US Open: Emma Raducanu training with new coach Dmitry Tursunov despite exit 'great to see', says Mats Wilander

Updated 02/09/2022 at 18:24 GMT

Despite a straight sets opening round defeat to Alize Cornet at the US Open, Emma Raducanu has stayed in New York to continue practicing with new coach Dmitry Tursunov who she is currently working with on a trial basis. Eurosport experts Mats Wilander and Kim Clijsters believe this is a positive step given her coaching merry-go-round in the last year.

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Emma Raducanu has been praised for sticking around at the US Open to continue practicing with coach Dmitry Tursunov despite her first-round exit.

The shock 2021 champion entered a trial period working with the Russian for the American swing, with Tursunov the Brit’s fourth coach in 13 months.

Raducanu, 19, suffered disappointment in New York as she looked to defend the title she won last year but was knocked out by Alize Cornet in straight sets.

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This setback doesn’t seem to have impacted her working relationship with Russian Tursunov however, as the two were seen practicing at Flushing Meadows two days after the loss.

Eurosport expert and seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander was impressed to see Raducanu and Tursunov maintaining their efforts despite elimination from the tournament:

He said: “I can believe [she’s still practising] because she just started working with Dmitry Tursunov, who I think is a great coach, who helped Aryna Sabalenka a lot, even though they’re not together anymore.

“So, yeah I like it. We have to remember Raducanu is in her second year of being on tour. Even though she won the US Open, she hasn’t really been on tour so I think it’s great.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to go back to Britain because it might be raining over there and here we have beautiful, beautiful weather,” Wilander joked.

Raducanu’s constant coaching changes have come under scrutiny in the tennis world, with the star unable to settle on anybody long-term.

Nigel Sears was replaced by Andrew Richardson following Wimbledon last year. Despite the latter helping her to her historic first major win, his contract was not renewed.

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Torben Belitz was brought in November of last year but the two parted ways after just five months.

The teenager had no coach for the French Open and Wimbledon at the start of the summer before beginning work with Tursunov in July.

Three-time US open champion Kim Clijsters also agreed that it was positive to see Raducanu trying to build a relationship with a new mentor.

“It does take time [to develop the player-coach relationship],” she said. “A lot of times coaches start a little trial period and if you don’t get enough matches to be together then you’ll want to put in some extra work.

“And who knows? He might have some travelling restrictions being a Russian, so it’s a little harder to get visas. So it might be one of the reasons they are sticking around here to work together and get to know each other a little bit more.”