Emma Raducanu enjoys work again with coach Andrew Richardson after ‘just a text’

Emma Raducanu insisted parting company with Andrew Richardson following her US Open triumph was not a mistake despite opting to rehire him.

Richardson coached Raducanu to the US Open title five years ago but that was not enough to persuade the then teenager and her advisors to keep him on.

Raducanu instead chose to turn to a coach with WTA experience in Torben Beltz but it proved to be one of a succession of short-term appointments, the latest of which saw her part company with Spaniard Francisco Roig in January.

The 23-year-old had been without a permanent coach since then but announced last week that she had reunited with Richardson following a week training with him at the Ferrer Tennis Academy in Spain.

The decision not to keep faith with the former British Davis Cup player has been a stick critics have used to beat Raducanu with in the intervening years, but she said: “I think at that 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 and right.

“I didn’t really know what was going on. 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.”

Along with Richardson, Raducanu has also worked again with former childhood coaches Nick Cavaday, Mark Petchey and Jane O’Donoghue in what has been a recurring theme.

“You probably just naturally forge easier bonds with certain people over others,” said Raducanu.

“I think the fact also that he’s