Sue Barker has defended Emma Raducanu ’s decision to stick with coach Dmitry Tursunov. She initially hired the former tennis star on a trial basis and, while she is yet to confirm whether or not their partnership is now permanent, it appears to be a given as the pair enter their third month of working together.
The British number one has been through several trainers since lifting the US Open title last year. Stability is paramount for any young athlete and throughout her first full year on the WTA Tour, it has been tough going for the teenager both on and off the court. She has since split with Andrew Richardson - the coach who guided her to victory at Flushing Meadows - and Torben Beltz, a seasoned WTA mentor that she took on at the end of 2021 to help her adjust to life on tour.
After using some LTA coaches in the interim, she hired former ATP world No 20 Dmitry Tursunov this summer. Barker stressed the need for the Raducanu to have one consistent coach and welcomed the decision to have the Russian in her ranks for the long term.
“I feel she needs one person that she really trusts and believes in,” the 66-year-old told The Telegraph. “Every coach comes in with a different mindset, a different way of wanting to play and a different way of teaching. And to me that would be totally confusing.
“It would be disruptive before it became effective. But I also feel that the pressure that she's been put under has just been immense.” Since Tursanov has been by Raducanu’s side, the teen notched consecutive wins over legends Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka at the Cincinnati Masters in August.
She also reached the semi finals of the Korea Open last month, the first time the tennis star has managed this since winning in New York in 2021. But after a first round exit at the US Open this year, Raducanu fell to world No 83 from her previous spot of No 11.
But she has begun to climb back up the rankings by playing some smaller WTA 250 and 500 events.
And her choice to play the lowest-level of events on the WTA Tour has already paid off, as Raducanu reached her encouraging result in Seoul, saying: “I think it's pretty cool to make my first semi-final and build my way on tour the right way, to go through the stages.”
The world number 67 is competing at the Ostrava Open this week and is currently locked in battle with the dangerous Daria Kasatkina.
