‘They haven’t been able to keep up with questions I’ve asked’, Raducanu reveals reason behind turnover of coaches

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu has explained the reason behind the high turnover of coaches saying that she “keeps provoking and asking questions to coaches and challenging their thinking”.

In June, the 20-year-old ended her coaching stint with Sebastian Sachs, marking her fifth coaching change within two years. She has not yet announced her new coach.

“I ask my coaches a lot of questions. On certain occasions, they haven’t been able to keep up with the questions I’ve asked and maybe that’s why it ended,” Raducanu told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It’s something I’ve always done. I keep provoking and asking questions to coaches and challenging their thinking as well. I’m not someone that you can just tell me what do and I’ll do it, I need to understand why and then I’ll do it,” she added.

Raducanu commenced her career under the guidance of Nigel Sears, who departed shortly after her fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon in July 2021. A couple of months later, Andrew Richardson guided her to her famous victory in the 2021 US Open, when she became the first qualifier to win a major.

But the Briton stopped working with Richardson just two weeks after her surprise US Open triumph saying “she need someone who’s had that professional tour experience.”

Then, Torben Beltz was appointed in November 2021 but left in April 2022 and was replaced by Dimitri Tursunov, who said there were some red flags, that just couldn’t be ignored and convinced him to stop coaching the British player.

Raducanu struggled to hit the levels she found when winning the US Open as an 18-year-old. She has not played since losing to Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open in April. Later, the British tennis star missed all events this summer, including the French Open and the Wimbledon due to wrist and ankle injuries.

After undergoing surgery on both wrists and an ankle in May, Raducanu is hoping to get back into competitive action by the time the new season starts.

“I will be coming back with probably a lower ranking, but I’m actually looking forward to starting again, kind of resetting. I still have new goals and new things I want to achieve. But I’ve still got like 15 years left in my career, so there’s no rush,” she said.

The youngster aspires to compete for Britain at the Olympics, although the upcoming Paris 2024 Games may be a bit too soon for her.

“Obviously, the Olympics is such a big thing in sport. I think I could play another four if I really wanted to, so this one isn’t the immediate rush or pressure, it’s just about getting back on court.

“I love the Slams, but I do want to have the Olympic experience. I’ll just see how it goes, if I even qualify and how it goes from there,” Raducanu said.

–IANS

bc/bsk