Emma Raducanu has opened up on her decision to reunite with her childhood coach Nick Cavaday following her return from surgery. The Brit raised eyebrows when she went through five coaches in the first 18 months of her career. She decided to enlist Nick Cavaday ahead of the Australian Open and has stuck with him since. And she has now explained just why they work so well together after her past mentors failed to understand her.
Raducanu is continuing her comeback this week in Indian Wells after returning from an eight-month absence in January. The world No. 250 has been joined by Cavaday, with the pair still going strong after he flew Down Under to join her in Melbourne for her second tournament of the season.
It’s a promising sign given Raducanu’s history with coaches as she previously earned a reputation for going through her mentors in quick succession. But it seems there’s a reason that some of her past partnerships didn’t work out, as the 2021 US Open winner admitted that Cavaday understood her better than most.
“I mean I’ve known him for a long time so it’s the familiarity aspect, it’s very nice,” Raducanu told Sky Sports, speaking in Indian Wells this week. “I feel we just work in the same way.”
And it’s not just Raducanu who felt misunderstood, as she confessed that Cavaday often has similar problems. She continued: “I think a lot of coaches wouldn’t really understand the way that I like to operate and a lot of players wouldn’t understand how he likes to operate so I think we’re very complimentary of each other.”
Although their partnership became official at the Australian Open, the British coach had been assisting Raducanu at the National Tennis Centre in December as she made her tentative first steps onto the practice court after having three operations in spring.
