Emma Raducanu's secret Wimbledon weapon: a City banker from Wigan

Times

14 hours ago

Amid all the chopping and changing in Emma Raducanu's coaching box through the years, there is one person who has made more appearances than anyone else since her breakthrough here at Wimbledon in 2021. It is a fine effort considering that Jane O'Donoghue often has to take leave from her day job in the City to help out Britain's only active grand-slam singles champion.
This is an arrangement like no other on the tour. O'Donoghue will regularly be drafted in by Raducanu to, in effect, work as an assistant coach, most often on home soil but also sometimes away from home. One overseas trip this year was to Miami, where Raducanu was in need of some help after deciding to end a trial with the Slovakian Vladimir Platenik only two weeks in.
O'Donoghue's friendship with Raducanu goes back to her days as the LTA's women national coach between 2009 and 2019. The 42-year-old from Wigan, who reached the world's top 200 as a player, often worked with Raducanu during her childhood, building close ties which have continued to this day.
A career change came for O'Donoghue in 2019 when she used her master of business administration degree to take up a full-time role with the Royal Bank of Canada in its global client coverage team. Since last year she has worked for CACEIS, an asset servicing firm, as a director of UK client coverage.
Attending Raducanu's matches requires a combination of permission from her managers and some strategically placed holiday time. She has successfully peeled herself away this week, attending Raducanu's first-round win against Mimi Xu on Monday, and is expected to return to the box for the second round against Marketa Vondrousova on Wednesday.
'For me, she's a great friend,' Raducanu said. 'She just brings a lot of support, someone who knows me inside out, better than I know myself. Just to have her there, her belief and confidence in me, it means a lot. Less so on the tennis side, even though she's very knowledgeable about the opponents. But I think it's more just support. I love seeing her there in the box.'
Raducanu, 22, has a heavy reliance on trusted faces from her youth. There is a pattern in which she often reunites with old coaches — her temporary head coach Mark Petchey formerly worked with her in 2020. But O'Donoghue is called up so often that it begs the question as to whether Raducanu could permanently tempt her back from the City to the tennis court.
'I think she's doing so well in her career there,' Raducanu countered. 'It's a very big ask for me, and I'm not sure if that's something that I want to [do] because we have a great friendship. It is different when you mix friendship with having someone on your team full-time. I really want to protect our relationship.'
Petchey, who is probably best known to tennis viewers as a commentator and pundit for more than 20 years, is also in effect on secondment. Over the past three months the 54-year-old former British No1 has been balancing his television work for American broadcasters with Raducanu's coaching needs, although he has been able to dedicate more time to her in recent weeks because of fewer media commitments during the grass-court season.
'I'd give him 11 out of 10,' Raducanu said. 'He's been like everything the last few months for me. I've really enjoyed being around him. He's helped me so much on all fronts, tennis, off court.
'I think the most memorable moment was one hike we did in Los Angeles. We walked for 2½ hours. We spoke. It was one of those really deep conversations where I was like, 'OK, there are certain things I need to do better.' It was just one that I could take away and really reflect on.'
Known for the ruthless way in which she can quickly cut loose coaches, there has been a lesser noticed departure in recent weeks. Nick Cavaday, who worked with Raducanu for 15 months until January this year before he resigned for health reasons, agreed to return for the British grass swing, but lasted only one tournament at Queen's before disappearing prior to Eastbourne.
'He helped me in the week before Queen's because Mark was in Paris, and carried that work on through Queen's, but then I had already agreed to do the full grass season with Mark,' Raducanu explained.
There has also been a temporary change involving her fitness trainer. Yutaka Nakamura, who was hired at the end of last year, went back to Japan two months ago because of personal reasons and has not yet returned to her team.
'I'm working right now in the meantime with Ian Aylward and the LTA,' Raducanu said. 'They've helped me a lot in the last few weeks, so I'm just continuing the work with them.'
Raducanus's return to Centre Court at Wimbledon on Wednesday means there will be plenty of camera shots of her team on television. The Royal Box will also no doubt feature, with Raducanu even admitting that she often has a glance up to see which famous faces are in attendance.
'I think Centre and No1 Court in a way are visually quite similar, except the Royal Box at the back,' Raducanu said. 'But it's just the prestige of Centre Court. It's something that you grow up watching. I'm very aware of who's watching. Last year I think David Attenborough was there, which was also pretty amazing.'
Raducanu is part of a British double act on Centre Court on Wednesday, with her match following Oliver Tarvet's second-round clash against the defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Whatever the result, what an occasion this will be for the 21-year-old world No733 who was playing qualifying at a converted cricket ground at Roehampton this time last week.
'I just heard his name when he qualified to the main draw,' Alcaraz said. 'I've watched a little bit of him before my match [on Monday]. I saw great tennis on grass, to be honest. I have to be ready. If he's in the second round, it is because he deserves it.'
Second round, Wimbledon7pm (estimated), third match on Centre CourtTV BBC 1