British star says ‘provoking’ questions have contributed to turnover of coaches

Emma Raducanu, the former British number one and winner of the 2021 US Open, has shed light on the frequent changes in her coaching setup. She attributes this turnover to her penchant for posing challenging and thought-provoking questions to her coaches.

Raducanu recently parted ways with her fifth coach in just two years, Sebastian Sachs. When questioned about the frequent changes, she revealed, “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 perhaps that’s why it ended.”

The 20-year-old tennis player admits that she is always keen on engaging with her coaches intellectually. “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 you can just tell what to do, and I’ll do it. I need to understand why and then I’ll do it,” she said.

Raducanu has had a series of coaches since the beginning of her career. Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson, Torben Beltz, and Dimitri Tursunov are some of the coaches she has worked with. Despite her success at the US Open, she has struggled to maintain the same level of performance and has not competed since her loss against Jelena Ostapenko in April.

Following surgeries on her wrists and ankle in May, Raducanu is eager to return to competitive action in the upcoming season. She remains optimistic about her future in tennis and has her sights set on representing Great Britain at the Olympics, although she acknowledges that Paris 2024 may come too soon.

Raducanu gained widespread attention after winning the US Open at the age of 18. She aims to make a strong comeback and is determined to plan for her life beyond her tennis career.