Emma Raducanou hugs former coach Andrew Richardson after winning the 2021 US Open. Credit: Getty Images/Al Bello
Andrew Richardson, the Brit coach who led Emma Raducanu to the US Open title, revealed he was fired after a short phone call from Raducanu's agent a couple of weeks later.
Details confirm that Richardson is not a jumper — as has often been argued since her unprecedented triumph. He was clearly pushed in an unsentimental manner, quite typical of a tennis coach.
In the fall of 2021, a number of active social media accounts continued to state that Richardson was more interested in teaching his own talented son Rocco, now 14, than in developing the extraordinary scenes unfolding in New York.
At the time insiders speculated that this was not the case and that Richardson had hoped to make a new deal but was turned down. But since the man himself turned down all interview requests, the issue remained moot.
Richardson has now definitively refuted this theory. “The thing is, I had a nine-week trial contract, which both Emma and I thought was a good idea to see how we get along,” he said. he told the Daily Mail. “It lasted until the end of the US Open and stopped right after that.
"After that, there was a period of time when I sought to renegotiate the contract. I wanted to keep going and I had a plan that I wanted to bring to life for Emma. This thing about «I wanted to go and coach my son.» it's not true, but it seems like it pops up all the time.
“After maybe 10 days to two weeks [after the US Open], I didn’t have a contract. We were in the process of renegotiating, and then her agent called me and said they were going to move in a different direction, and that was it."
Andrew Richardson (left) while coaching Radukan. Photo: Getty Images/Elsa
A 6-foot-7 southpaw who was ranked among the world's top 150 in 1997, Richardson is remembered as a player of great play and great potential. However, his cheerful nature may not have matched the brutal nature of elite tennis.
His personality may be better suited to coaching and he did play a bigger role in his son Rocco. development in recent times. Shortly after breaking up with Raducanu, Richardson took a job as the head coach of David Ferrer's academy in Spain, where Rocco is one of the students.
"Family logistics needed to be thought about" Richardson said of the period after his deal with Radukan expired. “One son was changing schools, and I needed to find a tennis company that would fit Rocco, and I needed to find a job. Putting it all together was pretty tricky and there were still Covid restrictions that made it even more difficult.
"Any parent who has a kid taking their tennis seriously will agree the fact that it can be difficult and many sacrifices must be made."
In the meantime, Radukanou has embarked on a bumpy road following her US Open triumph. During this time, her winning percentage is just under 50, but her biggest problem has been her lack of matches: just 51 in over a year and a half. She is currently recovering from wrist surgery (see below).
The US Open champion has had three surgeries, one for each arm and ankle
In terms of coaches, last year there was a sense of instability. Torben Beltz followed Richardson but left in April, followed by a hiatus. Jane O'Donoghue, a childhood mentor now at the Royal Bank of Canada, provided informal support at Wimbledon.
Dmitry Tursunov arrived in late summer but left with a farewell shot. #34;red flags". Radukanu hired German Sebastian Sachs late last year but now faces a lengthy layoff after undergoing surgeries on both wrists and one ankle this month.
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