Dmitry Tursunov has spoken positively about Emma Raducanu’s work ethic and professionalism despite splitting up before the end of the season.
Tursunov had agreed to work with the former US Open champion after Wimbledon having previously worked with Anett Kontaveit.
The pair linked up in a big to try and improve Raducanu ahead of her US Open title defence.
However the move proved to be unsuccessful with Raducanu exiting at the first round stage to Alize Cornet.
The pair continued their partnership after the US Open before the Russian left Raducanu to be come Belinda Bencic’s full-time coach in early October.
In an initial interview Tursunov claimed there were many ‘red flags’ in coaching relationship that meant he could no longer work with the Brit.
It was also hinted that some of her team were not impressed by Tursunov hence the split.
However in an interview with Sportskeeda, Tursunov has spoken positively of the Brit and admitted it was tough to manage the expectations surrounding her US Open title defence, “Honestly, I did not see or feel that there were lots of outside things going on. From the time that we started, Emma just really had her nose to the ground,” Tursunov said.
“She was very hard working and did not see her skip a lot of things. There was no aura of diva or superstar about her and I think she has been managing that part very well.
“I was super impressed with her and couldn’t be happier with the way she is as a professional athlete. From my perspective, there are only positive things that I can say about her, just the way she handled it, how professional she is for her age. I wish I was like that when I played.
“As far as defending the US Open, I have never won a Slam so I don’t know what it’s like to defend a Grand Slam. I think she has done quite well in that sense. Honestly, the expectations of her repeating it were extremely unrealistic and anyone who understands anything about tennis would agree to that.
“It’s not because she doesn’t have the abilities. She has the ability but the game just needs to be improved to have that consistency to play at the high level. I think she was also very realistic, she understood that she’s got sort of a long way to improve and climb.
“And I think she was absolutely ready for it and hungry to improve. I can’t get into her mind. I can’t speak for her. But that’s the impression that I was getting.”
An extremely honest perspective from Tursunov on Raducanu with the Brit looking to rediscover her form in 2023 as she now sits at 74 in the world.
Raducanu will start her 2023 season in Auckland which begins on the 2nd of January.
