Emma Raducanu hires new physiotherapist amid split with acclaimed trainer Yutaka Nakamura

Emma Raducanu has hired a new experienced physiotherapist with the Brit set to embark on her pre-season shortly with coach Francisco Roig set to remain on board despite some doubts given how her season ended.

Raducanu finished the season ranked 29th in the world, her highest year-end ranking since 2021 when she won her sole major title in New York. She finished with a 28-22 win loss record and reached the third round of three majors and a first WTA 1000 Quarter-Final at the Miami Open as well as a semi-final in Washington.

Raducanu's off-season has been slightly disrupted with the Brit pulling out of two exhibition matches in the US due to a foot issue. Albeit she will soon head to train in Barcelona with her coach and has a new physiotherapist in tow.

At the start of the 2025 season, Raducanu hired the acclaimed Yutaka Nakamura who previously worked very successfully for Maria Sharapova. But he was absent from her box for most of the year stepping back in Spring due to personal reasons. Since then Raducanu worked with other physios such as Daniel Pohl and Jerome Poupel and Nakamura despite those personal problems was soon back on another player's team joining up with Grigor Dimitrov.

He was seen in Dimitrov's box at the most recent Paris Masters and now according to multiple outlets, she has hired Emma Stewart into her team who is a physiotherapist who on paper could again help her ascend new heights next year.

She was previously a WTA hired physio working with a range of players as a tour-provided physio rather than working with one specific player. She was also involved most recently with the Great Britain men's rowing squad. Stewart is reportedly set to travel with Raducanu to events next year and she will be a physio and at least for now her strength and conditioning coach too albeit Raducanu will look to bring in a more long-term person for that role.

The big news also is that Roig will stay. He was best known for his partnership with Rafael Nadal and initially joined her team during the hard court summer after she left Mark Petchey who ascended her to new heights albeit couldn't be a long term coach due to his commitments to Tennis Channel.

So Roig was sought out and despite working together on trial, they had good results until an untimely end to the year due to injury. Raducanu's season begins in just over a month as she teams with Jack Draper in the United Cup. Usually playing elsewhere opening week, Raducanu plays the team competition for the first time in what promises to be one of the top teams on offer in Australia.

But also means her pre-season training will start earlier than perhaps ordinarily. Albeit she hasn't played for some months anyway.