Emma Raducanu has split from the coach who guided her to US Open glory just two weeks ago and is seeking an experienced mentor to take her to the very top.
The 18-year-old decided to dispense with the services of Andrew Richardson, despite her shock victory in New York, because she believes she needs a top-class coach to develop her game and fitness.
However, Richardson, who had first coached Raducanu between the ages of 11 and 13 and joined her team on a short-term contract after Wimbledon, had very little experience on the WTA Tour.
Explaining her decision, Radcanu said: “After Wimbledon, I was ranked around 200 in the world. And, at the time I thought Andrew would be a great coach to try and I went to the States. Never did I even dream of winning the US Open and having the run I did, and now I’m ranked 22 in the world which is pretty crazy to me.
“It’s tough to have that conversation with anyone, but I need someone who’s had that professional tour experience, and has been through it, and seen players in my situation for many years, going through the same because it’s going to take a lot.”
It is Raducanu’s second change of coach in two months after she replaced the highly experienced Nigel Sears following Wimbledon. However, she stressed it was vital she found the right person.
“The players at the top are serious competition and serious players. I just really need someone right now who has been through that and can really guide me along the way because I’m still very very new to everything,” she added.
Darren Cahill, who recently parted ways with the 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, is one potential option, but Raducanu insisted that she was in no rush to appoint a new coach.
“I don’t have anyone in mind,” said Raducanu, who this week was added to the entry list for the Kremlin Cup, a WTA 500 event in Moscow next month and is registered to compete at Indian Wells from 6 October. “Playing tournaments is not the best time to try out a coach. So in the preseason, when I’m done with whatever tournaments I play, I’m going to try some coaches out.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with the British press following a homecoming event at the National Tennis Centre, Raducanu also admitted that there was still lots she wanted to work on despite now being ranked 22 in the world.
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“I think that’s what the most positive thing out of this whole experience is that I managed to win the US Open, but I feel like there are a lot of areas in my game that I can still develop,” she said. “One part of that is physically I think I’m still very behind from where I need to be. Hopefully in the preseason that I’ll have can help with that. I think I can also add a lot more things into my game so I can have more variety and mix things up a bit.”
