Tennis News: Emma Raducanu's decision to have a Russian coach
After displaying brilliant tennis at the US Open 2021, Emma Raducanu has failed to achieve consistency. The British player has received criticism for being involved in multiple sponsorship contracts with famous brands, including Tiffany & Co., Dior, Porsche and Vodafone UK
Emma RaducanuSome tennis experts believe that the 2002-born player has been focusing on off-court factors than on the tournaments. Now, she has a chance to defend her title at Flushing Meadows at the end of August.
However, her efforts to return to normalcy have jumped out the window now that her decision to employ a new coach has made headlines. The British star has approached Russian coach Dmitry Tursunov, former coach of Aryna Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit.
The trial period would kickstart at the Washington WTA tournament. In Great Britain, the government was opposed to her decision which initiated a political case.
Chris Bryant, a Labor MP, spoke harshly about Raducanu, "It would be a shame if Emma went ahead with this idea of her, I ask her to seriously reconsider and condemn Putin's barbaric war."
It is to be seen if the controversy taking birth in Great Britain will affect Raducanu's performance in the United States. If we consider the challenges involved from all angles, it would not be easy for her.
Daniil Medvedev ahead in ATP ranking
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev is enjoying his 11th week at the top of the ATP rankings. The Russian is competing at Los Cabos after being banned from Wimbledon and is anticipating a good season after defending many points there.
Daniil will continue his reign over the ATP throne next week and match Boris Becker on 12 weeks, but things might go downhill on August 15. He must perform at Los Cabos and the Canada Masters to retain his spot.
Second-ranked Alexander Zverev is taking an injury break, and the Russian will stay ahead of him given these conditions. Moreover, he had lost all three ATP finals in 2022, including that epic against Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, which slowed him down in the race for the end of the year's number one spot.
The Russian is ranked sixth in the ATP Race, more than 3000 points behind Nadal. Daniil realised it would be hard to catch up to the Spaniard as the year-end number one favourite.
Medvedev is 1500 points ahead of Nadal on the ATP ranking list, but Nadal does not have points to defend for the rest of the season after an injury break in the second part of 2022. Medvedev has to defend 5000 points in the rest of the season, and it seems as if Nadal would finish as the year-end number one unless the Russian tries to win every remaining tournament of the year, as stated by the current world number one himself.