Briton delighted to name Beltz as coach
german guided Kerber to double grand slam successes pair will team up to prepare for next year’s Australian Open
Emma Raducanu confirmed last night that the experienced German coach Torben Beltz is to become her next coach, starting with her offseason training block as she builds towards January’s Australian Open.
Beltz is best known for his work with Angelique Kerber, the former Wimbledon champion, but news emerged on Monday that the Germans had split.
Raducanu had declined to identify her new appointment on Sunday, probably because she was waiting for Kerber to reveal the end of that relationship. However, when asked about the new deal last night at the end of her defeat by Xinyu Wang at the Linz Open, she was happy to confirm it. “You guys cracked it!” Raducanu said. “It’s obviously a great privilege to be working with such an experienced coach. I’m definitely very excited to work with him throughout the preseason and into next year”
Tennis insiders have been discussing this potential partnership since a revealing photo popped up on the Instagram fan site nuts4raducanu on Oct 20. The photo showed Raducanu at the A Mano Coffee Bar and Kitchen in Orpington with Beltz and her agent Chris Helliar.
Raducanu confirmed last night that they had experimented with working together at the nearby Bromley Tennis Centre that same week. “We trialled for a few days and got on very well,” she said.
Beltz enjoyed a long association with Kerber, notably in her dream season of 2016 when she won both the hard-court majors.
Kerber is a fine example of a player who made every ounce of her ability count. A decade ago, she was ranked a lowly No77 when she became the first Wimbledon victim of 17-year-old British phenomenon
Laura Robson. Few would have imagined then that it would be Kerber – rather than Robson – who would land three major titles.
“Obviously, he’s worked with Kerber,” said Raducanu. “She is such a great player and has done extremely well, won three slams. And I think that experience definitely helps with someone as inexperienced as me. So, he can help guide me through, which I feel really confident about. Also, he’s a really positive, cheerful guy who brings great energy to the team. So, I think that’s also important when
you’re travelling on the road for quite a long time on the tour.”
Beltz, 44, did not have much of a playing career. He is listed as having appeared in a couple of low-level matches in 2000, when he would have been 23, but does not seem to have had a professional ranking.
As a coach, however, he has established a strong reputation as a reliable, reassuring operator. He would certainly seem a strong choice for Raducanu’s first coach as a regular member of the WTA Tour.
As Raducanu said in September, when she announced that she would not be continuing with her US Open coach, Andrew Richardson: “I really need someone right now that has had that WTA Tour experience at the high levels.”