John McEnroe has backed Emma Raducanu’s decision to rehire Andrew Richardson after branding their original split “nonsensical”.
Richardson was the coach in Raducanu’s corner when she stunningly became the first qualifier to win a grand slam title at the US Open in 2021.
But the British number one opted to dispense with his services immediately afterwards, feeling she needed someone with WTA Tour experience.
A succession of short-term appointments have followed but Raducanu has now decided to go back to Richardson, who she also worked with as a junior, with the pair linking up ahead of this week’s tournament in Strasbourg.
Former world number one McEnroe, who will feature on TNT Sports’ coverage of the French Open, said: “I was amazed that she got rid of the coach in the first place.
“I’m like: ‘Why the hell would you get rid of your coach a couple of weeks or a month after you won the US Open?’ I never understood that.
“I was surprised because 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 would seem like it would be nonsensical to me to do what she did.”
Raducanu’s attempts to rekindle those heady days in New York have been hindered by a succession of physical problems, the latest of which was a post-viral illness that kept her away from the match court for two-and-a-half months.
Defeat by France’s Diane Parry in her opening contest in Strasbourg means she will go into the French Open, which begins on Sunday, with only one clay-court match under her belt.
She will also be unseeded in Thursday’s draw after slipping to 37th in the rankings.
McEnroe would be surprised to see her make much of an impression in Paris but believes the reunion with Richardson could bear fruit at Wimbledon.
“To me, grass would clearly be her more comfortable opportunity against the top players,” said the American. “I don’t see her as nearly as comfortable on clay. I think that’s her least-comfortable surface.
“Is it too little, too late? She’s still young. I don’t know physically where she’s at, mentally – there’s a lot of issues that I’m not familiar enough with.
“But I would certainly think that the hope would be to have her, even though there’s a lot more pressure on her in Wimbledon, that she would have a much better chance of doing something big there.”
