"I think the most difficult job in the world is coaching Emma Raducanu" - Coaching dilemma for Raducanu stems from her being too smart according to Stubbs

Emma Raducanu has ended her tenure without a coach since parting ways with Rafael Nadal's former right-hand man Francisco Roig. She has partnered back up with Andrew Richardson, the coach who led her to that famous US Open triumph. Her career has not panned out as many would have hoped for since, with six-time doubles Grand Slam champion Rennae Stubbs labelling Raducanu as the one of the most difficult tennis players to coach.

Raducanu rose through the ranks last year after a steady year. A semi-final run in the DC Open was the highlight, but there was a sense of improvement that could be taken into the next campaign. Injuries and illness have halted whatever progress she was eyeing up, still without a match on clay after missing every single tournament since the Miami Open amid a lingering virus sticking with her since the Middle East swing.

In that time, hitting partner Alex Canter stepped in as her part-time coach. In total, Raducanu has had nine different coaches since bursting onto the scene in that fourth round run in Wimbledon back in 2021, ahead of that unexpected US Open title.

She was partnered with Richardson then, and the spark still seems to be apparent between the two with them looking to give it another shot on the big stage. “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. 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.”

Stubbs did not hold back when explaining how much of a challenging prospect it is to coach the British number one. “Well, we’ll see. I think the most difficult job in the world is coaching Emma Raducanu because she has a very short rope,” the Aussie said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “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."

She hinted at the relationship possibly flourishing once more with them knowing each other from prior engagements. “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."

Stubbs believed that Raducanu was too smart for most of these coaches, dismissing them after thinking they were wrong or not making sense. “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’," she said.

“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.

She concluded with a positive note. “But I think this is a good move from Emma. And we’ll see.” After withdrawing from the Rome Open. Raducanu will be hoping to get back on the court at the Strasbourg Open, but will have to wait for a possible wildcard to enter the fray. If not, then she will head to Roland Garros having not played a single competitive match on clay.