Last Updated on December 26, 2021
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, she won the title, defeating Leylah Fernandez.
18-year old Emma Raducanu wins the 2021 US Open. She is the first women’s or men’s qualifier to win a major title in the Open Era (since 1968).
Raducanu is the youngest women’s major champion since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004. pic.twitter.com/Zl9yWG2Y0x
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 11, 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 won US Open with 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.
Emma Raducanu current coach is Torben Beltz
US Open champion Emma Raducanu is set to announce Torben Beltz as her new coach. #EmmaRaducanu #Tennis #TorbenBeltz pic.twitter.com/xF2IWNuKm2
— sportz999 (@sportz999) November 9, 2021
The 20th of the WTA ranking world, British tennis player Emma Raducanu commented on the beginning of cooperation with the 44-year-old German Torben Beltz.
“Of course it will be very useful to work with such an experienced coach. I’m very happy to be able to work with him in the offseason and next year. Very positive about the work,” Jose Morgado, the US Open champion, was quoted as saying in her tweet.
Torben Belz, a German specialist who previously worked with former WTA number one Angelique Kerber. Under his guidance, Angelique won two Grand Slam trophies: the Australian Open 2016 and the US Open 2016.
Beltz is Raducanu’s fourth coach in the last six months. At Wimbledon the Brit worked with Nigel Sears, at the U.S. Open she trained under Andrew Richardson, and the past two weeks at the Indian Wells tournament her mentor was Jeremy Bates.
Recall that this week is the WTA 250 tournament in Linz, Austria. Radukanu got the first seed, but at the beginning she lost to the world’s 106th racquet Xinyu Wang of China 1/6, 7/6 , 5/7.
