Barry Cowan thinks Emma Raducanu looks “a lot happier on the court” since teaming up with Russian coach Dmitry Tursunov. Tursunov, who previously led Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit to breaking into the top-10, has accompanied Raducanu during two tournaments this summer.
In their first tournament, Raducanu reached the Washington quarterfinal. Then, Raducanu defeated Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka before losing to Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati last-16. After the US Open, Raducanu will likely then make the final decision on whether or not to hire Tursunov full-time.
“If his role is also there to make Emma Raducanu feel relaxed then that’s half the battle,” Cowan told Sky Sports. “If you’re a happy player off the court you’re more than likely going to be a happy player on the court.
So right now it seems a pretty good fit, obviously further down the road we’ll see how long that relationship lasts but I think right now it seems like a pretty positive impact that he’s had because Raducanu looks a lot happier on the court”.
Cowan thinks Tursunov is a good fit for Raducanu
Last summer, Tursunov started working with Kontaveit. Shortly after hiring Tursunov, Kontaveit won four titles, broke into the top-10 and made her WTA Finals debut. Tursunov has quickly established himself as one of the best players on the WTA Tour and his track record speaks for itself.
“I knew Dmitry as a person, I knew Dmitry as a player. Anyone who watched him as a player, he was an absolute free spirit,” Cowan added. “And he’s obviously got a very good track record with some of the players he’s worked with, Sabalenka and Kontaveit”.
Raducanu hired Torben Beltz ahead of the 2022 season but the two split in April. There were rumors that Raducanu was aiming to hire Riccardo Piatti before the French Open, but nothing happened. It remains to be seen if Tursunov will become the new full-time coach of Raducanu.
