Emma Raducanu is in dismal form at the moment (Image: Getty)
Problems keep mounting for , the latest being a hunt for a new coach following her split with trainer Nick Cavaday. The 22-year-old star, who has had six different full-time coaches since her tour debut just over three years ago, is currently experiencing the worst losing streak of her career, suffering four consecutive defeats in the past month.
Cavaday, who previously coached Raducanu during her junior years, joined forces with her again ahead of last year’s but recently due to a chronic health condition. Lately, Raducanu has been eager to play in as many high-profile tournaments as possible to regain her match fitness after several injury-related absences.
However, this decision is understood to have contributed to Cavaday’s departure, as the 38-year-old was unable to commit to extensive travel, according to . Moreoever, his exit seems to have unsettled Raducanu’s game.
Since her defeat by last month, she has lost to Cristina Bucsa, Marketa Vondrousova and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Granted, Vondrousova is a former winner and Alexandrova recently secured a WTA 500 title in Linz, but Raducanu’s strategy to pack her calendar with high-profile matches appears to have backfired.
Not only has this approach derailed the promising momentum she had built since late 2024 – which saw her reclaim a top 60 rank for the first time since mid-2022 – but it’s also left her without a coach. Cavaday, who served as Raducanu’s longest-term trainer to date, said in a statement following his departure: “I am very happy to have been able to work with Emma over the last 14 months.
“[But] it’s important for me to spend some more time at home and prioritise getting back to full health, which is hard to do with the extensive calendar. I am glad Emma is back to being established on tour now with a ranking inside the top 60, and I look forward to seeing what she does from here.”
Emma Raducanu parted ways with Nick Cavaday last month (Image: PA)
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Raducanu reciprocated the sentiment, thanking Cavaday “for a great partnership over the last year and a bit, especially [as] post-surgeries he helped get me back inside the world’s top 60.” She continued: “I wish him all the best in his next chapter and no doubt we’ll stay in touch.”
The Canada-born player, raised in Bromley, southeast London, rose to stardom following her at just 18-years-old. She entered as a wildcard and made history as the first qualifier to clinch a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era.
However, since that victory, she has grappled with both form and fitness, and seems to have succumbed to the pressure of expectation. She’s only managed to secure 10 Grand Slam matches since her triumph at Flushing Meadows, progressing beyond the second round merely twice.
In recent years, a plethora of coaches, training methodologies, and in-game techniques have been tried and tested, yet Raducanu has little to demonstrate for it. And her latest slump in performance, along with another coaching exit, indicates that her instability isn’t going anywhere – at least for the time being.