‘Second family’: Tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches

BEIJING – World No. 1 Iga Swiatek split from hers after three seasons. Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff were at the China Open with new ones.

Three of the biggest names in women’s tennis have in the past month jettisoned their coaches, casting a spotlight on the relationship between players and the people behind them.

Swiatek was the latest to announce a change when she said on Oct 4 that she would no longer be working with Tomasz Wiktorowski after a hugely successful partnership.

The five-time Grand Slam champion did not detail the reasons for the split, but after winning the French Open in June, her form has tailed off.

The 23-year-old Pole, who did not defend her China Open crown in Beijing because of “personal matters”, is in the process of finding a replacement.

In the coaching merry-go-round, she has been linked with Wim Fissette – the 44-year-old Belgian who has been available since Osaka ended their working relationship in September.

Players usually wait until the end of the season to make such changes but Osaka and Gauff arrived in the Chinese capital with new coaches.

It brought instant success to the 20-year-old Gauff when the American won the China Open on Oct 6, having parted ways with Brad Gilbert and brought in the lesser-known Matt Daly, 45.

American Daly, who coached Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, will work alongside Gauff’s long-time coach, Jean-Christophe Faurel.

Top players usually have a large backroom team that include more than one coach, fitness gurus, physiotherapists, analysts and others.

Gauff said that she needed “a reset, a refresh”, after her US Open defence ended in the last 16 in a blur of double faults.

She called her performance in winning the Beijing final – in her first tournament with Daly – “by far my best match in a while”.

“It was trying to find the mix of two people that work together well,” said Gauff, who until Beijing had struggled to replicate her best form in 2024.

Asked by AFP in the Chinese capital what the biggest factor is in choosing a coach, Gauff said “it just depends at what point in your career you’re at”.

“Obviously right now I’m very young, so I’m looking just for someone to help me develop in the long term,” she said.

Osaka returned to tennis in January 2024 after becoming a parent and is also looking for a reboot after failing to recapture the form that brought her four Grand Slams between 2018 and 2021.

After ending her association with Fissette, she arrived in Beijing with the high-profile Patrick Mouratoglou in her corner.

The 54-year-old is best known for being 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams’ long-time coach.

Former world No. 1 Osaka said that had initially put her off the Frenchman and also referenced his “big persona”.

The 26-year-old was in good touch at the China Open until retiring from her match against Gauff in the last 16 with a back injury.

She admitted to being “still a bit nervous” around Mouratoglou, but said: “Day by day we’re getting more comfortable around each other.

“He’s very confident in my abilities, and that in turn makes me very confident.

“His coaching style – he lets me figure things out, but at the same time he’ll tell me things.

“He’s surprisingly very strict, and that works for me.”

Beaten Beijing finalist Karolina Muchova said the most important aspect of the relationship between player and coach is someone you can get on with.

“I like to have people that I really like around me because we spend most of the time together on the tour travelling,” said the 28-year-old Czech.

“The most important thing is to have a nice relationship off court. We can go to dinners. We can talk very openly.

“I would say they’re like my second family.”

She added with a smile: “Of course, they are not bad as well at their work.” AFP