Emma Raducanu says she never hired someone with the intention of working for a short period of time as she describes herself as “a very loyal person.”
After changing five different coaches in two years, the British tennis star caught the heat from the media but also some former stars, who thought that it was a wrong approach and something that would never work. The 22-year-old was especially criticized after firing Andrew Richardson shortly following her 2021 US Open victory as many couldn’t belieeve that she parted ways with the same coach who guided her to a maiden Slam win.
However, this year, Raducanu managed to go a full season with one coach. After undergoing three surgeries in 2023 May and splitting with Sebastian Sachs, the former world No. 10 took some time before finding a replacement – she found it in the name of Nick Cavaday, her childhood coach.
Raducanu: I never wanted to quickly change a coach
After lasting a full season with Cavaday and also adding strength and conditioning coach Yutaka Nakamura to her team, the 22-year-old wanted to dismiss one narrative that followed her for the first few years of her career.
“It’s never really been my interest or philosophy to chop and change coaches. I’ve never really wanted that. I’m a very loyal person, whether that’s with my tennis or off the court. Or with what I eat. When I find something I like, I stick to it. I eat the same thing every single day. Same salmon every single day. I like those relationships and I think in the past, unfortunately, it hasn’t always worked like this,” Raducanu said.
Emma Raducanu© YouTube screenshot
Besides the already mentioned Richardson and Sachs, the Briton also worked with Nigel Sears, Torben Beltz and Dmitry Tursunov.
When the 2021 US Open champion decided to work again with her childhood coach, she wanted someone with who she was familiar and comfortable. And it worked out pretty well for Raducanu in 2024.
Tennis World USA