Is Emma Raducanu going back to her roots?
After more than eight months of tournament break due to injury, Emma Raducanu will compete as a wildcard at the WTA 250 event in New Zealand in the first tournament week of the new season. The speculation as to who will coach her in Auckland leads to a proven trainer from her childhood.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edit: Dec 21, 2023, 06:16 pm
Emma Raducanu made her last start on the WTA tour in April at the Porsche Tennis Grand Grix in Stuttgart, where, as a brand ambassador, she was defeated in two sets by Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round of the duel between the former Grand Slam winners. Due to injuries to both wrists and an ankle, the 21-year-old had to undergo several operations, which led to an early end to the season.
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At the start of the new season, the young Brit wants to attack again and is therefore working meticulously on her comeback. This mainly happened at the beginning with the LTA staff trainers, Iain Bates and Colin Beecher, who do not seem to be eligible as tour coaches due to their obligations to the British Tennis Association.
As the Daily Mail reports, the 2021 US Open champion was spotted working with Nick Cavaday, who coached her in childhood alongside his sister Naomi Cavaday, a former top 200 player. Cavaday left his position as head of LTA's Loughborough youth academy in the spring and most recently looked after young British talent Ranah Stoiber. On the men's tour he made himself known as the coach of the Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, who also competed for Great Britain in the meantime.
Although there is currently no official confirmation from Raducanu's management of their collaboration, the duo is expected to spend the next few weeks together in New Zealand and Australia. The good relationship between Cavaday and father Ian Raducanu, which has existed since the Canadian-born woman's development years at the Bromley Tennis Academy in Kent, is likely to be of crucial importance.
One can only speculate about a longer collaboration, especially in the case of Raducanu, who has fallen to 299th place in the WTA rankings. About the short half-life regarding a coaching engagement with the former world number 10. The German coaches Torben Beltz, who is currently working on the comeback with Angie Kerber, and Sebastian Sachs can also sing a song.