Emma Raducanu's coach Mark Petchey has revealed that the British No1 could soon lose him in her team despite having played some of her best tennis during their short partnership.
The former coach of Andy Murray first began working with the 2021 US Open champion during the Miami Open, after Raducanu's previous coach, Vlado Platenik, held the position for just two weeks.
Raducanu and Petchey then spent the period ahead of the clay season in Los Angeles, pre-empting a promising run on the surface one year on from the 22-year-old skipping tournaments on it entirely ahead of the French Open.
Although a recurrence of a back issue hampered both her Roland-Garros run and preparation for her first grass-court tournament at Queen's, Raducanu has looked back to her Grand Slam-winning best at a number of different points under Petchey's guidance - including in her tight defeat to world No1 Aryna Sabalenka last week.
But due to the short-term nature of their partnership, Petchey has kept up his commitments as a television pundit for Tennis Channel.
And as Petchey explained this week, the duo are yet to find a solution for managing the combination of roles long-term.
Mark Petchey and Emma Raducanu's working relationship is set to become more challenging
Petchey was brought on to see Raducanu through the grass-court season, which has ended
But through working with Andy Murray's ex-coach, Raducanu has enjoyed an uptick in form
'I think, at the moment, we are a bit more short term,' Petchey told the Nothing Ventured Podcast. 'She's practising this week in London and her next tournament is in Washington, and she'll stay in the States the whole time.
'Our situation is a little fluid at the moment. I am going to help her this week as much as I can. I have some other commitments I can't get out of.
'We are very aware she needs a second coach to come on board and maybe just one coach, not me, as well.
'All I am trying to do is facilitate the best possible environment for Emma to produce the tennis she can.
'Whether that involves me or does not involve me is not a question that I'm worried about. We are just trying to find something that will be stable or good for her.'
Should Raducanu look to appoint a new permanent coach, that would be the star's ninth since her miraculous win in Flushing Meadows.
Petchey has previously been absent from Raducanu's player box due to his work as a pundit, notably during her first French Open match against Wang Xinyu, where she instead relied upon the presence of his 23-year-old daughter Myah to represent a 'Mini Mark'.
The pundit was also unavailable during preparation for Queen's, with Raducanu getting back in touch with her coach from earlier this year, Nick Cavaday, after he was forced to step back from the role for health reasons.
Raducanu's old coach Nick Cavaday (centre left) was back in her corner for Queen's
But the 22-year-old may struggle for support with just Petchey during the American swing
But Raducanu will need greater permanence in her corner for the start of the US hard-court swing this summer.
As per Telegraph Sport, a clash of schedules during the Canadian Open for Petchey's television role in Toronto could leave Raducanu without a coach in Montreal for a week.
Petchey is thought to have discussed Raducanu with a number of coaches at the Championships, including Jannik SInner's current coach, Darren Cahill.
And any potential new team member will likely have been tempted into working with Raducanu after watching her impressive display against Sabalenka on Centre Court.
'It was a great tennis match,' Petchey continued. 'It's been pretty positive from a point of view you can reflect on the fact the match was great, and get feedback from people talking about it.
'I've sought out opinions from people I respect in the industry, coaches, asking them what they felt about the match and what she could have done better and that gives you a chance to formulate a plan going forward for this week and in the future.'