Emma Raducanu confirms Beltz as new trainer with key “experience” and “energy”| Today Headlines

Orben Beltz has been hired as Emma Raducanu’s new coach, with the teenager describing her optimism about working under the German next season.

The British No.1’s breathtaking year ended on Tuesday as she suffered a first round defeat at the Linz Open, losing 6-1, 6-7 (0-7), 7 -5 against the Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu.

Training herself in Austria, much of the pre-match discussion was devoted to Beltz’s expected nomination. The 44-year-old has coached Angelique Kerber for long stretches of her career, including her victories at the Australian Open and US Open in 2016.

Raducanu told reporters: “You broke everything. It is obviously a great privilege to work with such an experienced coach.

“I’m really, really excited to be working with him throughout the preseason and next year. I feel excited about all the work ahead.

“I think he brings a lot of experience. Obviously he worked with Kerber, who is such a great player and has done extremely well, winning three slams.

“I think this experience really helps someone as inexperienced as me.

“He can help me get through which I really trust, and he’s also a very positive and cheerful guy who brings great energy to the team so I think that’s important when traveling as well. on the road for quite a long time. on tour. “

Beltz’s appointment ends a transition period for the US Open winner, with Raducanu parting ways with coach Andrew Richardson after his breakout triumph.

Since then, the 18-year-old has struggled to rack up the wins but was happy with her performance at Linz, which ended after an injury in the third set.

“I thought it was a very high level game,” said Raducanu. “I think Xinyu played extremely well, especially in this first set, and I’m proud of the way I fought to try to get back into the game.