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Emma Raducanu and Yutaka Nakamura (Source: X
The fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura, who has worked with Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova, has begun coaching Emma Raducanu. Ahead of the new season, the 22-year-old says Nakamura will be with her "pretty much most weeks" of the year. She is likely to travel to Brisbane next week for some warm weather training. Raducanu's career has been steadily hampered by injuries ever since she won the US Open in 2021 as a youngster. However, she believes that now is the ideal moment to bring a committed fitness specialist to her team after a trial earlier in the fall.
"I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go, like athletically," Emma Raducanu said. "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.
After a trial period, Raducanu formally recruited Nakamura after mentioning that they had been in negotiations last month. This week, they have been getting ready for the upcoming season together at the LTA National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London. While they were winning major titles, Nakamura worked with a number of elite players, such as Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova.
Emmu Raducanu aims to get ready for Australian Open
The 2021 US Open champion, who has suffered a series of injury issues since that historic victory, will benefit greatly from the hiring. She has invested in her own staff who can devote all of their attention to her year-round, after previously using the LTA's fitness trainers.
Over the past year, Raducanu has found consistency in her coaching setup with childhood mentor Nick Cavaday. When the British number two departs for Australia on Thursday, he and Nakamura will accompany her. After spending Christmas in New Zealand, she will travel to Auckland to begin her first competition of the new season on December 30. Raducanu is keen to play as much as he can in the first few weeks of the 2024 season after missing two months due to a foot injury. He also hopes to compete in Adelaide before the Australian Open, which starts on January 12.