Emma Raducanu has started working with Yutaka Nakamura, the fitness coach known for his work with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka.
The 22-year-old, who will fly to Brisbane next week for some warm weather training before the new season, says Nakamura will be with her “pretty much most weeks” of the year.
Injuries have acted as a persistent handbrake on Raducanu’s career since she won the US Open as a teenager in 2021.
But following a trial earlier in the autumn, she feels now is the right time to add a dedicated fitness expert to her team.
“I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go, like athletically,” 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.
“My natural athleticism is something that I have to use. I have to hone it, I have to polish it, it’s still pretty raw and I don’t think anywhere near fully developed so he’s going to help me explore that.”
Nakamura has been training with Raducanu and her coach Nick Cavaday at the National Tennis Centre in London all week.
After Christmas in New Zealand, Raducanu will start the season in Auckland at the end of December and also hopes to play in Adelaide before the Australian Open begins on 12 January.
