Emma Raducanu return from injury, many doubted how the 21-year-old would fare in 2024. But Raducanu has impressed, starting with a stagnated clay season where she picked up vital wins over Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry to help her nation stun France in the Billie Jean King Cup. She then reached the last eight of the Stuttgart Open, pushing world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, before a strong start to the grass court season. Raducanu reached the last four at the Nottingham Open before a run to the quarter-finals in Eastbourne, picking up her first top-10 win versus Jessica Pegula. She has continued to impress at Wimbledon, with victories over Renata Zarazua and Elise Mertens powering her into round three.
Raducanu’s level across 2024 has been consistent – even when she has lost – and the Brit looks settled under the guidance of her coach, Nick Cavaday. But who is the man behind her recent resurgence?
Like many in recent years, Cavaday pursued tennis through the US college system. The Brit – originally from South London – played for North Carolina State University, amassing a 74-56 singles record and 74-53 doubles record, while studying for a degree in psychology. Once his collegiate career was over, the 37-year-old played regularly on the ITF Tour and reached a career-high of 1022 in the ATP Rankings, with his last match coming in 2010. After calling time on his playing career, Cavaday became heavily involved with the LTA, as did his sister – and now tennis commentator – Naomi.
Cavaday has plenty of experience working with youth players, but also with several ATP players – particularly on the doubles tour. Perhaps his biggest success came when he worked with Dom Inglot and Robert Lindstedt, helping the pair reach the semi-final of the 2015 US Open. He has also previously worked with doubles specialists Rajeev Ram, Florin Mergea, Treat Huey, and Divij Sharan – while he has also worked with singles players such as James McGee and Aljaz Bedene. Cavaday also worked at the LTA National Academy in Loughborough for several years before his recent partnership with Raducanu.
Having known Cavaday since she was a child, Raducanu has perhaps made the perfect choice as she continues her comeback – and looks to bring stability to her coaching set-up.
“I feel very comfortable working with him. I have known him since I was a young age, so he’s someone who I feel like I can trust, and that’s a big thing for me,” she said at the Stuttgart Open in April. “Just having people who I know before I got famous or I got any of the big whatever [was] coming my way, it was just good to have someone who’s known me before that. You know that their intentions are good, and they didn’t just come after the win and when everything is easy to just come and join. It’s a nice feeling. He knows pretty well how I operate. I would say I haven’t changed at all since I was eight or nine. But everything around me has changed, but it’s mentally I feel like I’m the exact same person.”
Raducanu’s recent results have given hope that she can continue to rise back up the ranking across the remainder of 2024. Even when she has tasted defeat this year there have been encouraging signs, and things are certainly on the up – with no points to defend for the rest of the season. But no one has higher expectations for this partnership than the Brit herself.
Raducanu in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2024
LWWWLWWLWW Ranked no.135, the Brit has managed to achieve an overall 15-9 match record in 2024. The Brit is currently having a run in Wimbledon where she conquered the world no.98 Renata Zarazua 7-6(0) 6-3, the world no.33 Elise Mertens 6-1 6-2 and the world no.9 Maria Sakkari .
Emma Raducanu will square off with the world no.48 Viktoriya Tomova in the final. Their current record is 1-0 for Tomova.
Emma Raducanu |
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