Emma Raducanu has been told that one of her upcoming Wimbledon rivals would be willing to coach her in the future. The 2021 US Open champion has been through a sleuth of trainers as she bids to replicate her form in Flushing Meadows, with injuries hampering her progress over the past year.
The 21-year-old had surgery on both of her wrists and ankle last year, making a return in Australia before the first Grand Slam of the year. She pulled out of French Open qualifying in order to prioritise the upcoming grass-court season and SW19, where a formidable opponent could be waiting.
Ons Jabeur has reached the last two singles finals at Wimbledon, losing to Marketa Vondrousaova in 2023 and Elena Rybakina in 2022, proving that she is capable at the British Major despite still searching for her maiden Grand Slam victory.
The world No. 9 has reached out to Raducanu and offered her expertise going forward, telling Eurosport that the Brit is the one person on the WTA that she would like to coach one day.
“I would say Emma Raducanu,” Jabeur said. “I have a good relationship with her and I think I can help a little bit with some advice. I mean I would not be the main coach, I would be the consultant I guess, a new job. Emma if you’re hiring, I’m available.”
Jabeur claimed a morale-boosting 6-3, 6-2 over wildcard Sachia Vickery in an hour and 21 minutes under the Court Suzanne-Lenglen roof on Monday, having come into the tournament with mixed form and an underwhelming start to the season. A knee injury has hampered the Tunisian’s 2024 campaign.
She will be aiming for a deep run at Wimbledon, hoping to go one step further than her previous two attempts, alongside a Raducanu desperate for a strong run of form as she also returns to fitness.
Following her surgeries, Raducanu parted ways with Sebastian Sachs who was the eighth coach she jettisoned since winning the US Open. She has since reunited with childhood coach Nick Cavaday, with the pair focusing on success on home soil this summer.
“I mean I’ve known him (Cavaday) for a long time so it’s the familiarity aspect, it’s very nice,” Raducanu said at Indian Wells in March. “I feel we just work in the same way.
“I think a lot of coaches wouldn’t really understand the way that I like to operate and a lot of players wouldn’t understand how he likes to operate so I think we’re very complimentary of each other.”
Should Raducanu ever want to look in another direction or bring in additional help, Jabeur has already offered her services and would be more than willing to help take the British star to the next level.