Emma Raducanu is reportedly exploring the prospect of hiring Maria Sharapova’s former long-time fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura after the last part of 2024 didn’t go as expected.
When it comes to the Briton’s health, everything in that regard has been well-documented and it is not a secret that the 21-year-old has battled some major injury problems since starting her career. After struggling with various injuries throughout the entire 2022 and the first part of 2023, the 21-year-old had surgeries to both wrists and her ankle in 2023 May.
While Raducanu managed to return to tennis at the start of 2024 and avoid major injury issues for the good portion of this season, she recently picked up a ligament injury that has been prevented her from playing for nearly two months. And while sidelined, she is thinking about the fitness coach who worked with Sharapova for nearly a decade and also had a stint with Naomi Osaka.
“Emma Raducanu is looking at hiring Yutaka Nakamura, the fitness trainer who worked with Sharapova for 8 years, and then Osaka among others. Will be a statement of intent if she goes ahead,” via Simon Briggs of The Telegraph.
Emma Raducanu is looking at hiring Yutaka Nakamura, the fitness trainer who worked with Sharapova for 8 years, and then Osaka among others. Will be a statement of intent if she goes ahead https://t.co/W2Jcmb3xX6
— Simon Briggs (@simonrbriggs) November 7, 2024
Since starting her career, the 2021 US Open champion has been managed by Max Eisenbud – the same agent who made a marketing giant out of the Russian tennis icon. So if the British tennis star wants to hire Nakamura, it probably won’t be too hard to struck a deal with the fitness coach.
Raducanu focused on getting stronger but it didn’t work out the first time
Following her breakthrough year in 2021, the Briton had a very rough 2022 season in terms of results but also injuries. During the entire year, she was either dealing with a left or right wrist issue. After the 2022 season, she hired Andy Murray’s former strength and conditioning coach Jez Green. At the time, the former world No. 10 wanted to focus on getting stronger and avoid injuries in 2023.
Unfortunately for Raducanu, it didn’t happen. In her very first tournament of 2023, she badly rolled her ankle in Auckland. And she ended up playing only five tournaments last year before deciding that it was time to surgically address her injuries. But then, her recovery didn’t go as expected and that’s when some doubts started to creep in and she couldn’t watch tennis anymore.
Emma Raducanu© Emma Raducanu/Instagram – Fair Use
“I was out for eight months and I had three surgeries and the rehab wasn’t as straightforward as everyone planned. Initially the return to play was only meant to be four months and it ended up being double because I came back a bit too quickly and then did more damage. So I think I also learned a lesson in patience and trying to rush things,” Raducanu told HSBC in late October.
“In terms of coming back it takes a while to get up to the speed of the game. The match is different from practice as well and introduces unpredictability, so I think now I’m just more grateful for my health than results. When you’re on the sidelines watching everything go past you and yeah it was difficult, I just had to shut it off and I actually couldn’t watch anything.”
Raducanu had big plans but then an unfortunate injury ruined everything
The Briton’s mother is of Chinese origin and the current world No. 58 has often mentioned Asia as one of her favorite places to play tennis. So when the time came for the Asian swing, it wasn’t surprising to see the 2021 US Open winner sign up for five tournaments.
In her opening tournament of the swing, the 21-year-old reached the quarterfinal but then injured her ligaments and retired in Seoul.
Emma Raducanu© X screenshot
“I always knew there was a really long block in Asia at the end of the year and I didn’t want to overdo myself in the first half of the year… I have to prioritize and Asia was one of those for me. So I stacked the year on the backend heavy, because I’m excited. I thrive in Asia. It’s where I truly feel like home. So I’m buzzing for that trip even though it’s at the end of the year. I’m looking forward to going out there and trying to take it,” Raducanu told WTA Insider at the start of the Asian swing.
After this statement, the former world No. 10 didn’t get to play in any other tournament on Asian soil. However, she is expected to return to action next week and represent Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if she adds Nakamura to her team for the 2025 season.