“Her belief has always been the coach is there for a short-term“ - Cowan on Raducanu

| by Kadir Macar

Emma Raducanu parted ways with coach Dmitry Tursunov who is set to coach another WTA player and Sky Sports analyst Barry Cowan broke down her tennis year.

British tennis player Raducanu, who turns 20 next month, is currently without a coach after parting ways with Dmitry Tursunov. The Russian had a few recent successful stays with players recently but this one was quite brief and fruitless.

Cowan was not surprised: "I wasn't surprised in the end because I sort of felt with the stages of where they were at in terms of Raducanu's tennis and Tursunov in terms of his coaching, he had just come out working with Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit ahead of Wimbledon."

The coaching carousels in Raducanu's team have been the subject of many debates. Tennis purists are horrified by the way the grand slam champion changes coaches but according to Cowan it is to be expected due to her history:

"We don't know how to play dirty tennis" - Tsitsipas' mother Julia on Wimbledon clash against Kyrgios
"We don't know how to play dirty tennis" - Tsitsipas' mother Julia on Wimbledon clash against Kyrgios

"We're back in a position where Raducanu has been for a few times for most of her tennis career. This is what she likes and this is what she wants. Even before that as a junior, her belief has always been the coach is there for a short-term, so it's probably time to take stock and work on her fitness a couple of months before the new season."

"Jez Green is a great appointment and in my opinion one of the top trainers," claimed Cowan who is very familiar with his career. "From my understanding, it's only short-term because he still has commitments with Thiem so it's something she will have to get sorted out as well as a coach.

"He's probably the best role model" - Thiem on taking inspiration from Nadal during comeback
"He's probably the best role model" - Thiem on taking inspiration from Nadal during comeback

Despite her propensity to switch coaches easily, Cowan is convinced she needs help. In which form that comes is less important but the need for consistency is needed: "She needs someone to help because she's only 19 and you don't know everything about the sport at that age. Only Raducanu can make that decision rather than a suggestion from another person saying 'what about that person' because if Raducanu doesn't believe in that person then ultimately it's going to fail."

Read the full article

Just in

Look at more articles