EMMA RADUCANU has hired and fired so many coaches over the past five years that whenever she recruits a new one it usually does not cause much of a stir.
Yet this month’s latest coaching appointment news raised more than a few eyebrows within the world.
Emma Raducanu has struggled to find the success that saw her win the US Open in 2021 Credit: Getty
She has gone through eight coaches in the last five years Credit: Getty
And the decision to who was in her corner when she won the US Open in fairy-tale fashion in 2021 – the same person she sensationally axed upon returning home from that Big Apple glory – might be seen as a last roll of the dice.
Or, at the very least, beg the question: Is simply uncoachable?
Having burned through several tutors since turning professional, she has now returned to old boss Andrew Richardson, who was there when she lifted the £1.8million New York Slam.
Maybe this was the only solution she had left, particularly if top-level coaches are cautious about being her mentor given the short-term approach of her camp.
Let’s see if this latest agreement lasts beyond the end of the summer, let alone the end of the year.
Those within the sport would be surprised if it does because typically her coaching arrangements have the lifespan equivalent of a mayfly.
, the seven-time Grand Slam champion, perhaps spoke for many when he said he was “amazed” she ditched Richardson in the first place.
The American legend, 67, told SunSport: “I’m like, why the hell would you get rid of your coach a couple weeks or a month after you won the US Open?
John McEnroe was surprised Raducanu axed Andrew Richardson Credit: Getty
She has returned to the coaching of Richardson Credit: Getty
“I never understood that but you know, I’m not in the inner circle of Emma Raducanu and her family.
“Athletes are very superstitious. You don’t change the winning formula. You came from nowhere and you won this US Open the way she did.
“It seems nonsensical to me to do what she did. Maybe they had their reasons.
“Is it too little too late? She’s still young. Even though there’s a lot more pressure on her at , the hope would be she has a much better chance doing something big there.”
To strengthen the uncoachable argument, Raducanu – a bright, straight A* student – knows her own mind and is not one to be swayed by easy platitudes or cliches.
To be her coach, you have to know your stuff and not be a blagger.
She likes to keep her inner circle tight – if a coach has ever spoken out of turn to the media, then they have quickly been let go.
In the background, her dad Ian is a key presence, a financial executive who perhaps does not believe that you need the same voice for an entire career.
Raducanu keeps her inner circle tight Credit: Alamy
She does not like coaches speaking out in the media Credit: PA
A lot of the decisions have been made with his backing and blessing and this meddling, given he is rarely ever seen at venues, might have been disruptive in the past.
Of course, there should be some acknowledgement for her unprecedented situation – by winning the US Open at her first go, she was thrust into the global limelight and became a multi-millionaire overnight.
Very few people in British sport have achieved such extraordinary success so early in their lives like she did.
In total, Raducanu has had EIGHT permanent coaches on the WTA Tour.
ONE: Nigel Sears was by her side at Wimbledon in 2021 when on her debut.
And Andrew Murray’s father-in-law claimed at the time: “Quite frankly, I think the sky’s the limit. She’s born to play tennis and she likes the stage and she’s eating it up.”
How right he would prove to be a couple of months later.
TWO: Richardson was tasked by the LTA with assisting her on a trip to the US in July, August and September 2021 that would change her life forever.
Nigel Sears was Raducanu’s coach for her debut at Wimbledon Credit: Publicity – Getty
Richardson was in charge when she won the US Open Credit: Alamy
By winning ten matches in a row at Flushing Meadows, three from qualifying, without dropping a set, on her debut appearance, at the age of 18, Raducanu produced the biggest shock in British sport this century.
Yet when she returned home to the UK, she revealed she was no longer working with the best man at Tim Henman’s wedding.
The suggestion at the time was that Richardson was keen to limit his travel and spend more time coaching his tennis-mad son.
But in an interview a few years ago, Richardson said he “had a nine-week trial contract that both Emma and I thought was a good idea to see how we would get on”.
The Spanish-based guru wanted to carry on, he “had a plan that I wanted to put in place for Emma” but then the agent called him to say “they were going to go in a different direction”.
THREE: German Torben Beltz – formerly with multiple Slam champion – took over in the autumn of 2021 and immediately tried to make her more physically compact.
Even though he had “a huge heart” and they had “strong chemistry”, Raducanu after just seven months.
FOUR: Later that summer, following her second-round defeat at Wimbledon 2022, she began working with Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who initially had visa problems.
Torben Beltz was ditched after seven months Credit: Getty
Dmitry Tursunov was Raducanu’s fourth coach Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Yet he was the one who walked away after three months, later claiming quite disparagingly that “there were some red flags that just couldn’t be ignored”.
FIVE: In December 2022, another German, this time , came on-board and he was a “calm influence” for the Brit.
They parted ways after just five-and-a-half months together but that was understandable given she ended up having three surgeries in May 2023 – one on her left hand, one on her right hand and one on her left ankle.
SIX: At the start of January 2024, she agreed to work with Englishman Nick Cavaday, a childhood friend, whose sister Naomi is a Sky Sports tennis pundit.
The former head coach at the LTA High Performance Centre in Bromley was instrumental in her rise up the world ranking.
That – an eternity compared to his predecessors – but he left her team, having decided to stop travelling to spend more time at home with his family. He also had health issues to prioritise.
SEVEN: The most random partnership was , which lasted just TWO WEEKS in March 2025 and was ended by phone call the night before the Miami Open.
Platenik, known as Vlado, was on a trial period, having turned down two previous approaches from Raducanu’s dad.
Sebastian Sachs was said to be a calming influence Credit: Getty
Nick Cavaday lasted one year with Raducanu Credit: Getty
But an old interview in which he claimed those rejections were because he considered the job to be “coaching suicide” did not help his cause when he was finally brought into the set-up.
Mark Petchey stepped in to help in March 2025, the month after she was subjected to a scary stalker situation in Dubai, and he was by her side on an interim basis until Wimbledon that summer.
Petchey, whose daughter is close to Raducanu, was never a full-time fix because he was dividing his time between her and his TV commitments.
But he did so much for her confidence and improved her outlook outside of tennis.
In the background, too, is close friend Jane O’Donoghue, a former player turned businesswoman, who is there whenever there is a stop-gap between coaching.
EIGHT: For the 2025 US Open, Francis Roig – the man who helped mould Rafa Nadal into a serial champion – came on-board.
Roig, 58, brought experience and confidence and Raducanu liked him socially, learning words of Spanish to communicate better.
Yet she wanted to play a different way to what he was proposing and following her exit this year, they parted ways.
Vladimir Platenik lasted just two weeks Credit: Getty
Francis Roig was the most recent to be axed Credit: Getty
When that , it did feel like Raducanu had run out of high-calibre options, especially as Roig is now looking after Iga Swiatek.
Tennis might be a global sport but at its heart it is a close-knit community, everyone dines at the same places during the Slams and uses the same locker-rooms.
Word gets round quickly and perhaps Raducanu’s chances of recruiting a leading coach have diminished due to her ruthless, trigger-happy nature.
Who wants to coach somebody that is difficult to coach?
, the three-time Wimbledon champion, has some sympathy because like her, he was a teenager Slam champion – he was the King of Grass in 1985 aged 17.
The German, 58, working for TNT Sport during , told SunSport: “You win the US Open with your coaching staff and you split with them after?
“Please, we’re all intelligent people here. I never understood it.
“Now, I want to defend her because she’s still very young. Overnight stardom, she clearly couldn’t cope.
Boris Becker did not understand why Raducanu ditched Richardson Credit: AP
She is next in action at the French Open Credit: Getty
“Most people couldn’t have coped right. And then you know the amount of money she was earning.
“Of course, she’s a very intelligent, beautiful woman, who plays great tennis.
“But you can lose a little bit of your way. It’s normal. She’s young enough to correct it.
“I sincerely wish her luck.
“As a teen phenomenon myself, I always feel for young players’ early success and for them not to cope with the circumstances.
“Excuse my French, it’s f***ing hard. It’s difficult when you overnight become such a superstar as Emma Raducanu.
“So hopefully she gets back on her way and she starts winning again.”
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Eze Chidiebere Paul
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