Intriguing move from Emma Raducanu as latest coach leaves her camp

Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducnau has ended her latest coaching partnership and made a move that suggests she will be focusing on her fitness issues heading into 2023.

Raducanu is searching for her fifth coach in 16 months after her relationship with Dmitry Tursunov came to an end.

Reports suggest Raducanu wanted to continue with Tursunov, but the Russian decided to leave to work with another player.

The 19-year-old 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, 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.

Despite some progress with the partnership, some viewed Tursunov’s nationality as an issue, after British tennis chiefs opted to block players from Russia from competing in last summer’s grass court events in England.

His exit leaves a hole in Raducanu’s team once again, with former British No 1 Sue Barker suggesting stability is needed for the 2021 US Open champion to shine.

“She’s got the game and she’s shown she’s got the mindset and physically she’s fabulous,” she told The Telegraph.

“I mean, I don’t know about the injuries and what’s happening with those, but she got through the US Open from qualifying.

“I feel that she’s got all the attributes. Now she’s got to learn how to win and maybe how to enjoy it.

“She needs one person that she really trusts and believes in. 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.”

While a full-time coach is a priority for Raducanu once again, it has emerged that she is looking for answers to her fitness problems as she will be working with with Andy Murray’s former fitness coach Jez Green as she targets a return at the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Glasgow in November.

Raducanu, who will turn 20 next month, has spoken about her desire to find a way to steer clear of injuries after a troubled maiden first year on the WTA Tour.

Green’s addition to her team could be a significant move in her career, as he is respected for helping to take Murray to the next stage in his career after some initial fitness concerns.

In a recent appearance on the Controlling the Controlables podcast, Green outlined his vision for building a successful player and he will now be hoping to bring this plan into play with Raducanu.

“My philosophy has always been that tennis is a movement sport,” said Green. “People like to speak about track work or lifting weights but this is purely, to me, an accessory to movement.

“I’m fascinated with the greats and how they move. The best players are always the best movers. The actual specifics of movement — where the feet place, what angles the hips are, what angles the knees are, the centre of gravity, how wide the base is.”

Green has also worked with Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem, among other top players, in recent years.

 

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