Emma Raducanu needs to concentrate on finding “consistency” on the WTA Tour rather than go down down the road of a ‘super coach’ after her relationship with Dmitry Tursunov came to an end.
The former US Open champion is searching for her fifth coach in 16 months after her Russian coach Tursunov decided against extending his stay beyond his current deal.
Raducanu, who turns 20 next month, enjoyed some promising results under Tursunov, including reaching the semi-final of the Korea Open in Seoul last month.
However she has continued to suffer injury setbacks in a stop-start season, retiring midway through her last-four clash with Jelena Ostapenko with a glute injury and withdrawing from last week’s Transylvania Open with a wrist problem.
Andrew Richardson helped Raducanu to US Open glory after their fairy-tale win together in 2021 before Jeremy Bates stepped in for Indian Wells last year with German Torben Beltz, who helped Angelique Kerber reach world No 1, then coming on board.
She turned to Tursunov ahead of her 2022 US Open defence, but with that partnership at an end all thoughts have quickly turned to who the British No 1 will bring on board next.
Andrew Richardson was the coach who helped Raducanu seal US Open glory last year
Tennis analyst Barry Cowan told Sky Sports: “I wasn’t surprised in the end because I sort of felt with the stages of where they were at in terms of Raducanu’s tennis and Tursunov in terms of his coaching, he had just come out working with Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit ahead of Wimbledon.
“I think things changed with Raducanu’s ranking and where Tursunov’s from – there were complications with potential visas – and I think it was probably best for both parties in the end. I always thought it was going to be short-term and history will tell you that Raducanu’s history with coaches are going to be short-term.
“We’re back in a position where Raducanu has been for a few times for most of her tennis career. This is what she likes and this is what she wants.
“Even before that as a junior, her belief has always been the coach is there for a short-term, so it’s probably time to take stock and work on her fitness a couple of months before the new season.”
“Jez Green is a great appointment and in my opinion one of the top trainers”
Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer, Jez Green, has been added to her team to help address her ongoing injury problems.
Green is currently working with former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, but he will be able to spend part of his time advising Raducanu in the coming weeks as she steps up her preparations ahead of the new season.
The physical trainer has also worked with Alexander Zverev and last year’s Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova – an appointment Cowan believes will benefit the teenager.
“Jez Green is a great appointment and in my opinion one of the top trainers,” claimed Cowan. “From my understanding it’s only short-term because he still has commitments with Thiem so it’s something she will have to get sorted out as well as a coach.
“It’s really, really important that Raducanu not only gets a coach, but someone who can really develop her physical aspect because that is the one thing tennis players absolutely have to have. The women’s game is very powerful and strong with some incredible athletes.”
Cowan believes Raducanu’s ambitions of defending her title at Flushing Meadows were ‘unrealistic’
Cowan added Raducanu’s ambitions of defending her US Open were “unrealistic” with her body still developing and her ranking around the 50 mark – she’s currently No 68.
He also admits being slightly surprised by how disruptive her coaching merry-go-round has been off the court.
“Her year on the court has probably worked out what I would have expected, but off the court it’s something that I didn’t expect it to be as disruptive as it has been in terms of the coaches that she’s had,” said Cowan.
“You don’t want to have too much of a different input because that can only confuse things and tennis is a sport when you play your best, everything comes naturally. I expect her to make the right decisions moving forward.
“You’ve got to have a consistency in your development. It’s not just she has to hire coaches for the sake of hiring a coach. If Raducanu doesn’t feel that she needs a coach, then I’m absolutely fine about that, but you have to have a consistency around your tennis.
“There is still plenty of time for her to get back to the level that she wants to get back to because she expects high things of herself. She wouldn’t have won the US Open in the manner that she did if she didn’t believe in her own ability.”
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Despite a number of big name coaches being linked with Raducanu, Cowan feels she doesn’t necessarily need to go down the road of the ‘Super Coach’.
“She needs someone to help because she’s only 19 and you don’t know everything about the sport at that age,” he said.
“Only Raducanu can make that decision rather than a suggestion from another person saying ‘what about that person’ because if Raducanu doesn’t believe in that person then ultimately it’s going to fail.”
Raducanu is next targeting a return at the Billie Jean King Cup finals for Great Britain in Glasgow next month.
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