Emma Raducanu’s training link up with coach Riccardo Piatti explained ahead of Stuttgart

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Emma Raducanu has been practising at Riccardo Piatti’s training academy in Italy ahead of her professional clay-court debut in Stuttgart. However, Express Sport understands the Brit will remain with Torben Beltz for the upcoming WTA 500 event.  Piatti has recently split with ATP world No 12 Jannik Sinner, sparking speculation that he was now partnering with Raducanu.

Raducanu is set to play her first-ever clay swing in what is still her first full season on the professional WTA Tour. Ahead of her debut on the surface she has been seen training at the Piatti Tennis Centre in Italy, leading to speculation that the 19-year-old would now be working with the former coach of Maria Sharapova instead of her current mentor Beltz.

However, Express Sport understands that Beltz will be with Raducanu in Stuttgart, with the Brit opting to train in Italy at Piatti’s academy instead of Britain’s National Tennis Centre to help her adjust to the conditions in her upcoming European clay events after a recent spell of bad weather in England.

The world No 12 enlisted Beltz as her new coach in the off-season, the man who led Angelique Kerber to two of her three Major titles and the world No 1 ranking. She will be hoping to get some more victories under her belt after winning just two of her five matches so far this year, including losing in her Miami Open debut from a set and a break up.

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Piatti recently split with his young charge Sinner, who already has five titles and a career-high ranking of world No 9 under his belt at the age of 20, which led to fans thinking the end of their partnership was the product of a new link-up with Raducanu. The Italian had left home aged just 13-years-old to begin training at the Piatti Tennis Centre where he eventually became coached by the man himself while travelling on the ATP Tour.

“I did what I thought was good for me, even if the decision was not easy. to take. With Riccardo, we did an incredible job,” the current world No 12 said after splitting with Piatti. He is now working with another Italian in Simone Vagnozzi, the former world No 161.

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Raducanu will begin her clay campaign at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart which begins next week. Nine of the world’s top ten are in the field, proving a challenging first professional tournament on the surface for the Bromley local.

The 19-year-old is expected to be joined by Beltz at the WTA 500 event before heading to the 1000-point events in Madrid and Rome ahead of her French Open debut.

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