Six-time major doubles champion Rennae Stubbs has given her verdict on Emma Raducanu working with her former coach Andrew Richardson.
Raducanu was coached by Richardson when she stunned the tennis world by winning the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier ranked 150th.
The Brit decided not to extend her collaboration with Richardson following the triumph, which remains the only title she has won in her career.
The 23-year-old does not currently have a full-time coach, and she recently linked up with Richardson when training at David Ferrer’s academy in Spain.
The world No 30, who has not played since Indian Wells, spoke about her reunion with Richardson before she withdrew from the 2026 Italian Open.
“We stayed in touch, and we stay on good terms, so that’s incredibly important,” Raducanu said.
“He’s someone I’ve known since I was 10 years old and I really wanted to get on the European clay. He is a great person and I enjoyed being on court with him.
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“He obviously has ties to the academy and a lot going on in his own life, so we haven’t really spoken about that (a full-time partnership), but I can just say it was a nice week with him.”
Speaking on the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs weighed in on Raducanu‘s linkup with Richardson.
“Well, we’ll see. I think the most difficult job in the world is coaching Emma Raducanu because she has a very short rope,” said the former world No 1 in doubles.
“I clearly think it’s a good idea. He (Andrew Richardson) did wonders for her to win the US Open. He seems like a very chilled guy.
“Maybe he gets her better than most because he’s known her so long, known her since a young age.
“And listen, I know Emma personally. She’s a great young woman, she’s fantastically educated, great to talk to, very smart.
“I think that sometimes half the problem is that she’s so smart she realises half these coaches that are telling her stuff are so stupid. And she just goes, ‘Well, that doesn’t make sense’.
“But at the same time, she has to give someone time. But I think she knows this guy well from such a young age that it might work for her, because she’ll settle into it a little bit more and stop trying to pretend to be a player that she’s not.
“Mark Petchey didn’t last long… but Mark is so busy with his TV, so I just think that was untenable in a lot of ways. And maybe he’s still sort of helping from the side. I don’t know.
“But I think this is a good move from Emma. And we’ll see.”
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