How a new team and a visit to Oxford got Emma Raducanu smiling again – with British star relishing her Wimbledon return after ‘horrible’ experience on the sidelines last year

We’ve seen a new Emma Raducanu this past week and her friend Fran Jones explained on Friday that part of the reason was a trip to Oxford – with a view to a post-tennis degree.

Fellow British player Jones, who was due to play Croatia’s Petra Martic in the first round, was asked about Raducanu’s recent happy behaviour.

“It’s just a result of her spending some time with me!” she said. “It’s amazing to see her in that space.”

Raducanu went to Oxford with Jones last week, and the latter explained: “Well, we’re both quite academic. We have a vision for the future and Oxford is definitely something we would both enjoy.

‘Tennis costs a lot of money and it is important that you have a vision for your career afterwards, because we live in a bubble.

Jones (right) and Raducanu are interested in studying at Oxford after they finish playing

‘For now, obviously (studying at Oxford) is on the shelf, but it would be something fantastic for both of us to do next.’

It was a fascinating insight into Raducanu’s broader outlook on life, which is far from typical of her co-stars. She clearly feels she has found a kinship in Jones, 23.

Raducanu returns to Wimbledon for the first time since 2022 and was given a fairly tough opener against Russian No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The 21-year-old was at the All England Club last year, but only as part of her sponsorship duties with Evian, as wrist and ankle operations left her unable to compete.

‘It was horrible!’ she admits, when asked what it was like to be here as a non-competitor. “I’m so grateful to be on the other side of it. Going to Wimbledon was really rubbing salt in the wound, but I think it was part of my obligations. I’m just really happy that I can actually play.”

Raducanu took almost two months off from competition after the defeat in Madrid in April and the break appears to have been exactly what she needed.

Raducanu admitted it was ‘terrible’ being a non-participant at Wimbledon last year as she plans to return

Asked how she would like to come across to Wimbledon fans who haven’t seen her since 2022, when she returned from injury and lost in the second round, she said: “I just want them to see that I bring my personality to the court, my character, that I’m bubbly, happy, energetic. You can really see the difference, especially with me, when I’m in a good state compared to when I’m struggling with confidence.

“I would say I lost the sense of who I was playing for, what I was doing. Now it’s all about, OK, I don’t really have to do anything if I don’t want to. I just really enjoy the game. Part of that is I do a great job with my coach.”

That coach is Nick Cavaday, a youth mentor of Raducanu’s with whom she reconnected in January. Apart from a few missed events due to ill health, he has been there ever since and so this is Raducanu’s first time at Wimbledon – and actually the first time in her career – with an established coaching team.

“I’m very happy with my team, my coach,” Raducanu said. “Very happy with the fitness guys from LTA, also the physio and Nick. He’s made a lot of good additions to my game and it’s nice to have someone I’ve known since I was a kid. We understand each other – and not many people understand it the way I think. It’s good that we can go in the same direction in a lot of conversations.

The 21-year-old Raducanu said she is very happy with her coach Nick Cavaday

Raducanu admitted there has been a change in her mindset regarding her 2021 US Open victory

The benefits of a permanent coaching team have been brought up many times in conversations about Raducanu and it is hoped that the cycle of hiring and firing has finally come to an end.

Part of Raducanu’s recent reset has been a change in her mindset surrounding her 2021 US Open victory, which at times felt like a weight around her neck.

“I kind of own it more, like, I did that. I did the US Open,” she said. “I feel like I used to look at the US Open in a more negative light, where now I’m like, OK, that was crazy, now I can just play and move on.

‘I feel lighter within myself. There has been a big change in my attitude in the last two weeks.’