Emma Raducanu's agent Max Eisenbud on her turnover of five coaches in two years: "Her dad and Emma control all the coaching stuff. All the way through the juniors, they never had coaches a long time. For them, that's calm waters. I think it is fine to do things differently."
Tuesday 25 July 2023 10:53, UK
Emma Raducanu's agent Max Eisenbud has defended her high turnover of coaches, saying it is something she is likely to do "for the rest of her career."
Raducanu, 20, has worked with five different coaches over the last two years, since winning the US Open in 2021 as an 18-year-old.
Such a situation has led to criticism, particularly as the Brit has failed to perform to the same level since that sensational Grand Slam victory.
"It's probably going to be like that for the rest of her career. That's what's comfortable for them [Raducanu's camp]," IMG senior vice-president Eisenbud told The Tennis Podcast.
"I'm not saying it is right or wrong, but that is the way they have done it, and I think it is fine to do things differently.
"Her dad and Emma control all the coaching stuff.
"All the way up through the juniors, they never had coaches a long time, so, for them, that's calm waters - having a coach for four to five months and then going on to someone else.
"Emma and her dad have their own philosophy. Richard Williams (father of Venus and Serena) had his own philosophy, which was different, and Yuri Sharapova (father of Maria) had his.
"We are not sitting in a sport that has a plethora of great coaches - maybe eight, nine or 10 great coaches.
"Most of the great, great coaches don't want to travel for 35 or 40 weeks a year and leave their families, so you have a small pool that are willing to travel and charge very little money, so they keep getting recycled and recycled. That is why you see coaches hopping around."
Raducanu began her career working with British coach Nigel Sears - Andy Murray's father-in-law - but moved on after her 2021 fourth-round exit at Wimbledon.
Andrew Richardson was Raducanu's next coach and worked with her for her remarkable victory at Flushing Meadows in September 2021, but was no longer in place by the end of that year.
German coach Torben Beltz was appointed in November 2021 but left in April 2022, before Russian coach Dimitri Tursunov took over in July 2022, warning of a number of "red flags", and was gone in September 2022.
In December 2022, Raducanu began working with Sebastian Sachs - who had guided Belinda Bencic to an Olympic gold medal in 2021 - as her new coach on a trial basis but the arrangement came to an end last month.
"There are coaches who might be afraid to take the shot because they've seen the track record," Eisenbud admits.
"I understand it is uncomfortable and doesn't fit in the box that everyone wants, but if Emma Raducanu's biggest issue is that she is changing coaches every couple of months, I will sign up for that."
