Emma Raducanu has expressed her delight at working again with Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to the US Open title five years ago, after reuniting with him earlier this week. The British tennis star, now 23, insisted that parting ways with Richardson after her 2021 triumph was not a mistake, despite critics often citing it as a misstep.
Reunion after five years
Richardson coached Raducanu to a stunning US Open victory in 2021, but the then-teenager and her advisors chose not to retain him, instead hiring Torben Beltz, a coach with WTA experience. That appointment proved to be one of several short-lived partnerships, with Raducanu most recently parting company with Spaniard Francisco Roig in January. Since then, she had been without a permanent coach until announcing last week that she had reunited with Richardson following a training week at the Ferrer Tennis Academy in Spain.
Reflecting on the decision to rehire Richardson, Raducanu said: "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 and right. I didn't really know what was going on. I think everything also happened very quickly then. A lot of experiences over the last few years 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."
Reconnecting with childhood coaches
Raducanu has also worked again with former childhood coaches Nick Cavaday, Mark Petchey, and Jane O'Donoghue, highlighting a recurring theme in her career. "You probably just naturally forge easier bonds with certain people over others," she explained. "I think the fact also that he's known me since I was very young, and I know that he's always just wanted the best for me. When you have known someone also before I had 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. I'm naturally more emotional in the sense that I want things to happen quickly."
How the reunion came about
Raducanu was keen to emphasise that the idea to work with Richardson again came solely from her, starting with a simple text message. "We stayed in touch, but it was just a text, and I was, like, 'Heyyy'," she said. "When you get a text from me with heyyy with three ys, just know something is cooking. But then it was really nice. We were able to catch up on a bit of lost time."
Acknowledging the scrutiny surrounding her decision, Raducanu added: "When it was kind of developing, of course, in the back of my mind, I'm aware of the judgment that could potentially follow and 'did she make a mistake? Did she regret it', and all these questions that are being asked. But I think that I really wanted to just make the decisions for myself and most authentically, and it really just came from a deeper place. So I'm really happy that I followed through with it and didn't necessarily get swayed by any opinions or judgments."
French Open ahead
Raducanu will begin her French Open campaign on Sunday or Monday as one of six British players in the main singles draws. Meanwhile, Toby Samuel earned a first-round clash with eighth seed Alex De Minaur after a brilliant qualifying run, but Felix Gill failed to join him, losing 7-6 (5) 6-3 to France's Kyrian Jacquet in the final round on Friday.
