London, Apr 22 (UNI) Emma Raducanu has paused the search for a new full-time coach, saying she is happy to "keep things informal" as her part-time partnership with Mark Petchey continues.

Raducanu brought Petchey - a well-known figure in British tennis circles and a former coach of Andy Murray - into her coaching team on a casual basis at last month's Miami Open.

Petchey was in the coaching box as the 22-year-old Briton reached the quarter-finals and produced her best tennis of the season, the BBC reported.

After Miami, Raducanu wanted Petchey to lead the team on a more regular basis, but committing time around his television broadcasting work has been a stumbling block.

Raducanu, who is returning to competitive action this week at the Madrid Open after a month off,

said Petchey will be "fitting" her around his other commitments at the WTA 1000 clay-court event.

"I'm happy with the set-up going forward right now - it's been working well," said the world number 49.

"I like him a lot and I've known him since before the US Open [victory in 2021] and it's nice to have familiar faces around."

Raducanu has not had a full-time coach since January, when Nick Cavaday stood down for health reasons, and ended a two-week trial with Vladimir Platenik on the eve of the Miami Open.

She had previously worked with a wide range of coaches including Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson - who was in charge during her run to the US Open title - Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs.

On Petchey, Raducanu added: "We're keeping things informal for now and it's been working. He's someone I've known for a long time and I do feel like I can trust him.

"For now there is no real thing set in stone but we're taking it week to week and he's helping me as much as he can alongside his current commitments."

UNI BM