Raducanu working with Russian coach Tursunov
of his homeland’s invasion of Ukraine, as the ban only extended to players and media. The former world No 20 has had considerable success with clients on the circuit since retiring as a player in 2017. Most recently, he took Anett Kontaveit of Estonia into the world’s top five, before they split after the French Open. Raducanu hasn’t had a full-time coach since parting ways with the German Torben Beltz in April. This is a key period for the 19-yearold, who has a huge number of ranking points to defend in New York and hasn’t played since losing to Caroline Garcia in the second round of Wimbledon. During an extremely solid career on the ATP Tour, Tursunov had a reputation for being a character and practical joker. He wrote a well-followed blog entitled Tursunov Tales, detailing life on the circuit and the things he would get up to. After reaching No 20 in the world he has gone on to enjoy success in coaching. As he put it in a recent interview with Tennis.com: ‘Sometimes, I enjoy acting like an idiot, but I really know what I’m talking about and I’m passionate about it.’ Born in Moscow 39 years ago, the sport has been his life since moving to the United States aged 12 to pursue his dreams. He now has the task of taking on Raducanu who, since winning the US Open last September, has shown only brief flashes of form. His coaching style is said to be forthright, but it has produced excellent results for the likes of Kontaveit and Aryna Sabalenka, aggressive baseliners who have been in the world’s top five under his guidance. Raducanu has been hindered by repetitive injuries, which have highlighted the fact she missed out on physical development while completing her school education. A side strain suffered at Nottingham almost kept her out of Wimbledon where, looking underpowered, she was well beaten by Garcia. Since then she has kept a low profile, but Sportsmail understands she travelled out to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, earlier this month. Much of the work Raducanu has done there has been physical, as she attempts to catch up with that side of the game ahead of a crucial run of tournaments. She is due to play in Washington, the Canadian Open and Cincinnati before heading to New York where she will face the pressure of being the defending champion.