Emma hires Russian as new coach
EMMA RADUCANU has turned to a Russian coach as she begins preparations for her US Open title defence next month. Raducanu is working with former Davis Cup player Dmitry Tursunov, who will be with her when she returns to action next week at the Citi Open in Washington DC. If their initial spell together — which was confirmed to Sportsmail by her management — goes well, Tursunov will guide Raducanu through the upcoming North American swing of the WTA tour. Tursunov is a former
world No 20 who 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-year-old, who has a huge number of ranking points to defend in New York and hasn’t played since losing to Caroline Garcia in round two of Wimbledon.
DURING an extremely solid career on the ATP Tour Dmitry Tursunov always 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, such as hiding Roger Federer’s racket bag before a match.
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 serious task of taking on Emma Raducanu, who since winning the US Open last September has shown only brief flashes of that form.
His coaching style is said to be forthright but it has produced excellent results for the likes of Anett Kontaveit and Aryna Sabalenka, aggressive baseliners who have been in the world’s top five under him. Raducanu has been hindered by repetitive injuries, which have highlighted the fact that she missed out on some 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 France’s Caroline Garcia in the second round. 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. There she will have to defend a mammoth 2,040 ranking points, adding to the pressure already of being the defending champion. Tursunov has the job of trying to further extract the undoubted potential of the British No 1, who currently stands at No 10 in the world. The Russian — who was the last player Tim Henman beat at a Grand Slam before retiring in 2007 — would not have been barred from Wimbledon this year, as the ban only extended to players and media. During the interview he gave a hint of what Raducanu can expect: ‘You need to have the other person agree with the process and you have to find better ways of communicating and getting your point across. ‘Players are quite sensitive — they’re one of the best in their fields. It’s about showing them they have room to improve.’