Coach Dmity Tursunov reveals he sat down with Emma Raducanu and her team as he wanted to make clear that her reputation of constantly changing coaches wasn’t good to have. After splitting with three coaches in one year, Raducanu took some time before adding Tursunov to her team on a trial ahead of the North American hard court swing.
“It’s not a good reputation to have,” Tursunov said on the Tennis Legend Podcast, per Sportskeeda. “One of the first things I said to her agent and coach was that ‘You have a reputation for it and it has been happening.
So obviously, we need to address that or we need to discuss that because nobody wants to be in a situation that is not very stable.’ ”
Tursunov reveals Raducanu’s explanation
After guiding Raducanu to the 2021 Wimbledon round-of-16, Nigel Sears was fired.
Two months later, Andrew Richardson guided Raducanu to the US Open title, but he also got fired. After the 2021 season ended, Raducanu hired Angelique Kerber’s ex-coach Torben Beltz – who lasted just five months into the 2022 season.
According to Tursunov, Raducanu told him he couldn’t establish a connection with either of her past coaches and that’s why she did what she did. “I liked her explanation of the fact that she hasn’t been able to find someone she truly connects with and I respect that.
Ultimately you want a coach that understands where you’re coming from. It’s easier to connect and some of the things you don’t have to explain…It helps to have a good connection with someone and that explanation makes sense to me,” Tursunov revealed.
Previously, Tursunov worked with Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit. When asked whether he fears getting fired by Raducanu, he insisted that he does not. “I’ve gotten fired already twice and I’m not scared of being fired.
Ultimately, I know I have information that I can provide and if the player wants that information, I’m there. If she fires me tomorrow, it’s her decision. I might not like it, I might not agree with it, but I can survive,” Tursunov said.
