Emma Raducanu turns to her children's coach, planning to return to action

Emma Raducanu may have to qualify to play at the 2024 Australian Open. Photo: Reuters/Angelica Warmroot

Emma Raducanu has been training with a familiar face — veteran coach Nick Cavaday, increasing her workload ahead of a planned trip to Australia and New Zealand.

Kent-based Cavaday's presence on the National courts tennis center could mean he is the favorite to lead Raduchan's backroom team in the new year. There is a previous connection: he oversaw its early adolescent development program at Bromley Tennis Centre, where he was head coach.

Sources suggest Raducanu has begun to find some rhythm in her training after a slow start during which it took her four weeks to progress from soft red and green balls to standard yellow ones. There were some setbacks in her early development, but she has recently been spotted sparring with the likes of UK No. 2 Harriet Dart.

Former men's top 70 player Somdev Devvarman was reported to have participated in some of the sessions as a sparring partner. hitting partner. Cavadei, who played tennis at the college level in the US, sometimes replaces him on the court, but it is possible that the two could work together to provide Raducan with support in Australasia.

There has been no indication yet any appointments as a physical trainer or physiotherapist. Raducanu may feel she can rely on tournament physiotherapists while her part-time deal with Andy Murray's former physical trainer Jez Green expired in the summer and has not been renewed.

Recently, efforts have been made to find a replacement. as Green failed amid what could be called «creative differences». Raducanu is understood to be relying on the support of the Lawn Tennis Association as she builds up her physical resilience ahead of her planned return to Auckland in the first week of January.

Cavadei and his sister, former UK No.3 Naomi, have assisted Raducan at the LTA high-performance center in Bromley at various times and are therefore well known to the family. Raducanus remains a close-knit team, and her father Jan's close attention to her career and decision-making did not always make life easier for her coaches. The last sitting president, Sebastian Sachs, left in May and was apparently frustrated by constant scrutiny.

Raducanu with his father Ian Photo: David Rose for The Telegraph

Raducanu has at times seemed unimpressed with the whole tennis coaching business and in a recent BBC interview she said: “I ask my coaches a lot of questions. I think in some cases they couldn't answer the questions I asked, so maybe that's why it ended.»

Now 37, Cavadej spent a couple of seasons in the ATP coaching Aljaz Bedene — the Slovenian who became British between 2015 and 2018 — as Bedene climbed into the top 50 in the world. He also assisted doubles specialists such as Dominic Inglot. He then became head coach of the new LTA National Academy in Loughborough, where he worked with top juniors such as Mimi Xu and Rana Stoiber. He left that position in March to pursue other opportunities and help Stoiber on his own.

Assuming Raducanu's rise continues smoothly, she will use the wild card to play in Auckland, where she sprained her ankle in her first match of 2023, before heading to Melbourne. Unless she receives a wild card from Tennis Australia, her protected ranking of No. 103 is unlikely to be high enough to give her direct entry into the Australian Open main draw and she will have to qualify in an echo of her famous run to 2021 US Open title.

As the new season approaches, Raducanu's imminent return to competition has become a constant topic of discussion. British number four Jack Draper gave an optimistic forecast last week, saying: «If she continues to work on her game, she will be up there with the best in the world and will be challenging for the Grand Slams again.» < /p>

But Anne Jones, the 1969 Wimbledon champion, was unhappy with Raducanu's regular changes in coaches. “How do I restore my natural game after it has been altered?” — said Jones. “It’s very difficult to find what you had before. I think she really enjoyed winning and I don't think she wants to lose now. This is a waste of time and we could use a champion.”