people in recent weeks, including Roman Kelecic who previously coached her before she turned professional. Kelecic was briefly part of the team whilst Raducanu was playing in Dubai. She is also supported by Yutaka Nakamura who is her permanent fitness coach.
Welsh is the former coach and hitting partner of Leylah Fernandez, who Raducanu beat to win her first Grand Slam. Since 2022, he has worked as an academy coach for Loughborough University and has supported various players, such as Wimbledon boy’s champion Henry Searle.
Raducanu will return to action for the first time since Dubai when a spectator was removed from her match and later banned from all WTA events after showing ‘fixated behavior’ towards the tennis star. The unnamed man gave her a letter (which reportedly contained his name and number) and took a photograph of her a day before her match in Dubai. He also reportedly followed her at multiple tournaments, according to Kelecic. He was detained by police in Dubai and given a restraining order.
“This man followed her to Singapore, to Abu Dhabi – where I was with her – again in Doha, now in Dubai and we noticed him,” Kelecic previously told Net.hr.
“But initially we thought he was a fan, an admirer, because Emma is a really big tennis star with a huge fanbase. Until he got physically close to her, started having contact in the form of selfies, hugging, etc.”
It is understood that Raducanu will be offered additional security protection in Indian Wells following the incident. Security at the event is overseen by Bob Campbell who is a former security service agent and is now the WTA Tour’s vice president of security.
This isn’t the first time Raducanu has faced a threat from the public. In 2022 Amrit Magar was given a five-year restraining order after turning up at her house three times.
Since reaching the third round of the Australian Open, Raducanu has only won one out of her last five matches on the Tour.
