Emma Raducanu faces big money gamble on former Serena Williams coach

Emma Raducanu may have to forego a sizeable chunk of her potential future earnings, should she decide to take up an offer to revive her stuttering tennis career. The 2021 US Open champion has endured a difficult year that has seen the Brit slip outside the world top 100 for the first time since her major triumph in New York.

But the former coach of Serena Williams, Rick Macci, believes that he can help Raducanu to overcome her form and persistent injury issues to recover and win multiple Grand Slams under his guidance. The 20-year-old has struggled to pin down a long-term coach since parting ways with Andrew Richardson following her Flushing Meadows success in her breakthrough season, but Macci, who coached both of the Williams sisters during the 1990s, believes that his expertise can put Raducanu on a different path.

Having also coached the likes of Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati and Maria Sharapova during his career, USPTA hall-of-famer Macci comes with an outstanding pedigree. But if past financial arrangements are anything to go by, the 68-year-old’s expertise will come at a hefty price.

According to the movie ‘King Richard’, which chronicles the journey of Serena and Venus Williams’ father, Richard Williams, Macci was so sure about the future success of eldest sister Venus, he offered to coach her for free in return for 15% of her potential future salary. After claiming seven Grand Slam singles titles, that was a calculated punt that certainly paid off for Macci.

Backing up the film’s version of events, when asked in an interview with Esquire whether there were any inaccuracies in the movie, Macci said: “Not really. I mean, they nailed it.” The tennis coach was estimated to have a net worth of around $2 million in 2021, when Raducanu was announcing herself on the world stage.

Whether the Canadian-born Brit is prepared to strike a similar deal in order to reverse her fortunes, remains to be seen, but Macci appears to be in no doubt that he can get her back to winning ways under his tutelage.

He told i: “I’ve never met her, I would love to work with this young lady. “I could help her mentally, I know I could get this girl back on track. Her life has changed, but that doesn’t mean she has to change. Everything has changed around her, but it’s still her playing tennis.

“I don’t know her. Is she still that hungry, still that competitive? These are the questions that are going to be asked a lot, because people are always going to assume that’s why she’s not doing as well, because she has other interests, blah, blah, blah.

“I can’t answer that question, but it has to be about one thing, anybody, anytime, anywhere: a love to compete, and by the way, if I compete well, there’s candy at the end of that. It can’t be the other way around. If it is, you’re not going to be as hungry.

“I think that she’s been taught very well. She understands the geometry of the court, those things are there, but I’d have to sit down with her or any pro player that was struggling, [because] I’ve got to know what’s in her head. I’ve got to know what’s going on before I get into it because confidence, you can’t buy over the internet. You can’t buy it at the grocery store, it can come and go in the blink of an eye.”