Raducanu dismisses Tursunov comments as she gets set to start Australian Open campaign

Sunday, 15 January 2023 at 17:00

Updated at Sunday, 15 January 2023 at 15:51

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byTom Grant

Emma Raducanu has told former coach Dmitry Tursunov he can "say what he thinks" as she prepares to start her assault on the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The Brit had a turbulent 2022 following her remarkable 2021 US Open win and is currently under the coaching eye of Sebastian Sachs - her fifth such partnership in just over 18 months.

The World No.77 worked with Russian Tursunov between July and October last year and previously spoke of "red flags" in relation to his time with the Raducanu camp.

He said after ending the partnership:

"We didn’t agree on the terms and there were some red flags that just couldn’t be ignored."

He added:

"In my opinion, her game is very raw, and I think in many ways it could use a lot of improvement. It’s going to take some time, but as I said to her and to pretty much everyone on her team: I think you just need to have one voice and just try that for a bit. And then if it doesn’t work, you cross that off your list."

Raducanu - who faces up to Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch in the first round on Monday - insisted she has always had many people in her team and said Tursunov is entitled to his opinion.

She told the BBC:

“I think growing up, I always had quite a lot of people around me. And it was more just me picking and choosing what to take with me and what to leave behind. I really don’t think so [it’s] anything out of the ordinary. He [Tursunov] can say what he thinks.”

When asked if she thinks it’s important to consult a variety of sources, Raducanu added:

“I think part of it is that I didn’t have that small core team. I didn’t have that solid setup and team that I really trusted. For me this year now I feel like I’ve definitely made it, so I probably don’t need to consult that far."

The 20-year-old will be joined in Melbourne by Sachs, her physical therapist Will Herbert and her agent Chris Helliar, alongside Andy Murray's former fitness coach Jez Green, who she appointed in October.