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Dmitry Tursunov has revealed that he would be open to working with Coco Gauff, Paula Badosa, Zheng Qinwen and Liudmila Samsonova. Tursunov, who coached Emma Raducanu for a couple of months in 2022, started working with Belinda Bencic in late 2022 and started the 2023 season as the Swiss' coach.
After splitting with Bencic in April, Tursunov started working with Veronika Kudermetova - they split following the conclusion of the 2023 season. Tursunov is available for work and one of the names he would like to work with is reigning US Open champion Gauff.
“This year I have identified four girls who, in my opinion, could really win a Slam: Liudmila Samsonova, Coco Gauff, Paula Badosa and Zheng Qingwen. It would be cool to work with these players if we both want to," Tursunov told Championat.
Tursunov open to working with Gauff, Badosa, Zheng & Samsonova
Gauff, ranked at No 3 in the world, currently works only with Brad Gilbert after splitting with Pere Riba following her US Open win. Badosa, who didn't play any tournaments after Wimbledon, is coached by Jorge Garcia.
Earlier this month, Zheng announced Riba as her coach for the 2023 season, while Samsonova works with Alessandro Dumitrache. Over the last couple of years, Tursunov has built a notable resume on the WTA Tour. Several years ago, Tursunov coached Aryna Sabalenka and helped make the Belarusian one of the best players in the game.
The two ended their long-time partnership in 2019. When Raducanu hired Tursunov after 2022 Wimbledon, the Briton also showed signs of improvement in her game. But their partnership didn't last long as the reports suggested that Tursunov decided to leave Raducanu.
Tursunov's collaboration with Bencic also got off to a strong start as the Swiss won Adelaide and Abu Dhabi in early 2023. But after Bencic's poor results in Indian Wells and Miami, they went their separate ways. It remains to be seen if Tursunov will get to coach Gauff, Badosa, Zheng or Samsonova in 2024.