Emma Raducanu has reunited with Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to her U.S. Open victory in 2021. Richardson is set to begin coaching Raducanu immediately, starting this Friday in France, in preparation for the Strasbourg International, a WTA 500 event commencing on Sunday.
Richardson, a 52-year-old former world No. 133 from Great Britain, was released from his coaching role shortly after Raducanu’s remarkable U.S. Open triumph as a qualifier five years prior. He has since been working at the Ferrer Tennis Academy in La Nucía, Spain. Although Raducanu trained with Richardson in Spain this April, as reported by the Tennis Podcast, she had stated at the Italian Open in Rome last week that their collaboration was not permanent. However, in a statement released by her representative on Friday morning, Raducanu expressed gratitude “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.”
Raducanu, known for her history of working with nine coaches, had been without a permanent mentor since parting ways with Francisco Roig in January, following a disappointing Australian Open performance. Following a tough loss to Anastasia Potapova at a Melbourne news conference, Raducanu had articulated her desire to revert to the fearless, aggressive playing style that characterized her early career successes. Richardson’s appointment aligns with this goal, reflecting her career-long tendency to seek guidance from trusted, familiar figures. Last year, she briefly collaborated with Mark Petchey, a former British player and current analyst who had coached her as a teenager. Before that, Nick Cavaday, another coach from her childhood, worked with her from December 2023 to January 2025. After her split with Roig, Raducanu’s hitting partner, Alexis Canter, served as an interim coach. Meanwhile, Roig is now coaching Iga Świątek.
Despite these coaching changes, Raducanu has seen limited play recently, having battled a post-viral illness that first surfaced at the Transylvania Open in early February. She has been out of competition for over two months since the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, and notably withdrew from the Italian Open last week just 30 minutes after informing reporters she had “really turned a corner” and felt “so much better.” To prepare for the French Open, Raducanu subsequently accepted a wildcard entry into Strasbourg, aiming to gain valuable clay-court match practice following her extended absence, which is expected to see her ranking fall to World No. 37 next week. The Strasbourg tournament is scheduled to conclude on Saturday, May 23, the day before the French Open begins.
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