Emma Raducanu shares delightful snap of fitness coach next to Maria Sharapova's winner plaque at Australian Open

Emma Raducanu is in Melbourne getting ready for the first Grand Slam of the season. The British player hasn't had much success historically at the Australian Open, but it's a type of court that does suit her style of play, so she hopes this is finally the year.

The tennis side of things was never a huge issue for Raducanu because when she played, she played rather well. What proved an issue for her was not playing regularly due to various injuries. To address those issues, the Brit hired a noted fitness coach, Yutaka Nakamura, who has worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka in the past.

He was hired to help Raducanu take her fitness to the next level as she hopes to finally eliminate all those pesky injuries that have kept her away from the courts. She shared a photo of her coach posing next to the Maria Sharapova winner's plaque at the Australian Open giving a thumbs up.

That win for Sharapova came in 2008. While he wasn't a part of her team back then, the coach clearly has fond memories of his time with Sharapova, judging by the sentiment expressed while posing next to the plaque.

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Why did Emma Raducanu choose Nakamura?

Emma Raducanu has had significant physical problems that needed to be addressed. She missed a lot of time due to various injuries, most of which were rather minor and muscular in nature.

Nakamura was hired precisely to help her in that regard. The coach has worked with some of the best players in the world, such as Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka. He worked with Sharapova through much of her injury-ridden time, which is probably part of the reason why Raducanu hired him in the first place.

He has a lot of experience working through injury struggles. Raducanu also told the Guardian that she was drawn to Nakamura due to their similar and methodical approach to work:

“He’s going to be with me a lot next year. I am really looking forward to it. I think it’s nice because as a person, I think we’re quite similar in the sense that we’re very focused with our work. When we work, we’re not like talking or chit-chatting about other things. It’s very much like this is our time to focus.”

Emma Raducanu has been rather open about her willingness to put in long hours in the gym, and now she has a trainer who loves to do that as well. Time will tell whether he will be able to help her rid herself of her constant injury problems. So far, it's been a shaky start as she withdrew from the Auckland event due to a back issue.