Former ATP player Dmitry Tursunov came under fire for his coaching methods that has impacted the physical well-being of some WTA players.
In response to a fan comment on YouTube, Natalia Zabiiako, the girlfriend of WTA star Daria Kasatkina, revealed her reasons why Kasatkina will not consider the services of Dmitry Tursunov, a renowned coach at WTA level and former ATP pro who achieved a career-high ranking of number 20.
Tursunov has forged a successful coaching career since his premature retirement in 2017 due to injuries. The curly-haired Russian worked with current WTA number two Aryna Sabalenka and is credited for turning the Belarusian into a world beater back in the early phase of her career before they split in 2019.
Tursunov then coached Anett Kontaveit in the summer of 2021 and steered her to a career-best ranking of number two in the world last year. But their partnership ended at the start of June last season. While the Russian was famous for being able to get instant results among the players he coached, his coaching methods have been frowned upon by a section of tennis fans.
"So effective that after several months of working with him, everyone gets injured or ends up [injured]. And yes, for more than a year, at best, he does not work with anyone. I think Anette is extremely 'thankful' to him. Oh yeah, and he's a sh*t man."
In fact, some fans put the blame on Tursunov's coaching habits for triggering Anett Kontaveit's back problems, which forced the Estonian into early retirement at 27. Tursunov also worked with Emma Raducnu briefly, but the two could not reach a compromise, and left on his own terms.
The 40-year-old was the coach of Belinda Bencic for a six-month period which ended in April this season - with the latter's recent injuries being tied to their short stint working together. Bencic missed almost two months mid-season due to a hip injury.
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