Emma Raducanu’s injury and fitness woes have been a recurring theme throughout the 2021 US Open champion’s young pro career to date, though the Brit, who turned 22 last month, spoke encouragingly about hiring a full-time strength-and-conditioning coach in highly-rated Yutaka Nakamura as she looks to become one of the tour’s fittest players and fulfil her potential long-term.
Raducanu raring to go after offseason training block
EMMA Raducanu’s 2024 season was another injury-disrupted one, the 2021 Major champion only managing to play 35 singles matches across 13 tournaments on all surfaces (22-13), missing French Open and Olympic play while early exits in Melbourne and Flushing Meadows rather told the story for an inconsistent player with top-10 potential waiting to be unlocked.
The Toronto-born Brit’s pain threshold and durability has naturally been questioned in recent years since bursting onto the scene three years ago, with younger contemporaries and returning veterans posing challenges as she looks to climb the ladder again.
She went perfect in Billie Jean King Cup play for Team GB this past year (5-0) against France, Germany, Canada and Slovakia though they collectively fell short in the semifinals. Reeling off a trio of victories after a two-month hiatus as she retired with a left foot injury in Seoul against Daria Kasatkina, that week in Malaga would’ve served as a welcome morale boost to finish 2024, judging by her public show of optimism.
As quoted by the Times, the world no. 59 accepted the next step will be more match play: “I feel really strong and fit, amazing on the training court. I’m running, throwing myself around on the court but it’s different playing. I felt good [at the BJK Cup], recovered well, wasn’t tiring … it would just be good to see as the level increases, if I have to play more back-to-back, how I react.”
The aforementioned foot injury, later diagnosed as strained ligaments in her right foot, prompted Raducanu to take a break for the bulk of September and early October – the final push before a brief offseason in a never-ending calendar.
With that in mind, she continued training after returning from Spain and has noticed physical improvements from her work alongside Nakamura, who has worked to help tennis players’ strength and conditioning for more than 20 years. Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova, with nine Grand Slam titles between them, are among his alumni.
Although she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon this year, the 22-year-old hasn’t won more than three consecutive matches at the same tournament since her US Open fairytale triumph from qualifier to first-time champion on main draw debut.
Slated to play in Auckland as her own season-opener, Raducanu said she’ll train in Brisbane – a city renowned for extreme heat and humidity – naming Australia’s Priscilla Hon as one of her tennis friends that will help with preparations.
We’ll have to wait and see, though this new approach to improving fitness can’t be a bad thing for a talented player on the sidelines far too regularly.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via The Times unless stated otherwise
Mo and Sports 