Top 3 tennis players who changed their coaching team in 2024; ft Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek

Coaches aren’t always much appreciated in sports but, in recent years, have proved to be formidable pillars in players’ success. A good coach can turn around a player’s career, offering insight into the game and support that often leads to an improved performance from the player. Nevertheless, finding the right one has always been a major issue in tennis.

This season, several players split with their long-term coaches, such as Elena Rybakina parting ways with Stefano Vukov and Iga Swiatek ending her partnership with Tomasz Wiktorowski. But they all replaced their coaches within months and have witnessed a significant improvement in their games.

Here, we will take a deep dive at the Top 3 players in tennis who made a huge change in their coaching team this season.

3) Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff began her partnership with Brad Gilbert in the summer of the 2023 season. Their collaboration got off to a bright start, as the American won the Citi Open, the Cincinnati Open, and then her maiden Grand Slam at the US Open. The solid result in the second half of the season earned her impressive fame on the court.

This year, the 20-year-old continued with the form winning the Auckland Open and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open. However, she suffered a title drought after January and her game confidence began to diminish on the court in August. The American failed to defend her titles at the Cincinnati Open and US Open this year.

After her fourth-round exit from the Flushing Meadows in September, she announced her split with Gilbert. She replaced the legendary coach in a few weeks with Matt Daly, who had previously worked with Denis Shapovalov. The partnership yielded instant success on the court, as Gauff won the China Open and wrapped up the year winning her first WTA Finals title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

2) Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek hired Tomasz Wiktorowski at the end of 2021 as she sought to climb to the top of women’s tennis. Within three years, it was fully achieved. Under Wiktorowski’s tutelage, the Polish star captured four of her five Grand Slams and ascended to World No. 1 in the WTA rankings. He engineered her to earn the longest winning streak of the 2000s, reeling off 37 consecutive wins in 2022.

However, this season things were going well until August, when she failed to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. She then failed to reach the final of the Cincinnati and US Open. With the poor results, she believed it was time for a change. She split with Wiktorowski and brought on board Wim Fissette.

They began their partnership in October, and it is yet to really be tested as Swiatek has only played in the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup since then. However, Fissette is known to have worked with high-profile players such as Naomi Osaka, Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep, and Angelique Kerber.

1) Novak Djokovic

For five years, Novak Djokovic’s partnership with Goran Ivanisevic looked like the best in modern history. The Serbian was flying high under the Croatian coach, winning 12 of his 24 Grand Slams. Last year, he led Djokovic to win three of the four majors. But things didn’t go as planned this season.

Djokovic struggled to make an impact on the court, and in March, the 37-year-old parted ways with him. He was without a coach for the majority of the season but recently announced that his former rival, Andy Murray, will be part of his coaching team, ahead of the 2025 Australian Open. Murray retired at the Paris Olympics after being out for many tournaments this season.

The British legend will start working with Djokovic in the off-season and will continue at least until the Australian Open. However, there’s a likelihood that the collaboration will continue after the tournament. Both legends are very familiar with each other having competed against one another from the Junior level to the Pro circuit.

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