Emma Raducanu makes major statement after confirming Maria Sharapova’s ex-trainer

Emma Raducanu officially confirmed that she and Maria Sharapova’s ex-strength and conditioning coach Yutaka Nakamura struck a deal before excitedly stating that she can “become one of the best athletes in tennis.”

After the 22-year-old sustained an unfortunate foot injury in mid-October and was forced to miss the remainder of the Asian swing, British media reported that she reached out to Nakamura, who is one of the most prominent fitness coaches on the Tour. In the past, the 52-year-old also worked with Naomi Osaka.

While working with Sharapova and Osaka, those two were winning Grand Slams. Now, his next task will be to elevate Raducanu’s strength to a next level and help the Briton reduce injuries and physical setbacks going forward – something that has hampered the current world No. 59 since the start of her career.

Now, Nakamura will join coach Nick Cavaday in the 22-year-old’s team.

“He’s going to be with me a lot next year. I am really looking forward to it. I think it’s nice because as a person, I think we’re quite similar in the sense that we’re very focused with our work. When we work, we’re not like talking or chit-chatting about other things. It’s very much like this is our time to focus,” Raducanu told British reporters at the National Tennis Centre in London.

Raducanu has the highest expectations for the Nakamura partnership

As mentioned above, the 52-year-old is considered one of the best in the business in tennis.

During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the British tennis star battled major injury issues and that led to three surgeries. Since returning to tennis at the start of 2024, the 22-year-old has looked better but she still dealt with certain injuries and niggles.

In Raducanu’s mind, there is absolutely a room for improvement in that regard. And she believes Nakamura is the one who can help her become much stronger and ultimately make one of the best athletes on the WTA Tour.

“I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go, like athletically. I think it’s a big strength of mine that I have nowhere near fulfilled. I think I can become one of the best athletes out there in tennis and I’m just looking forward to seeing how much I can do. My natural athleticism is something that I have to use. I have to hone it, I have to polish it, it’s still pretty raw and I don’t think anywhere near fully developed so he’s going to help me explore that,” Raducanu said.

After sustaining a ligament injury to her foot, the former world No. 10 was out of action for 10 months but managed to recover in time for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. In Malaga, she won all of her three singles matches and looked outstanding on the court. During the event, the Briton noted that she was already preparing for the 2025 season.

And after the BJK Cup Finals concluded, Raducanu continued to practice and do gym work.

“I feel really strong. I feel really fit. The only thing I can’t really speak for, is I haven’t played that many matches. On the training court I feel amazing, I’m throwing myself around, but it’s different playing matches. I played a few at Fed Cup [now the Billie Jean King Cup], and I felt like I recovered well. I wasn’t tiring in the matches. It would just be good to see as the level increases, and if I have to play more [matches] back-to-back, how I’m going to react,” she noted.

Raducanu will very soon depart for Australia

Over the last week, the British tennis star practiced at the National Tennis Centre in London. But for this preseason, she wants to do something differently – on December 12th, she will fly to Australia with her team.

When she lands in Brisbane, she will meet her friend and fellow WTA colleague Priscilla Hon – the plan is to get some work done and also accustom well to the conditions in Australia ahead of the Australian Open.

Then, Raducanu will fly to Auckland for her first tournament of the season which starts on December 29th.

“We’re going to hit, hang out there, get in the heat. I didn’t want to go straight to Auckland because if you get to a tournament too early, you kind of get a bit stale before the match. So I wanted to go there when it’s tournament time,” she revealed

Also, Raducanu revealed that she may play the Adelaide International in the second week of the season but that depends on how she does in Auckland and if there is a place for her in Adelaide.