Emma Raducanu Rehires Coach Andrew Richardson Ahead of French Open

Emma Raducanu has rehired Andrew Richardson, the coach who helped guide her to her sensational US Open triumph in 2021, on a formal basis as she prepares to return to competition next week in Strasbourg in the buildup to the French Open. Richardson will accompany Raducanu at the WTA 500 event as she competes for the first time in two months after struggling with a post-viral illness. During the early days of her return to the courts, Raducanu travelled to Richardson’s base at the Ferrer Academy in La Nucía, Spain, near Benidorm, for a clay-court training block that doubled as a trial period for a potential formal partnership. In a statement, Raducanu said: “Grateful to have reconnected with someone who has known me for over a decade now and looking forward to building together one iteration at a time.” They have a long history, with the pair first working together during her youth. Raducanu was working with Nigel Sears at the beginning of her breakthrough summer in 2021, before joining forces with Richardson in the July. Their partnership yielded one of the biggest surprises in tennis history as the teenager won the US Open that year as a qualifier without dropping a set. Less than two weeks later, she controversially chose not to extend her coaching partnership with Richardson, which had begun on a short-term interim basis. This decision generated significant discussion, with many suggesting it would have been beneficial for Raducanu to continue with a familiar face who had worked so successfully with her at a time when so much of her life had instantly changed. It was also one of the first of many coaching changes for Raducanu and she has since struggled to find the right person to guide her on a permanent basis. She worked with Francisco Roig for six months before the pair parted ways in February. Roig now coaches the six-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek. Raducanu travelled to her most recent tournament, Indian Wells in March, with the LTA coach Alexis Canter. Considering how much scrutiny her life and career still generate, Raducanu, who is 23, has constantly sought out familiar faces she knew before her breakthrough in 2021. Her longest coaching stint was with Nick Cavaday, another of her childhood coaches, with whom she worked for more than a year until he stepped away because of personal health matters. Her return to the top 30 last year was a result of her partnership with Mark Petchey, who she also worked before her breakthrough, but whose tennis broadcast work meant they could work together only on an ad-hoc, informal basis. Now she has returned to the coach who helped her to her greatest achievement.