Emma Raducanu stormed into the second round of the Miami Open with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Japan's Sayaka Ishii.
The British number two needed just 66 minutes to dispatch her opponent, marking her first ever win in Miami.
The dominant performance comes after Raducanu appears to have ended her trial period with coach Vladimir Platenik after just two weeks.
Platenik, 49, joined Raducanu just before Indian Wells earlier this month, having only one training session before their sole match together, which ended in defeat to Moyuka Uchijima.
Emma Raducanu returned to winning ways on Wednesday at the Miami Open
Reuters
The Slovakian coach was notably absent court-side for Raducanu's Miami victory.
According to iNews, Raducanu had previously attempted to hire Platenik several times but could not agree terms with the coach, who has worked with players including Daria Kasatkina and Veronica Kudermetova.
Raducanu started strongly, taking a 2-0 lead before Ishii briefly levelled at 2-2 in the first set.
The 2021 US Open champion then seized control, reeling off four successive games to take the opening set.
Her dominance continued in the second set as she extended her streak to nine consecutive games.
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Ishii, ranked 188th in the world, avoided a second-set bagel by holding serve in the sixth game before Raducanu converted her first match point.
Instead of Platenik, Raducanu had long-time confidante Jane O'Donoghue watching from her box alongside LTA women's tennis national coach Colin Beecher.
Also present was her full-time fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, who was appointed in December.
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Emma Raducanu breezed into the next round of the Miami Open
Sky Sports
Platenik's arrival had always been framed as a trial period, but most expected it to last longer than just two weeks - including the coach himself.
Raducanu worked with Nick Cavaday throughout last season but parted ways after the Australian Open when he couldn't commit to a full season due to health issues.
Since then, she has worked with O'Donoghue intermittently, as well as former childhood coach Roman Kelecic who assisted her in the Middle East last month.
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Emma Raducanu breezes past Sayaka Ishii 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the round of 64 in Miami 👏 pic.twitter.com/zVKSGrgvG3
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) March 19, 2025
Platenik had said in an interview that Raducanu's father Ian contacted him directly, explaining they were seeking a coach with development experience.
Following her victory, Raducanu said she had found a more "competitive" edge which she felt had been lacking in recent months.
She now faces a tough second-round clash with eighth seed Emma Navarro.
"It's gonna be an extremely challenging match," Raducanu said, casting herself as the underdog. "It's a match where she's probably in better form, so I think I can just go out and try and express myself and compete for every point."
