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Tim Henman has rubbished the notion that Emma Raducanu needs to work on her technique, instead suggesting the British star must toughen up by focusing on the physical side of her game. The 2021 US Open champion is back in search of a new coach after dismissing Francis Roig in January, after finding offseason adjustments to her forehand counter-productive.

Raducanu is now hoping to return to a more natural way of playing and has put off naming a permanent coach. The 23-year-old is working with Mark Petchey at Indian Wells, with the former pro proving to be more of a consultant as he retains commentary commitments with TNT Sports and the Tennis Channel.

The young Brit's approach might be approved by former Wimbledon darling Henman, but the 51-year-old believes Raducanu has a key area of improvement to focus on. It is only then, in his opinion, that she will be able to compete against the world's best players.

"I don't buy into all the technical chat," Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist, said. "It's about her in my opinion, getting fitter, stronger, faster, hitting the ball harder, being able to do it for longer and these patterns of play.

"You look at the physicality of [Aryna] Sabalenka, [Iga] Swiatek, of Coco Gauff, Emma's not at that level. To a certain extent, with her physique, she might not ever be at that level, but she's got to close the gap.

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"I would be focusing wholeheartedly on that physical side, so that she's stronger, she hits the ball harder, and she'll have more physical resilience. She won't get those little injuries and setbacks."

Raducanu is happy to delay any coaching appointment given the scrutiny over the position. She believes that she would be under pressure to stick with anyone she employed, even if the relationship was unsuccessful.

"Right now, it's more about bringing my instincts back out, getting back in touch with myself," said Raducanu,

"I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn't necessarily fit," Raducanu added. "So I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that's something that has been coached out of me a little bit.

"I don't necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised - even if it's a trial. I might feel the pressure to stick with them, even if it's not necessarily the right decision.

"I would love to have a coach that works well, but I don't think it's necessarily going to be easy to find one person and they are going to check every box. I definitely have my mind open to it. It's just that I would rather someone not come in and tell me, 'Let's do this', and I disagree with it but have to listen to them.

"So far Alexis [Canter, her 27-year-old hitting partner] has been really good, but I am definitely going to tap into a few people here and there."