Emma Raducanu has been given some advice as she continues her comeback.
Tennis fans have urged Emma Raducanu to stick with one coach in her comeback from surgery. The British No. 7 returned to competition in January following an eight-month layoff and is so far 3-4 in matches. In a brutal verdict, Express Sport readers claimed that Raducanu hadn’t looked promising so far, despite some impressive wins and close losses.
Emma Raducanu ended her 2023 season in April and had operations on both of her wrists and one ankle. She made her comeback at the beginning of the year and has played four tournaments since, failing to get beyond the second round at any event.
Following her latest defeat in Doha – the worst match of her comeback so far – the world No. 252 admitted that she was still struggling to get to grips with the demanding, week-in week-out nature of the professional tour. As she looks to try and get more matches under her belt, Express Sport readers believe Raducanu should focus on her coaching team.
The 21-year-old earned herself something of a reputation when she went through five coaches in 18 months at the beginning of her career. After hiring childhood mentor Nick Cavaday in January, tennis fans want to see Raducanu stick with him for the long haul – something she previously hinted at doing.
Asked what Emma Raducanu needed to prioritise so she could get back to winning big titles, 52 per cent of Express Sport readers said she should stick with one coach. 35 per cent thought that the former world No. 10 would benefit from dropping down to lower-level Challenger and ITF events.
And just 13 per cent thought it was best to play in the big tournaments against top players. Tennis fans will likely get their wish for Raducanu to stay with one mentor for a longer period of time after the 2021 US Open winner shared her intentions to continue with Cavaday after bringing him in ahead of the Australian Open.
Emma Raducanu explained that she turned to Nick when she started hitting again at the National Tennis Centre at the end of 2023. “Nick was also around. I asked him, because he coached me when I was between 10 and 12. He was there. Yeah, it’s just been working like that,” she said in Melbourne.
And she shared her hopes of sticking with the British coach, adding: “I mean, we’re just taking it how it goes. It’s been working really well so far. I of course hope to continue with him because I feel very comfortable with him.”
According to Express Sport readers, Raducanu will need to knuckle down with her coach as 66 per cent said that she hadn’t looked promising in her comeback so far. The 21-year-old recently suffered a difficult 6-0 7-6(6) loss to Anhelina Kalinina in Doha and agreed that it was just one of those bad days at the office.
“I think I was struggling with everything like serve, return, forehand, backhand,” she explained. Before that, Raducanu enjoyed a dominant 6-4 6-1 victory over Marie Bouzkova in Abu Dhabi but lost in the second round. She also reached round two in Auckland and the Australian Open, going out in tight three-set battles.
