In Miami, Raducanu and her team (part-time coach/adviser Mark Petchey, fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, and loyal ally Jane O’Donoghue) focused on bringing more “fun” into the program. That included less intense warm-ups and, instead of straight-line sprints, fooling around with three different sports (including American football).
“Getting a good sweat on, laughing,” Raducanu said. “Then you go onto the court feeling a lot more relaxed, every part of you just. . . looser.”
READ MORE: Football, cornhole, a bit of golf: How Emma Raducanu finds “inner calmness” in Miami
That approach certainly aligns with Raducanu’s self-image. She told Sky Sport that she’s a “free spirit,” who doesn’t need “restrictions,” or someone—a coach?—telling her what to do. She added, “I feel when I am boxed into a regimented way then I am not able to express myself in the same way.”
This borders on heresy in a sport whose top practitioners pride themselves on their regimentation, the willingness to hit a zillion forehands in every practice session, adhering to a strict diet, workout, and sleep schedule. You want to be free spirit? Go become a surfer, or a poet or artist. But it appears that Raducanu is more artist than warrior, and that bit of self-knowledge is just one more thing she will take home from Miami.
It will be interesting to see where she takes it from there, especially during the grass-court season.
