TENNIS
Andrew Richardson: I wanted to keep coaching Emma Raducanu
Man who coached the then 18-year-old during a memorable US Open triumph says he ‘had a plan’ for Raducanu but she chose a ‘different direction’
Raducanu’s fairytale Flushing Meadows victory in 2021 came with Richardson as her coach
GARRETT ELLWOOD/USTA
The coach who guided Emma Raducanu to US Open glory two years ago has insisted that he wished to continue their partnership in 2021 before receiving a “brief call from her agent” to inform him that his services were no longer required.
Andrew Richardson, a 49-year-old former British Davis Cup player, initially worked with Raducanu as a junior at the Bromley Tennis Centre before helping her become the first qualifier in tennis history to win a grand-slam title, at the age of 18. Under his mentorship Raducanu, who has undergone three surgeries — one on each hand and one on her ankle — in the past two weeks, won ten consecutive straight-sets matches in 18 days at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
Less than two weeks
