Emma Raducanu has revealed a “creative” visit to see her Chinese grandmother during her last injury break led her to hire her new fitness trainer.
And the 2021 US Open winner has also “changed” her main career motivations after struggling after winning her first Grand Slam as a teenager.
The British No.2 will fly Down Under on Friday (December 20) for a mini training camp in Brisbane with new Japanese trainer Yutaka Nakamura before playing the Auckland Open on December 30.
Raducanu has not played a WTA Tour event since suffering a foot injury in Korea in September. She then visited her grandmother in her mother Renee’s home city of Shenyang – and took the decision to hire Nakamura after a period of reflection on the other side of the world.
“I think after Korea I had some good time to think,” said the world No.57. “I was actually in China for a few days to see my grandma. It was nice to just have some time off. I’d say that was a bit of a turning point where I was just like: ‘Okay, next year, what do I want for myself?’
“In that time, I was really creative. I was playing the piano, I was painting. Kind of exploring my artistic side a bit. It just got me thinking. That final foot injury just had me like: ‘I really want to stay healthy next year’.
“I really want to make sure that I’m consistently doing the physical stuff. Because every time I went on a trip this year, the fitness would inevitably take a back seat. I’d have press, tennis, whatever, and then the fitness, because I didn’t have someone like able to adapt the session or it would just kind of not be done.
“And I think that’s when I was really like: ‘I want to bring someone in to come with me on the road, so I can continue the physical work’.
“And then that’s when I started looking at Yutaka and exploring that option. Then he came over for a trial earlier, like a couple months ago, and it worked really well. That was probably a big moment where I really wanted to spend more time and energy on my fitness.”
Raducanu leapt to instant superstardom by winning the US Open as a teenage qualifier without dropping a set. She also achieved an ambition most players spend all their lives striving to achieve – and has needed to rethink her motivation.
“Yeah, I think this is actually something that has changed,” she said. “I’ve learned more in the last few years. Initially when I first started, before I won the US Open, like my main reason was: ‘I want to win a Grand Slam.’ That’s my goal. I play tennis because I want to win a Grand Slam. And that happens so young. I’m so grateful for it. But as soon as that happens, I’m like, ‘okay, well, what now? I want to win another Grand Slam.’
“It’s just not sustainable. Because when you don’t win another Grand Slam straightaway, you get frustrated with that.
“Now, the reason I play is genuine. I really enjoy what I’m doing, how I’m working, the people I’m working with. And I just want to see how good I can be. I really want to see how fast I can be. How fit I can be. How explosive. How well I can move. What I can do. If I chase a ball, now I am chasing more balls than I did before as well…if I get there, what can I actually do with it? Can I turn this point around? Even though it’s a dead point. Can I turn it back somehow?
“It’s literally just about playing it like a game. Seeing how far I can go. That for me is really sustainable. Because there’s no result on it. I genuinely don’t have (goal), I want to be this ranking. I want to win this match.
“Of course, as athletes, we all want to win. We don’t want to go on a court and lose. But that’s not the primary objective. It’s more about enjoying what I am doing, collecting these good days of work, just seeing how far it can go.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk