Emma Raducanu opens up on decision to rehire coach who helped her win the US Open title
Emma Raducanu has opened up on her surprise decision to rehire Andrew Richardson, revealing that her former coach has ‘always just wanted the best’ for her ahead of the French Open.
Just days before the start of the year’s second Grand Slam, the Brit confirmed that Richardson would be returning as the lead coach in her team.
It was the same partnership that guided Raducanu to her historic US Open triumph in 2021 after less than two months of working together.
Only days after lifting the trophy in New York, however, the Brit announced that the pair would part ways as she wanted a coach with “more experience” on the WTA Tour.
“He’s someone who I’ve known for a very long time, over a decade, and we have a great chemistry, coach-player relationship and that was evident every time we worked together,” Raducanu said during her pre-tournament French Open press conference.
“After I had a break because I got sick, I wanted to come back in a really authentic way. I reached out and didn’t necessarily know where it was going or how it was going to come about. Everything happened very quickly but very happy to have him back.
“I think consistency is needed and, regardless of the results, I want to just commit and give everything I can, and I think it’s been working really well since I started returning to training.
“We stayed in touch but it was just a text. I was like, ‘Heyyy.’ When you get a text from me with ‘hey’ with three Ys, just know something’s cooking.
“So it was one of those but then it was really nice, we were able to catch up on a bit of lost time and then we very quickly got on a call.”
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Raducanu has worked with nine different coaches since turning professional, including short-term trial arrangements.
Last summer, the former British No 1 briefly teamed up with Francisco Roig, who spent nearly two decades coaching Rafael Nadal, though the partnership ended shortly after the Australian Open in January.
Her continued search for a stable long-term coaching setup has attracted criticism from both analysts and fans, particularly as she has struggled to rediscover the consistency that helped her become the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Despite the scrutiny, Raducanu remains adamant that splitting from Richardson in 2021 was not necessarily the wrong decision at the time.
“I think at that time it was very difficult to say I made a mistake because in my life everything changed upside down, and I didn’t really think I had the most handle over the situation in the sense that I was being pulled left, right,” she argued.
“I didn’t really know what was going on and, I think, everything also happened very quickly then.
“What it taught me is a lot of experiences over the past few years. It taught me a lot of what I didn’t want and it taught me that I really just value having people that I trust and connect with around me. So it’s really nice to have that feeling back.”
Raducanu will begin her French Open campaign against Argentina’s Solana Sierra, withJasmine Paolini potentially awaiting in the second round should she progress.
The French Open takes place from May 24 to June 7.
“You probably just naturally forge easier bonds with certain people over others and I think the fact that he’s known me since I was very young and I know that he’s always just wanted the best for me,” she added.
“When you have known someone before any success, it does make a little bit of a difference too.
“But as a coach, I think he really believes in me and he’s someone who doesn’t necessarily get wavered or put off by results.
“He’s very consistent, very solid. We work, we do our best, we try again, we find out iteration by iteration and I think that is something that I could really use, because I’m naturally more emotional in the sense that I want things to happen quickly.”