British rising tennis star Emma Raducanu confirmed on Friday that she parted ways with her coach Andrew Richardson. The news comes less than two weeks after Richardson helped Raducanu go from qualifiers to winning the 2021 US Open.
Speaking about the decision with Telegraph, Raducanu said that she split from Richardson because she would like to have someone who has more experience coaching on the pro level.
“I’m looking for someone who has been at that level and knows what it takes,” Raducanu said. “And especially right now because I’m so new to it, I really need someone to guide me who’s already been through that.”
Richardson had a modest career as a pro, being better known as a doubles player. In singles, he topped at No. 133 and had the third round of Wimbledon in 1997 as his best result. He retired in 2000 at the age of 26.
Richardson initially served as Raducanu’s coach while she played at the youth level, spending two years in the role. The two then linked up again this past summer, and he guided her through the US Open.
“At the time, I thought Andrew would be a great coach to trial, so we went to the States but never did I even dream of winning the U.S. Open and having the run I did, and now I’m ranked No. 22 in the world, which is pretty crazy to me,” added Raducanu.
Before making her historic run at the 2021 US Open, Emma Raducanu was an unknown player with only one Grand Slam appearance (Wimbledon) to her name. She entered the US Open main draw through qualifiers and then went on to win it all without dropping a single set. Raducanu became the first qualifier to win the Grand Slam title and the first British woman to win a major tournament since 1977 and Virginia Wade.
