Emma Raducanu has joined forces with childhood coach Nick Cavaday just a week before the start of the Australian Open.
The 2021 US Open champion worked with Cavaday when she was a junior and last week decided to appoint the 37-year-old as her coach for the first major of the season – her ninth in the past 27 months.
Cavaday spent four and a half years at the LTA Academy in Loughborough as head coach, before leaving the role in April. He has since been coaching 18-year-old British player Ranah Stoiber.
He coached Raducanu as a young teenager and did some work with her at Roehampton’s National Tennis Centre before Christmas.
Emma Raducanu has reunited with childhood coach Nick Cavaday just a week before the start of the Australian Open.
Cavaday worked with the 21-year-old when she was a junior at the LTA Academy
Raducanu has finally returned to the court after a nightmate eight-month injury hiatus
‘I’ve known Nick since I was 10 years old and he was helping me out the last week at the NTC [National Tennis Centre],’ Raducanu told BBC Sport while competing on the WTA Tour in Auckland last week.
‘Before that the LTA helped me a tonne.’
Raducanu has been without a coach since she parted ways with Sebastian Sachs in May, shortly after undergoing major surgeries to her wrists and ankle the previous month.
The German was the eighth coach Raducanu jettisoned since winning the US Open in 2021.
Andrew Richardson, who guided Raducanu at Flushing Meadows, told Mail Sport he had wanted to carry on before negotiations abruptly broke down.
Dmitry Tursunov went further and spoke of ‘red flags that couldn’t be ignored’, though he was complimentary about Raducanu and her work ethic.
The Australian Open marks Raducanu’s first appearance in Grand Slam tournament for a year, after an eight-month injury nightmare derailed her last year.
The Brit returned to the court at the ASB Classic in New Zealand last week, losing in three sets to Elina Svitolina in the second round.
Raducanu was delighted with how she competed in the second round in Auckland against Svitolina, arguably the best player of recent years not to have won a major title.
Before tiring in the deciding set after her eight-month career hiatus, the former US Open champion came within a few points of winning before going down 6-7, 7-6, 6-1.
Raducanu split from her German coach Sebastian Sachs in May after undergoing surgeries to her wrists and ankles
Raducanu has still been working hard with endorsements while recovering from injury
‘It’s pretty exciting for me,’ said Raducanu.
‘I’ve only played two matches and my court time has been pretty limited. I’ve been training for the last few months at the LTA (National Tennis Centre in Roehampton) but I had a few setbacks with my wrists and ankles.
‘To be back up to this speed after so little time is a great sign. I’m looking forward to the season. It’s just the beginning, it’s week one of a lot more to come.’
Raducanu has still been working hard on the endorsement front while recovering from injury. In 2023, she was named sixth on the Forbes’ tennis rich list despite her lack of playing time.
The 21-year-old has deals with British Airways, Evian and Dior that all added to her £12million earnings.
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