Emma Raducanu is working with childhood coach Nick Cavaday ahead of her comeback after nearly eight months out – with the pair likely to link-up for next month’s Australian Open
- Emma Raducanu hasn’t played a competitive match since April due to injury
- She is preparing to make her return in the new year in New Zealand and Australia
- Raducanu has been working with Nick Cavaday, who coached her in her youth
Emma Raducanu is likely to turn to a name from her younger days to assist her when she comes back in the new year after nearly eight months away from the game.
The former US Open champion has been working with Nick Cavaday as she prepares to leave for her comeback tournaments, which will see her play in New Zealand ahead of the Australian Open.
Earlier this year Cavaday left his position as head of the Loughborough junior academy run by the Lawn Tennis Association, and more lately he has done some more work with promising GB junior Ranah Stoiber.
He also had some time on the men’s tour with the briefly British Slovenian Aljaz Bedene and now retired Davis Cup doubles player Dom Inglot, but his connection with Raducanu goes back to their shared Kent roots.
Both Cavaday and his sister – Naomi, a former top 200 singles player – did work with her at the Bromley tennis academy during her developmental years and, crucially in this case, they have a longstanding relationship with her father Ian.
Emma Raducanu has been working with childhood coach Nick Cavaday in recent weeks
Cavaday coached Raducanu at the Bromley tennis academy during her developmental years
The lifespan of a coach for Raducanu is notoriously short, and after her injuries she split this summer with German Sebastian Sachs, with whom she got on with but who was the latest to struggle with what he saw as parental interference.
Raducanu’s management would not comment on the potential involvement of Cavaday, but at this late stage before the first tournament of next season it seems likely that he will spend at least the next month with her.
Since she got back into full practice she has been hitting largely with LTA staff coaches Iain Bates and Colin Beecher, but they have responsibilities elsewhere and could not be more than stop-gap solutions.
While her inability (or disinclination) to have long relationships with coaches is well-documented, perhaps more surprising has been to secure a regular physio and trainer set-up over the past seven months, since she had minor surgery on her wrists and ankles. She currently has an official ranking of 299 and will be play the New Zealand Open with a wildcard.
Raducanu has gone through five coaches in two years, which includes Sebastian Sachs who she split with in June
The 21-year-old has struggled since she sensationally won the US Open in September 2021
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