November 09, (THEWILL) -Emma Raducanu is expected to hire Torben Beltz as her new coach, according to reports.
Since parting company with Andrew Richardson after her dramatic US Open triumph in September, Raducanu has been looking for a new coach, as THEWILL reported.
She tried out with Johanna Konta’s former coach Esteban Carril, who is currently working with Andy Murray at the Stockholm Open, but appears to have decided on Beltz.
Angelique Kerber, the former world number one, was coached by the German coach.
He worked with Kerber three times, from 2004 to 2013, then again from 2014 to the end of 2017 (during when the German won both major titles and rose to world number one), and most recently from July 2020 to this week.
Kerber confirmed her separation from Beltz, citing a desire to take on “more responsibility,” paving the door for Beltz to join Raducanu’s coaching staff this off-season.
Beltz met Raducanu and her agent, Chris Helliar, outside her house in Orpington. He will bring a wealth of knowledge to the table, which is exactly what Raducanu was looking for as she begins her first full season on the WTA Tour.
“I feel like at this stage in my career, and playing the top players in the world,” Raducanu said after her US Open triumph, “I realised I really need someone right now that has had that WTA Tour experience at the high levels, which means that I’m looking for someone who has been at that level and knows what it takes.
“And, especially right now because I’m so new to it, I really need someone to guide me who’s already been through that.”
Beltz did not have much of a playing career, but he has worked with top-50 players Carina Witthoft and Donna Vekic, in addition to Kerber.
This week, Raducanu competes in her final event of the 2021 season at Linz, Austria. She opens against world number 106 Xinyu Wang on Tuesday afternoon, after breaking into the top 20 of the WTA rankings this week.
“It’s cool but I haven’t really looked at seedings,” said the 18-year-old. “I never looked at seedings, even when I was unranked, playing a seed in a tournament. It meant nothing to me so I’m sure it means nothing to the other players.
“It’s just as much motivation, if not more, to take out a seed. I just really want to have fun this week and try and enjoy it because it’s the last one of the season and I feel like I’m really in a positive mind space.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
