Chris Bryant (Labour MP for Rhondda) has attacked Emma Raducanu, the current British Open tennis champion for her claims that she hired Dmitry Tursunov, a former Russian tennis player, as her new coach.
As Chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Russia, Mr Bryant has asked the 19-year old to reconsider her decision and, at the minimum, to publicly condemn the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Commenting on Raducanu’s decision to work with Tursunov, Bryant told the Telegraph, “The Kremlin will portray this as a PR coup and an indication that the UK doesn’t really care about the war in Ukraine, so it will be a real shame if Emma Raducanu goes ahead with this”.
Bryant’s comments have since been criticized by Vladimir Kornilo, a spokesperson for the Russian State news agency RIA, who said, ”Do you understand the extent of paranoia and outright Russiaphobia in the west”.
Featured
Northern Ireland Police Service declares Firearms and Explosives Branch “critical incident”
Featured
Millions spent on deer management contracts, yet still no pilot scheme for Scotland’s recreational stalkers
Bryant’s comments have though been echoed by the Conservative Chair of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Juian Knight MP, who said, “It does jar to see a Russian coaching Britain’s number one rising star”.
Mr Knight has asked the Lawn Tennis Association for leadership on this issue.
Raducan’s coaching relationship with Tursunov is reported to be starting on a trial basis during the impending US hard court season. Raducanu has been working without a coach since her split from Roben Beltz in spring this year.
Mr Tursunov is yet to comment publicly on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
