Emma Raducanu is preparing to make her much-anticipated return to tennis at the beginning of 2024 after more than six months out of action.
Surgeries on both wrists and one ankle in May sidelined the 20-year-old, who has not played a competitive match since her loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart on 17 April.
Alongside the physical setbacks, Raducanu has had multiple coaching changes, most recently parting ways with Sebastian Sachs in June. She is yet to announce a successor, who would be her sixth coach in the past two years.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Raducanu admitted her inclination to “challenge” and ask “provoking questions” could be the reason she continues searching for the right fit.
Understanding she has an entire career ahead of her, Raducanu remains grounded; her immediate focus is to be prepared for the start of the 2024 season with “new goals” in sight.
Australian former pro Nicole Pratt spoke on The AO Show podcast about how Raducanu’s approach highlights her promising mental attributes as an athlete.
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“I personally like it, when a player is asking why; it means they want to get a further understanding of why you’re asking them to do what you want them to do,” Pratt explained.
“It speaks to her confidence; it speaks to her intellect.”
After reaching her career-high ranking of No.10 in July last year, Raducanu now sits at world No.283.
In order to return to that lofty position, Pratt believes Raducanu will be taking all the tools she can from different voices.
“She’s had a lot of different coaches, so each time she has had a coach she is extracting as much knowledge and information as she can from them,” Pratt said.
Whatever direction the US Open champion decides to head with her coaching, the excitement around her return at the beginning of 2024 will be immense.
Despite only playing 10 matches this year, Raducanu is the third most-Googled female athlete in the world, attracting 9.6 million searches between September 2022 and August 2023.
What better place for a popular star to make her return than at Australian Open 2024?