Emma Raducanu gets off to winning start at Madrid Open with 'informal' coach in her box

made a strong start at the Madrid Open, earning her first clay win in over a year. Returning to action after a brief break from competition, the British No. 2 came back from a break down in both sets to beat Suzan Lamens 7-6(4) 6-4 while her "informal" coach Mark Petchey watched on from the box.

Raducanu had not won a match in Madrid since 2022, pulling out of the tournament in 2023 to have surgery and suffering a tough opening-round defeat 12 months ago. But the world No. 49 now finds herself in the second round to face Marta Kostyuk.

The former US Open champion was playing her first clay match of the season, while Lamens had already earned some big wins on the surface. The world No. 73 beat British No. 1 Katie Boulter and Germany's Tatjana Maria at the BJK Cup earlier this month.

Lamens then reached the semi-final at last week's WTA 250 in Rouen, upsetting 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and second seed Linda Noskova en route.

The Dutchwoman's recent form showed early on, as she earned the first break of the match to lead 3-2, but Raducanu pegged her back and levelled the score.

The Brit saved three more break points later in the set before taking it in a tiebreak despite losing an early mini-break.

However, Lamens refused to go away. Again, it was an early break for the world No. 73 in set two, but once more, Raducanu broke straight back.

The pair traded breaks again later in the set - this time, Raducanu took the lead but Lamens got back on serve at 4-4. But it was the last game the lower-ranked woman won, as the Brit claimed the last two in a row to book her spot in the second round.

Throughout the match, Raducanu continued communicating with her box, as Petchey and Jane O'Donoghue - a friend and mentor - sat courtside.

The world No. 49 is yet to hire a full-time coach since parting ways with Nick Cavaday in January. But Petchey decided to help her out at last month's Miami Open and is working with Raducanu again this fortnight.

Petchey is a commentator for Tennis Channel, and Raducanu has reportedly in the long term. But

"We haven't made anything formal. It's pretty informal for now but is something that's going really well," she told Sky Sports ahead of the tournament.

"He's someone I feel I can trust because I've known him so long. For now it's working really well and it's nice to be with someone that I feel comfortable with."

Raducanu will now face Kostyuk, the 24th seed who received a bye into the second round. Their head-to-head is level at one win apiece, with Raducanu beating the Ukrainian in Madrid three years ago.