Emma Raducanu’s coaching carousel has been one of the highlights of her first full year of touring. From the sudden breaks in training to his unconventional decision to operate without a full-time person at the helm of his team, there has been talk of tennis.
But despite all the attention, a woman in her inner circle managed to fall under the radar. Raducanu’s childhood coach Jane O’Donoghue has been described as the “invisible mentor” who supports her stratospheric rise, and has now joined the most important moment in the tennis calendar: Wimbledon.
Former LTA player and coach O’Donoghue appeared on Tuesday at the All England Club’s Aorangi Park training grounds with Raducanu. He has been by her side all week, as he prepares to return to the tournament he started his career just 12 months ago.
For those who know, it was no surprise. O’Donoghue’s former LTA teammate and doubles partner Claire Curran simply says, “Jane has never been on Emma’s team.”
O’Donoghue, a former player in the top 200, spent a decade in the LTA between 2009 and 2019, primarily as head of women’s tennis. In this role she helped guide Raducanu’s development, particularly from the ages of 13 to 17, sometimes attending his training sessions in Bromley three times a week and also traveling with her to junior competitions.
In 2019 she changed her powerful tennis career for the city and now works for the Royal Bank of Canada, but has continued to be Raducanu’s confidante. “She’s always been an invisible mentor to Emma, she’s a family friend,” Curran says. “So even though she hasn’t been on stage in the last three and a half years, she’s been a big part of Emma’s inner circle.”