Emma Raducanu new coach: why US Open 2021 champion split from Dmitry Tursunov and injury problems explained

Emma Raducanu and her coach Dmitry Tursunov have parted ways after just three months and the 2021 US Open champion has now turned to Andy Murray’s former fitness coach, Jez Green, to address her ongoing injury problems.

The current British number one was enjoying a promising spell with Tursunov and had won eight out of her 15 matches, including a spell that saw her reach the semi-finals of the Korea Open in Seoul last month.

However, it is understood that while Raducanu wished to continue with the Russian trainer, Tursunov has decided to leave to work with another player.

Raducanu shot to fame in 2021 when she reached the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships before going on to win the US Open in September. However, since her New York success, the 18-year-old has struggled with form and injury struggles, losing in her first round at Flushing Meadows last month seeing her ranking shoot down to 68.

In the past 16 months, Raducanu has had five coaches and is now searching for another as she has hopes of being fit for the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow in November.

What injury struggles has Emma Raducanu faced?

During the 19-year-old’s first year on WTA tour, her grass-court campaign was wrecked by a side train and she is now currently recovering from a wrist injury after being forced to pull out of her last four fixture in Seol last month.

She has previously been forced off the field for a host of injuries including blisters, side strains, hip and back problems. It has been confirmed Raducanu will not feature in the upcoming Transylvania Open as she hopes to return fit for Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Who are Emma Raducanu’s past coaches?

Andrew Richardson who coached Raducanu during her Wimbledon and US Open success before Jeremy Bates was called in ahead of Indian Wells last year. Bates was hired as an interim coach while she searched for a more permanent fixture.

In this time, the young British star also worked with Andy Murray’s father-in-law Nigel Sears before hiring the German coach Torben Beltz. Beltz helped Angelique Kerber in her most successful period in 2016 where she reached world number one however Raducanu and Beltz split after just five months.

After parting ways with Beltz, Raducanu then turned to Tursunov ahead of her US Open 2022 campaign but it would appear the Russian has opted not to extend their trial period into a long-term deal.

Who is Jez Green?

The fitness trainer Jez Green previously worked with Andy Murray and trained him up from a promising athlete into the tennis star he became. The 50-year-old trainer was a key component in making Murray a player who could handle the toils of the tour after his early career was plagued with injuries.

In recent years, Green has worked with Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem but he has now recently been seen at Roehampton’s National Tennis Centre with Raducanu. Last year’s Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova has also undergone a training block with Green and described it as ‘life-changing’.

He focuses byeond just building up strength and fitness but how an athlete moves and then builds a long-term plan which seeks to enable players to get into the best position for their body to hit the ball. Green has previously stated he needs six to 12 months to properly instil his ideas, which includes spells completely away from the tennis court.

Speaking on his guiding principles to the Control the Controllables podcast, Green said: “People like to speak about track work or lifting weights but this is purely, to me, an accessory to movement.

“I’m fascinated with the greats and how they move. The best players are always the best moves. The actual specifics of movement - where the feet place, what angles the hips are, what angles the knees are, the centre of gravity, how wide the base is.”