Emma Raducanu confirms rumors involving Maria Sharapova's former team member

11/14/2024 02:49 PM

Emma Raducanu appears to be set to hire a fitness coach after the former world No. 10 confirmed that she is "having discussions" with Yutaka Nakamura.

Last week, British media reported that the 2021 US Open champion was exploring the prospect of adding Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka's former fitness coach after missing the last two months due to a ligament injury in her foot. 

However, Raducanu - who turned 22 on Wednesday - was able to recover in time for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and arrived with British team in Malaga. And when speaking to reporters on Thursday, she admitted that she indeed wants to focus on getting physically stronger in the offseason and that she is taking steps to address that. 

In her first few years on the Tour, the Briton battled major injury issues and had surgeries to both wrists and her ankle in 2023 May. While this season has been good in that department for the most part and her most recent injury was the only that sidelined her for an extended period, there were also some small nigles that she dealt with earlier this year. 

And going into 2025, Raducanu is ready to finally start working with a fitness coach on a full-time basis. So far in her career, she practiced to rely on help from coaches associated with the LTA. 

"I think my goal next year is to stay on court longer. This year I came to top 60 in the world, but I played I think less than 15 events. I know if I'm on court and healthy and competing, I can go even higher and further. I think that my athleticism is a strength of mine, but it's nowhere near its full potential. I'm just looking forward to exploring that further, and ready to commit to doing that," Raducanu said in Malaga.

"While it's the end of the season for a lot of players, I feel I'm just beginning to kick-start and get things in motion, training really well, training hard, and already building towards next year. I'm not really looking to have any more time off. I'm just looking forward to competing here this week and taking however this goes and improving on it for next year."

After facing criticism and backlash in the past because some felt that the 2021 US Open champion wasn't as committed as she should have been to representing Great Britain, the 22-year-old agreed to represent her nation against France in the qualifiers in April. The Briton's return went great after she clinched two hard-fought three-set wins over Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry to lead her nation to an away win and securing a ticket for the Finals event. 

Now, Raducanu is also set to go battle with Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls. And she is hoping she and the rest of the British team can deliver and do potentially win it all. 

“I think something about the team competition is that, even when you’re down - like, I was a set down in both matches - you keep fighting. It’s not that you wouldn’t necessarily want to in a normal tournament, but it’s just that extra motivation to fight right until the end. It’s surprising how certain matches can turn. I was a set and a break down and all of a sudden came back and won in three [sets], it was a crucial tie to win. I think you give that something extra even if the scoreboard is against you," Raducanu explained.

“I think we really back ourselves here. We have Boults who is a massive ball striker, it’s indoor tennis, she’s been playing really well in Asia, she won a lot of matches so I think she’s feeling really confident. I put a few really good weeks of training in, so I think I’m feeling quite confident in how I’m playing. For me, it will be just about adjusting to playing matches again. It’s been a few months, so I’m intrigued to see how that goes.”

On Friday night, Great Britain will take on Germany in the last-16 stage. On paper, it looks like a favorable matchup for the Brits, considering that the German team doesn't have any top-50 names at their disposal - Laura Siegemund, Tatjana Maria, Jule Niemeier, Eva Lys and Anna-Lena Friedsam. 

In singles, Raducanu and Boulter should have the edge over whoever they face, and if Great Britain wins the tie, they will battle defending champions Canada in the quarterfinal.