5 players who saw their careers soar after coaching change ft. Novak Djokovic, Emma Raducanu
As the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray can attest, a good player-coach relationship is vital for any athlete's success. To achieve the most prestigious goals, sometimes a player has to take the tough decision to part with their mentors.
It is very rare for a tennis player to have a long-time successful partnership with just one coach. Many high-profile players, including legends, have switched coaches multiple times in their careers, with some even finding immediate success on the court after a switch.
With that said, let's take a look at five players who saw their careers soar after a coaching change:
#5 Qinwen Zheng
Qinwen Zheng was taken by surprise when her coach, Wim Fissette, decided to end their association in September 2023 to join Naomi Osaka's team. Braving the unusual circumstance, the Chinese No. 1 re-united with Pere Riba in early 2024, and the duo formed a successful partnership.
Riba guided Zheng to her maiden Grand Slam final at the 2024 Australian Open, making her the second Chinese woman after Li Na to achieve the feat. As a result, Zheng rose to the World No. 7 spot, her career-high WTA Ranking. Zheng and Riba successfully defended the title at the 2024 Palermo Ladies Open. They touched new heights at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she became the first Chinese player to win a gold medal in the tennis category.
#4 Andy Murray
Andy Murray, under the tutelage of Miles Maclagan (2007–2010) and Àlex Corretja (2010–2011), made great strides in his tennis career. Under these two coaches, the Brit won multiple Masters 1000 titles; however, he could not get his hands on a Grand Slam title despite reaching three Major finals.
Murray joined forces with former World No. 1 Ivan Lendl before the 2012 ATP Tour, and with the Czech legend by his side, the Brit won his first two Grand Slam titles at the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon Championships. Lendl and Murray split for the first time in 2014 and re-united in 2016. Their second stint bore a second Wimbledon title for Murray in 2016 and saw the Brit rise to the top of the ATP Ranking for the first time.
#3 Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem worked with his childhood coach, Gunter Bresnik, well into his professional career. In fact, with Bresnik in his camp, the Austrian reached his maiden Grand Slam final. However, to get to the next level in his career, Thiem hired Nicolas Massu as his co-head coach in March 2019 and found instant success with his maiden Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells that year.
Then, just before the 2019 French Open, Thiem split with Bresnik and, with Massu as his sole coach, reached his second Grand Slam final. The Austrian again finished runners-up at the 2020 Australian Open and finally attained Grand Slam glory at the 2020 US Open. Massu has been largely accredited for teaching Thiem more variety with his backhands and netplay, which proved crucial in his Grand Slam triumph.
#2 Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has often been criticized for making too many changes to his coaching staff. However, one coaching decision completely changed the young Brit's career. Raducanu began training with Nigel Sears in April 2022, and the duo reached the maiden Grand Slam fourth round at Wimbledon that year.
Despite the success, she split with Sears and re-united with childhood coach Andrew Richardson on a short-term contract that covered the 2021 US Open series. The partnership led to Raducanu becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open and her entering the top 25 of the WTA Ranking for the first time.
#1 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic was an up-and-coming player with one Grand Slam title under his belt when he hired Todd Martin as co-head coach alongside Marian Vajda in August 2009. While Djokovic became more complete under Martin's guidance, they could not produce results on the Grand Slam level.
The Serb split with Martin in April 2010, and with just Vajda as his coach, Djokovic took his game to the next level. In 2011, he won three Grand Slam titles. Djokovic and Vajda worked together until 2017 and the duo lifted eight more Major titles.