Emma Raducanu has confirmed she will work with former coach Nick Cavaday and Mark Petchey for the grasscourt season, but admitted her preparation has been hampered by a back problem.
The former US Open champion had previously parted ways with Cavaday in January when he stepped back for health reasons.
Speaking before the start of the HSBC Championships at Queen`s Club, Raducanu confirmed she had been back practicing with Cavaday and that both coaches would be with her through Wimbledon.
“I`m happy to see him healthy, first of all,” Raducanu said. “It`s been such a long time since we were last on court together in Australia, and Mark is in Paris commentating, so Nick was around and it was nice to just have a few days with him.”
“They`ll both be helping me throughout the grass season,” she stated. “Having Mark and Nick, both people who have banks of experience, I think they can complement each other really well and I trust both of them a lot. That is a big fundamental for me. So I`m looking forward to this upcoming season and seeing how it goes.”
Raducanu Managing Back Issue
Despite positive news regarding her coaching setup, Raducanu acknowledged that her ongoing back issue remains a concern as the grasscourt season begins.
“I have had a small interruption with a back spasm again, so that was a bit annoying,” she explained. “That kind of hindered my grass prep but the last few days I have managed to get on the grass and just begin to feel my feet.”
She described the back problem as something she has been managing for weeks, which “comes and goes”.
“Overall, I just have to manage what I can take care of and if these things happen, I just need to deal with it and just keep doing the right things,” Raducanu stated. “It can be frustrating. When I was playing in Strasbourg in my second-round match, it definitely hindered me, and first round in Paris but I got through.”
“And I think that just having to manage it, knowing that it keeps coming back is frustrating,” she continued. “But I try not to let it get to me, because I think I have a pretty good feel of when it happens what to do and how to manage it. It does take a few days out, but all I can do is kind of deal with what`s in front of me.”
In the HSBC Championships at Queen`s Club, Raducanu could face Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the second round.
The 22-year-old Brit will play a qualifier in her opening match, with a potential second-round encounter against Krejcikova if the Czech player wins her match against Rebecca Sramkova.
Raducanu also confirmed she plans to team up with Katie Boulter for the doubles event at Queen`s.
This marks Queen`s return to the WTA calendar after 52 years, with the tournament running from June 9-15.
