"There was this perception that women's coaches were not really good at coaching" - Emma Raducanu's former coach Dmitry Tursunov

Former tennis player Dmitry Tursunov has opened up on the perception that women do not make good coaches.

The 39-year-old, who retired in 2017 after persistent injuries, took up coaching top WTA players and is currently coaching Swiss player Belinda Bencic. He has also coached the likes of Elena Vesnina, Anett Kontaveit and Emma Raducanu over the years.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Tursunov said that in his playing days, coaching girls was considered a demotion and that women were not good at coaching.

"Well, on men's tour, at the time I was playing, there was this perception that women's coaches not really good at coaching. And so it maybe considered a demotion if you get to coach the girls. So many people joked with me earlier and still do that like, if 10 years ago, someone would have told you that you're going to be coaching on women's tour, you would probably commit suicide, but here I am," Tursunov said.

Explaining what brought him into coaching, the Russian said that he was always interested in helping other players even during his playing days. In 2011, Tursunov briefly mentored a 17-year-old Aslan Karatsev.

"Looking back, though it was definitely unexpected that I was going to get into coaching, I did like to help others even when I was playing," he said, adding, "At that time, (Aslan) Karatsev was pretty young and I took him with me to preseason and then when we were practicing and stuff. So I guess I always had that inclination to help and I enjoyed it. In that sense, I think it was it was logical, but I probably wouldn't have guessed that I was going to get into coaching."

Tursunov is a seven-time winner on the ATP tour, winning his last singles title at 2011 's-Hertogenbosch.

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"I really enjoy what I'm doing" - Dmitry Tursunov

Dmitry Tursunov retired from tennis in 2017.

Dmitry Tursunov said that nagging injuries forced him to retire from the sport and the fact that he couldn't spend enough time with his loved ones. Subsequently, he took up coaching.

Elaborating on the same, Tursunov said:

"I didn't really think that far ahead. I stopped playing due to injuries. I remember vividly thinking that this is taking too much of my life, I don’t get to see the family or anything. So I was thinking I'll spend a little more time with the family and at home and, and then what do you know, I ended up coaching."

In a quirk of fate, though, the Russian now travels more than he did while playing but has no qualms doing so, as he enjoys what he's doing.

"Now I travel more than I ever travelled in my life," said Tursunov. "So, it's kind of interesting how it turned out. I honestly have to say I really enjoy doing what I'm doing. I think it's a very logical step. For me, I would say that I enjoy it more than actually playing tennis. So, I think it's why I'm doing it."

Dmitry Tursunov has been coaching Bencic since October this year.