Amazing Emma Raducanu statistic reveals the big area she is working on is firing
Emma Raducanu has made a sparkling return to action at the Billie Jean King Cup, with one area of her game standing out as she shone in Malaga.
Great Britain won their opening two matches of the competition against Germany and Canada, with Anne Keoathavong’s side inspired once again by Raducanu.
The 22-year-old was inspired back in April as she won both of her singles matches on a clay court in France, but her progress since then has been disrupted by injuries.
After an impressive run on grass courts in June and July that culminated with a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, Raducanu vowed to play a full schedule ahead of the US Open.
Yet she only competed in one event ahead of the final major of the year, after opting out of playing in qualifying in Toronto and building her preparation for the US Open around training sessions at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in London.
Almost inevitably, she was short of match practice and crashed out of the US Open in the first round, before vowing to play more matches on the Asian swing of the WTA Tour.
That plan was halted by a foot injury that ended her hopes of playing again on the regular tour, but she worked hard to get back into shape to be ready to compete at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and wins against Germany’s Jule Niemeier and Canada’s Rebecca Marino have given her season a final flourish.
One area of her game she has been working on is her serve and a remarkable statistic emerged from her win against Marino as she won 100 per-cent of points when she landed her first serve in the 6-0, 7-5 win.
With her potent returns of serve and punchy ground shots giving her an edge over most rivals on the WTA Tour, staying fit and playing more matches is the aim for Raducanu heading into 2025.
“I think my goal next year is to stay on court longer,” said Raducanu.
“This year I came to top 60 in the world, but I played I think less than 15 events. I know if I’m on court and healthy and competing, I can go even higher and further.
“I think that my athleticism is a strength of mine, but it’s nowhere near its full potential. I’m just looking forward to exploring that further, and ready to commit to doing that.
“While it’s the end of the season for a lot of players, I feel I’m just beginning to kick-start and get things in motion, training really well, training hard, and already building towards next year. I’m not really looking to have any more time off.
“I’m just looking forward to competing here this week and taking however this goes and improving on it for next year.”
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Raducanu is looking to add a fitness trainer to her set-up to help her physical conditioning and former British No 1 Tim Henman believes that will be a crucial hire.
A deal to hire fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, who previously worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, has been mentioned and Henman suggests that would be a good addition.
“The element she has struggled the most with is her physical resilience,” Henman told Sky Sports Tennis.
“We talk about these long seasons and about being out there competing on tour and she is still trying to build that resilience.
“You look at her match count and I think she only played 31 matches on the tour, but she still finished in the top 60.
“In terms of an investment, bringing on someone like that (Nakamura), it would be really good news.”
