Emma Raducanu’s former coach moved on and wants to work with other Grand Slam contenders like Coco Gauff in the upcoming season. During the 2022 campaign, British star Raducanu was trained by Russian Dmitry Tursunov. However, after Raducanu’s regular season, Tursunov ended their partnership after noticing what he described as ‘red flags’ regarding Raducanu.
In a recent interview, Tursunov said: “This year I have identified four girls who, in my opinion, could win the Slam: Liudmila Samsonova, Coco Gauff, Paula Badosa, and Qingwen Zheng. It would be cool to work with these players if we both wanted to.”
American Gauff is by far the most skilled of the four players listed. She rose to the third rank in the world after winning her first Grand Slam in September at the US Open.
After working with Raducanu’s team, Tursunov revealed his reasons for leaving, citing the lack of a long-term plan that he thought was impossible.
In October, Tursunov said: “We didn’t agree on the terms and there were some red flags that just couldn’t be ignored. Our trial period was over at the US Open but I stuck around, trying to see if there was going to be a way to impress the team. I wanted to make it work. First, she’s great, a hard worker, and she doesn’t think or act like a superstar. She’s extremely talented, very athletic, and very coordinated. She is hungry to improve and is obsessed with tennis.”
Due to injury, Raducanu missed most of the 2023 season. However, she is making a comeback at the ASB Classic to qualify for or earn a wildcard spot in the Australian Open.
Emma Raducanu in 2023
Now the world no.298, Emma played her last match on the 18th of April when she lost to world no.13 Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-1 in the 1st round in Stuttgart (draw).
Presently, during this year Raducanu has achieved a 5-5 record.
Coco Gauff in 2023
Now ranked no.3 (career-high), the American played her last match on the 4th of November when she surrendered to world no.5 Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-1 in the semifinal in Cancun (draw).
Until now, during this year Coco has managed to achieve a 51-16 match record. Gauff conquered 4 titles in 2023 in Auckland, Washington, Cincinnati and U.S. Open.
Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff faced off only 1 time. Their current head to head is 1-0 for Gauff. When they played, Coco Gauff won 6-3 7-6(4) in the 2nd round in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 18th of January 2023.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff |
| Embed from Getty Images |
