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Former British pro John Lloyd recently penned his thoughts on Emma Raducanu's dismissal of her coach Andrew Richardson, which happened just weeks after her historic US Open win. Raducanu stated that she needs someone who has had "WTA Tour experience at the high levels", but some members of the tennis community - including Lloyd - don't agree with her view.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Lloyd questioned Raducanu's decision and said that she should have given Richardson more time. He also pointed out that she previously worked with Nigel Sears, a coach with experience at the top level, and yet parted ways with him after her Wimbledon 2021 fourth-round finish.
"If I was him (Andrew Richardson), my question would have been: what else could I have done? Yes, it was a temporary arrangement but you have just been dumped after the biggest upset in tennis history. It's mind-boggling," John Lloyd said.
"You won a Grand Slam with this team. Why change that? Why not give it a few months? The reasoning, so we're told, is that she now wants a coach with vast experience of competing at the top level. With all due respect, she had that with Sears," he added.
The 67-year-old further asserted that the relationship between a player and coach is an "intimate" one. He noted that Emma Raducanu had been able to establish a sense of trust with both of her previous coaches before abruptly terminating the respective partnerships.
"The relationship between a player and coach is an intimate one," the Brit opined. "There has to be a deep level of trust. The coach has to know everything about you: how you're feeling, your habits, your personality, your good days and bad. Emma has adapted well to two coaches and both have been let go."
John Lloyd feels Emma Raducanu should have continued with Andrew Richardson for the remainder of the season and then made a decision on their partnership. He also questioned whether an experienced person had made the decision on the teenager's behalf, since to him Richardson's sacking made "no sense".
"There is a limited schedule for the rest of the year," Lloyd said. "Why wouldn't you use this period to see how your relationship progresses? If things are not gelling, okay, part ways. I don't think an experienced person made this decision. It's wrong. It makes no sense. It hasn't been thought through."
"What Emma Raducanu achieved at the US Open was a rock-star story" - John Lloyd
John Lloyd did, however, lavish rich praise on Emma Raducanu for her US Open triumph. He described the 18-year-old's run as a "rock-star story", before mentioning that such narratives were usually found in fictional Hollywood movies.
"What Emma Raducanu achieved at the US Open was a rock-star story," John Lloyd said. "Hollywood has made tennis films about similar things and I always thought the scripts were ridiculous because it could never happen. And then it did. I had heard great things about her before her breakthrough run at Wimbledon. Nigel Sears, her former coach, said this young lady was special."
