Emma Raducanu has arrived in Paris for her third French Open campaign. The Brit is defending her second-round appearance from last year. Present with her this time around is Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to her historic US Open title over four years ago.
Raducanu officially rehired Richardson before her participation at the Internationaux de Strasbourg earlier this week. During her pre-tournament press conference at the French Open, she opened up about her turbulent history with coaches.
Emma Raducanu Trains With Coach Andrew Richardson at the French Open
Raducanu burst onto the scene at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where she reached the fourth round during her main-draw debut. At the very next Grand Slam, the US Open, she created history as the first-ever qualifier to win a Major. The then 18-year-old had Richardson by her side during her run in New York.
Soon after, Raducanu sent shockwaves by abruptly terminating her collaboration with her coach. During her recent press conference at the 2026 French Open, the player pondered whether the decision was a mistake.
“I mean, I think at the time it was very difficult to say I made a mistake, because in my life everything changed upside down, and I didn’t really think I had the most handle over the situation in the sense that I was being pulled left, right. I didn’t really know what was going on.”
Over the last four years, Raducanu has tried out several coaches, including Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, Sebastian Sachs, Nick Cavaday, and more recently, Francisco Roig. After ending her six-month partnership with Roig in January this year, she competed without a permanent coach at the next few tournaments. While touching on her multiple unsuccessful coaching partnerships, Raducanu added:
“I think everything also happened very quickly then. A lot of experiences over the last few years, it taught me a lot of what I didn’t want, and it taught me that I really just value having people that I trust and connect with around me. So it’s really nice to have that feeling back.”
The Brit was absent between March and May due to illness-related complications. Before traveling to Rome for the Italian Open, Raducanu completed a training block in Spain with Richardson, having reunited more than four years after their US Open success. At the time, she conveyed that the duo had no plans of continuing together in official capacity.
Despite her presence in Rome, the Brit pulled out of the tournament and accepted a wildcard at the Internationaux de Strasbourg instead. Here, she announced that Richardson had officially re-joined her coaching team. The player, who reconnected with her coach over a text message, has confirmed that she plans to continue with him through the 2026 season.
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“We have great chemistry; that was evident every time we worked together. After I had a break because I got sick, I wanted to come back in a really authentic way,” she said at her press conference in Paris.
Raducanu failed to make a mark with Richardson at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg, losing her opening match to Diane Parry. The two have since commenced their practice sessions at Stade Roland Garros, where the Brit would hope to make a deep run. The player begins her campaign against Argentina’s Solana Sierra in the first round on Sunday.
