Emma Raducanu has experienced a rollercoaster journey since winning the US Open in 2021 but the Brit believes she is on the right path to her best form.
Raucanu, who is currently ranked 303rd in the world, hasn’t won another title since her Grand Slam triumph and has missed months of the Tour due to various injury setbacks. Last year, she underwent two surgeries on her wrists and another on her ankle. This week in Stuttgart she is playing in her sixth tournament since returning to competitive tennis following those surgeries.
In recent weeks Raducanu has been building momentum on the Tour. Last weekend she beat world No.23 Caroline Garcia in the Billie Jean King Cup and on Wednesday she dropped just three games during her 6-2, 6-1, triumph over ex-No.1 Angelique Kerber at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The 21-year-old partly credits her resurgence to the work she has done with Nick Cavaday. Her childhood coach who she reappointed to her team shortly before this year’s Australian Open.
“I feel very comfortable working with him. I have known him since I was a young age, so he’s someone who I feel like I can trust, and that’s a big thing for me,” Raducanu told reporters in Stuttgart.
“I feel like he’s known me since a young age. He knows pretty well how I operate. I would say I haven’t changed at all since I was like 8 or 9. But everything around me has changed, but it’s mentally I feel like I’m the exact same person.
“We have obviously been doing great work this year, and it’s starting to show, but the training weeks we have been doing since the start, it’s just been slowly building and building. Whenever it all comes together, I think, like, big things will happen.”
As to what areas of Raducanu’s game has improved, she believes her serve is more effective. Against Kerber in Stuttgart, she won 56% of her service points and saved nine out of 11 break points faced.
“I am playing some really good tennis. I feel like I’m a lot more dominant in my service games.” She said.
“I think it’s a combination of doing actual good practice weeks, doing the right things. I’m really enjoying working with Nick, my coach. It’s great to have a familiar face, but I also think we’re just working really well together as a team.”
In Stuttgart, Raducanu will play Czech Republic’s Linda Nosková in the second round who knocked out Jelena Ostapenko in her opening match.