5 Tennis players who were coached by their mothers

Denis Istomin has been coached by his mother from a very young age

Yesterday, we saw one of the biggest upsets in the 112-year history of the Australian Open as reigning champion Novak Djokovic was stunned in the second round by 117^th ranked Uzbekistan player Denis Istomin. The match was a thrilling encounter which lasted for four hours and 48 minutes. Istomin took the first set but Djokovic came back well to take the next two sets.

The Uzbek battled hard to take the fourth set in a tiebreak and made the decisive break in the fifth game of the final set before taking the set 6-4 and handing Djokovic his first second-round defeat at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2008 when Marat Safin beat him in straight sets. It was also the first time since 2007 that Djokovic could not reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

Istomin’s victory made him a sensation on social media and he will be expected to create a few more upsets. Istomin has been active on the international circuit since 2008 and attained a career-high ranking of 33 in 2012. However, one of the lesser known facts about the Uzbek player is that he is coached by his mother who introduced him to the sport at a very tender age.

A number of tennis players have been coached by their mothers and many of them have gone on to make a good name in world tennis. Here is a list of players who have been coached by their mothers.

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#5 Denis Istomin

Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin made headlines yesterday by stunning reigning champion Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Australian Open, which eluded the Serb from a record-breaking seventh Australian Open title. Born in 1986, Istomin was introduced to tennis at a very young age by his mother Klaudiya Istomina who still coaches him.

Istomin turned professional in 2008 and reached a career-high ranking of World No.33 in 2012, a few months after reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon 2012. Besides Wimbledon, Istomin has also reached the fourth round of the US Open, in 2013. His win over Djokovic was only his second over a top-10 player with his first win coming over David Ferrer at the Indian Wells Masters in 2012.

Istomin is currently ranked 117^th in the world but will hopefully reach the Top 100 of the ATP rankings by the time the Australian Open concludes.