Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen said she had to “calm down, take it slow and start from scratch again” ahead of the Nottingham Open and amid a temporary change in her back-room staff.

With her long-term coach Pere Riba still recovering from a car accident, former world No 4 Zheng – who faces tournament sixth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece on Monday – said it would take time for new coach Albert Costa to gel with her coaching team.

“Riba is still recovering from the accident, as we all know, and he needs more time,” said Zheng, who is ranked No 122 now. “I don’t know exactly how long it will take, but based on what he told me so far, it’s about two or three months.”

Working with Costa for a second time since late May, Zheng said she felt good training with the 2002 French Open champion, but admitted any improvement would take a while.

“Don’t assume that every time you work with a new coach, you’ll suddenly have a magical feeling and your results will start to improve,” the 23-year-old said.

“It’s not like that. I think everything takes time, so I need to calm down and take it slow.”