Emma Raducanu arrived in South Korea this September determined to end a complicated season with a strong Asian swing, her favourite time of year. She had started well, winning two matches at the Korea Open, only to suffer an all-too-familiar setback. Raducanu retired from her quarter-final match in Seoul with a foot injury that would sideline her until the final week of the season.
That layoff would prove to be a significant moment in Raducanu’s continued development. During her time off, she visited her grandmother in China, brushed up on her Mandarin Chinese, and she also flexed her creative muscles. Most importantly, however, another enforced layoff also gave her time to reflect frankly on the decisions she has made in her young career.
Emma Raducanu after the win in her singles match against Viktoria Hruncakova in the semi-final tie between Great Britain and Slovakia during the Billie Jean King Cup
Raducanu hires renowned fitness coach who worked with Sharapova and Osaka
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“I’d say that was a bit of a turning point where I was just like: ‘OK, next year, what do I want for myself?’” says Raducanu, speaking at the LTA National Tennis Centre during her pre-season. “I was really creative. I was playing the piano, I was painting, kind of exploring my artistic side a bit. It just got me thinking. That final foot injury just had me like: ‘I really want to stay healthy next year. I really want to make sure that I’m consistently doing the physical stuff.’ Because every time I went on a trip this year, the fitness would inevitably take a back seat.
“I’d have press, tennis, whatever, and then the fitness, because I didn’t have someone able to adapt the session, or it would just kind of not be done. And I think that’s when I was really like: ‘Well, I want to bring someone in to come with me on the road, so I can continue the physical work.’”
Along with the life-changing experience of her unprecedented US Open win as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021, injuries have defined Raducanu’s career to date and her physical issues last year culminated in her undergoing separate surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle as she missed most of the season due to injury.
Her return has seen both positive progress and missed opportunities. Between April and July, Raducanu produced the most consistent, sustained period of high-quality tennis in her career to date. Having fallen to No 303 in the world rankings in April due to the injury layoff, that run of form – which included reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon – took Raducanu back into the top 100 and she ends the year ranked No 57. Still, she has also had ample struggles due to injuries and questionable scheduling alike. Her lack of match practice was painfully reflected in a first-round exit at the US Open.
In the aftermath of those illuminating weeks following the Korea Open, Raducanu has hired Yutaka Nakamura, who previously worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, as her new fitness coach alongside Nick Cavaday, who has now coached her for a full year. She also decided that it was time to play a heavier schedule in 2025 to build the physical and mental resilience that comes with consistent matchplay.
