Emma Raducanu has returned to working with Andrew Richardson, the coach who led her to US Open victory in 2021, while taking an extended break from the tennis tour.
Richardson coached Raducanu to the title at Flushing Meadows, but was let go almost immediately afterwards and has been working at the Ferrer Tennis Academy in La Nucía ever since.
It has now emerged, however, that Raducanu spent time training with Richardson in La Nucía last month. The news first surfaced via the Tennis Podcast before being confirmed by other sources, including her management group IMG.
Andrew Richardson has been working with Raducanu in Spain almost five years after she broke their successful partnership – Elsa/Getty Images
Since Tuesday, however, Raducanu has been back in London training at the National Tennis Centre in south-west London. It is not yet known whether she will play in Rome next week – where she has fourth-round rankings points to defend – but she intends to travel out to the Foro Italico to give herself the best chance of competing. Plus, the fact that she has been working on clay suggests that she is at least likely to appear at Roland Garros in three weeks’ time.
It appears that Richardson’s involvement will not continue beyond this brief pit-stop in Spain, as Raducanu tries to regain the momentum she found under Mark Petchey’s guidance throughout the middle of last season. With no permanent coaching appointment yet confirmed, her hitting partner Alexis Canter is expected to return for any upcoming events.
What we do know is that Raducanu tends to return to those, such as Nick Cavaday and Mark Petchey, who knew her before she made history in New York. She has also spoken about being “burned” in the past by those close to her and that her circle, as of last year, was described as “smaller than ever”.
After splitting with coach Francisco Roig following a tumultuous Australian Open where she struggled to employ a “Spanish-style” forehand and hit with variation, she wanted to return to hitting how she did when she won the US Open four years ago.
“I want to be playing a different way,” Raducanu said in Melbourne, adding: “I need to work on playing in a way more similar to how I was playing when I was younger [when I] always just changed direction, took the ball early, and went for it.”
Raducanu hugs Richardson after winning the US Open in 2021 – Al Bello/Getty Images
The Ferrer Academy, named after former world No. 3 David Ferrer, is a boutique affair by contrast with the large and luxurious academies that can so often be found in Spain, approached by an unmarked road and equipped with only a handful of clay courts. It would have made for a discreet location for Raducanu to train over recent weeks.
The Briton has withdrawn from her past three tournaments in Miami, Linz and Madrid. For the first two, she cited the after-effects of a viral infection she suffered from in Romania in early February. No explanation was offered for the third.
Her last appearance on court was a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing by Amanda Anisimova in Indian Wells, where Petchey spent some time on court with her amid his many pre-existing broadcasting commitments.
In the time away from the tour, her ranking slipped to 28 this week, just inside the top 32 women who will earn seedings at Wimbledon in late June.
Away from the court, Raducanu signed a reported £2.6m deal with Japanese company Uniqlo in February, sporting the new kit for the first time at Indian Wells. She has also featured in campaigns for other sponsors such as Evian.
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