Who Is Emma Raducanu’s Coach?
Emma Raducanu photo:twitter.com/Wimbledon/
On June 8, 2021, 18-year-old British player Emma Raducanu, world No. 366, played her first match at the WTA main grid level. As a National Tennis Association Player Development Program scholar, Raducanu received a wild card to the WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham. She lost to senior compatriot Harriet Dart, a top-150 tennis player.
Since then, Raducanu has played three major tour-level tournaments, two of which were Grand Slams: at her home Wimbledon, she reached the 1/8 finals, and at the US Open on September 8, exactly three months after making her WTA base debut, she beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic to become the youngest semifinalist in 16 years.
The moment @EmmaRaducanu secured her spot in the #USOpen semifinals. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hlNM2NcOja
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2021
And the best part is that Emma has had such success with different coaches. At Wimbledon, the British woman was helped by the experienced Nigel Sears. As a professional player, Sears did not have much success, his best result was the 382nd ATP ranking, which he reached in 1982. Nigel began his coaching career in 2001. He worked with tennis players such as Amanda Coetzer, Daniela Hantuchová and Ana Ivanovic, Anett Kontaveit during his long career.
Emma Raducanu’s current coach is Andrew Richardson
After such a breakthrough at Wimbledon, no one expected Emma to change coaches. Another British player Andrew Richardson became a new coach for Raducanu.
Andrew Richardson is a former professional tennis player who never won a single ATP title in his career. His best result was a climb to the 133rd ATP ranking in 1997.
Richardson was chosen based on his familiarity with Raducanu and her game, not his experience on the professional tour. It is said that it was Ian Raducanu who changed his daughter’s coach after her breakthrough Wimbledon – firing Nigel Sears and hiring her children’s coach Andrew Richardson on probation
Previously a head coach at the Bromley Tennis Center in southeast London, Richardson helped lay the groundwork for Raducana when she was just a little girl.
Raducanu herself, who calls Simona Halep and Li Na her idols, says her goals are top-10 and Grand Slam titles, and adds: “I think I have the character and the mindset to achieve that.”
“I was a shy little girl who wouldn’t open her mouth too much. But by playing sports, I learned determination, courage, fighting spirit. I developed inner strength. And with that, you can achieve anything.
Raducanu will play Maria Sakkari to reach the final of the US Open.
