Emma Raducanu's agent, Max Eisenbud, recently shared his opinion on why his client has been changing coaches almost regularly since rising to prominence.
Eisenbud, who is tied to IMG, was one of the people who believed that Raducanu was on the cusp of something special while competing at the 2021 US Open. The Briton famously came through qualifying and sensationally went on to win the tournament.
She became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam. But it was when she reached the second week that Eisenbud started the paperwork and began securing deals with high-end brands for the relatively unheralded teenager at the time.
Having worked with former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova, this was bound to be another success story, according to the Head of IMG. Although she won the US Open almost three years ago, Raducanu's tennis career has gone downhill as injuries have derailed all that momentum and breakthrough.
She also caught the inconsistency bug and hasn't been anywhere near another WTA final, let alone lift another title. One of the major reasons that has been pointed out is her frequent changing of coaches. She has worked with no fewer than eight coaches since 2021.
According to Eisenbud, who was a guest in an episode of the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, the regular coaching changes are affected by Raducanu's father, Ian, who prioritized education over sending his daughter to a tennis academy.
"I think that the coaching situation is something that is hard for people to accept, and she has a father who likes to do things differently like some other fathers."
"Education is first in his world, and you see that by him, where she went to regular school, she never went to an academy, and you got to celebrate that. He has a different philosophy about how long coaches should be and all that kind of stuff."
Having termed it as a "philosophy," Eisenbud also added that many people tend not to agree with this approach, especially journalists who always have a bone to pick, but it seems to be working for Raducanu.
"I say to myself and I say to them if the media is only ripping you on who your coaches are, and when you keep coaches, we're going to be in a pretty good situation. That's how they do it, and as the agent, do I necessarily agree with it? I don't. But it seems to work for her."
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