Emma’s Russian roulette

DMITRY Tursunov, who took over as Emma Raducanu’s last week, once criticised Raducanu for her “coaching carousel” approach.

The Russian, who has lived in the US for many years, was quoted in November last year:

“If someone from her team called me now and asked if I wanted to train her, I would tremble with fear because you don’t know when you will be fired.”

The comments came after after Raducanu parted ways with Andrew Richardson just weeks after her win at the US Open.

Now he is charged with reinvigorating her career, and after previously coaching both Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit, he has the right credentials for the job.

Raducanu has struggled with form and injury since her victory at Flushing Meadows, and has not reached a final on the WTA Tour since.

She has been without a coach since Torben Beltz quit in April.

Tursunov is known for an aggressive approach to his coaching, something radicand might benefit from, as she prepares to return to action this week at the Citi Open.

Tursunov, 39, a former world No. 20, retired as a player in 2017, and most recently has worked with Estonian Kontaveit.

The appointment didn’t appeal to everyone though, with one left wing British politician wading in to tell her team the Russian was not welcome.

Labour politician Chris Bryant claimed the move would aid Russian propaganda in its war with Ukraine, even though Tursunov has not lived in Russia for many years.

MEANWHILE… British No. 1 Cameron Norrie has been training with another Russian, Daniil Medvedev, at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice as he prepares for the US Open.

Norrie, 26, had never got past the third round of a Grand Slam until he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon last month.

“I have been down in France with Daniil Medvedev and it’s been great,” Norrie said.

“He’s my favourite player to watch. My coach is always messaging the best players to practice so hopefully you may get more leeway with some of the top guys when you have some success.”

Norrie added he stayed away from commenting on anything about Wimbledon when in conversation with Medvedev.

“The truth is that I didn’t want to tell him anything about Wimbledon, I know it’s a sensitive issue for him,” he said.

A NOISY Serbian protest group has written to US President Joe Biden, calling on him to allow Novak Djokovic to play at the US Open.

Unvaccinated foreign travellers are currently banned from entering the US.

The Serbian-American Voting Alliance’s letter cited article 3(b) “national interest” of the presidential proclamation, which allows for some foreign nationals to be exempt from existing Covid restrictions.

“The US Open is the biggest tennis tournament in the world, and it won’t be what it is without Novak Djokovic,” the letter read.

“Considering the economic situation and the crisis at all levels, America must not allow the US Open not to take place in its full glory and capacity, which means the arrival of Novak Djokovic, who has been crowned three times at the US Open.”

DUTCH coach Max Wenders has been banned from the sport for 12 years for match-fixing, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced on Wednesday.

The ITIA said Wenders admitted to “multiple match-fixing charges” and also admitted to destroying evidence and failing to report a corrupt approach.

The ITIA didn’t say when or where the incidents had taken place.

Wenders was banned and fined $12,000 at a hearing in April 2021 but the sanctions weren’t published until last week after final submissions from Wenders’ legal team had been assessed.

WIMBLEDON’S plans to expand their footprint in southwest London has come under fire from local residents fearing traffic chaos in their neighbourhood.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club has submitted plans to expand into neighbouring Wimbledon Park Golf Club – an area that would span 67 hectares.

But the Wimbledon Society has lodged complaints saying there would be a “substantial increase” in construction traffic as part of an objection to the plan.

“We believe the environmental impact of the soil movements and substantial increase in construction traffic has been dramatically underestimated by the planning documents,” the Wimbledon Society said last week.

“This serious underestimate casts doubt on the proposed timetable, as well as its environmental figures and calculations in this complex application.

“Without further clarity, the application should be rejected or withdrawn and further amended.”

The AELTC plans include creating a route around Wimbledon Park Lake and a pedestrian link between Wimbledon Park railway station and Wimbledon Village.

If approved it could increase the daily capacity of the annual tennis tournament from 42,000 to 50,000 a day.

The AELTC has estimated there would be just over 4,700 lorry movements for the project, something the protesters believe in unacceptable.

NICK Kyrgios’ day in court to face an assault charge after an incident with former girlfriend Chiara Passari has been postponed by three weeks.

The charge relates to an incident in Canberra in January last year.

The Aussie was initially required to face the ACT Magistrates Court on August 2.

Kyrgios has confirmed this week he and current girlfriend Costeen Hatzi want to have a baby.

The outspoken Aussie recently signed up for a show with Netflix, primarily about his run to the final at Wimbledon.

It will earn him millions with fly-on-the-wall style sports documentaries attracting massive audiences.

The show will be similar to Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ in which F1 drivers were showcased through their season.

Kyrgios was asked why he signed up for the show: “I think I was quite interested because I think tennis culture is changing,” he said.

” I think there is a lot of, I mean, there is no hiding it. Tennis is a very white privileged sport.

“I loved the fact that I was able to show my path and the way I go about it and how I connect with people. I think it’s a very different side to how people would perceive most tennis players.”

Kyrgios is still struggling with a knee injury and faces a race to get fit in time for New York next month.

WTF … Organisers of a South American tour have threatened to sue Rafa Nadal for $10 million after he pulled out of an event in 2019.

The 22-time grand slam champion was supposed to play in an exhibition match in Argentina as part of a bigger tour that included matches in the US, Mexico and Ecuador.

A fourth match, planned for Argentina, was also part of the plan, but Nadal’s agent Carlos Costa has been accused of pulling out of that event. The whole tour did not eventuate.

Argentine businessmen Lisandro Borges and Arturo Alacahan claim Costa ended the negotiations because he had been allegedly offered a bigger deal elsewhere.

AND finally … Ash Barty has married longtime boyfriend Gary Kissick in a private ceremony in Queensland.

Barty posted a wedding photo alongside Kissick to Instagram yesterday with the caption “Husband & Wife.”