Emma Raducanu ‘more settled’ and backed to stick with Nick Cavaday – ‘She is working well with him and it is showing’

Shahida Jacobs
Emma Raducanu and Nick Cavaday
Emma Raducanu and Nick Cavaday

Emma Raducanu “trusts” Nick Cavaday and will likely continue to work with him “a bit longer” following a good grass-court campaign, says former British No 1 Jo Durie.

Having gone through several coaches during her short career, including stints with Andrew Richardson – the man who led her to the 2021 US Open title – Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs – Raducanu teamed up with Cavaday again earlier this year with Jane O’Donoghue also joining her camp.

The pair has a long history as Cavaday was her junior coach as well as the former head coach of the LTA Loughborough Academy.

Their partnership is off to a great start as Raducanu has shown glimpses of the form that helped her to win her maiden Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows three years ago.

She reached the semi-final of the Nottingham Open, defeated her first top-five player in Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne and also made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon having scored a top-10 win over world No 9 Maria Sakkari.

Raducanu is set to return to the top 100 of the WTA Rankings after her recent success and former world No 5 Durie feels the work he is doing with Cavaday is paying dividing, saying it could be a long-term partnership.

“It is a trust thing. She knew Nick from her early days. You have got to have trust in the people around you as you’re making plans and dreams together,” she told Grosvenor Sport.

“That is the most important thing in my mind. She is working well with him and it is showing.

“Emma likes to take knowledge and move on. That is the way she did it. Is it right or wrong? It is not something I would personally have done. I liked a long-term plan.

“Maybe now she will be with Nick a bit longer as she works on her plan and the way she sees the future. It does look like she is more settled.

“Sometimes, too many siren voices can cause muddle. It’s not as if her game is complicated. She serves well, she returns well. Should it be that complicated? I don’t think so.”

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Following her 2021 US Open success, Raducanu struggled with form and injury during the 2022 season while last year she played only a handful of tournaments before undergoing surgery on both her wrists and one ankle.

Confidence was low, but fast forward to July 2024 and the 21-year-old is in good spirits.

“She is in a good place. Beating a top 10 player for the first time and looking much more comfortable on court,” Durie added. “She is talking differently, enjoying herself more, all the things you want to hear from someone who we mustn’t forget is still only 21.

“She has been through so much. So much has happened for her, I won’t say to her. Who wins a Grand Slam the way she did? No one.

“She is in a better place with her tennis and herself and enjoying it more. Her game is suited to the grass.”