Radwanska Brings on Navratilova as Coach in 2015
Last week, Agnieszka Radwanska told the media in her home country of Poland that she would be hiring a “super coach” to work with her in 2015.
On Tuesday, she followed through on that by announcing that Martina Navratilova would be joining her coaching staff in 2015. She will work alongside Radwanska’s current coach Tomasz Wiktorowski to form the coaching team.
“I did not sleep very well last night, thinking about getting back into match mode and the competitions,” said Navratilova of her first major coaching gig. “I am really excited about this opportunity to join Agnieszka’s team and work with Tomasz and it is going to be a fun challenge. I was delighted when Agnieszka asked me if I would collaborate with Tomasz and I can’t wait to get started.”
The Czech-born Navratilova adds to the trend of top players hiring former greats to come on as coach, hoping that the experience and success the coaches have had in their playing careers can trickle down on to them. Navratilova had plenty of success in her playing days, racking up 59 Grand Slam titles, 31 of which came in singles.
Radwanska finished 2014 as the sixth-ranked player in the world. She did struggle a bit in Grand Slams though, failing to make it out of the Round of 16 in the final three majors of the year after reaching the Australian Open semifinals in January.
The 25-year old from Poland did qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore and reached the semifinals before falling to Simona Halep.
“I am absolutely delighted that Martina has agreed to help me and my team next season,” said Radwanska. “She is my idol in tennis and I am honored we will be working together. Her achievements for themselves and I hope that can learn from all her experience. My goal is to win a Grand Slam, so to have someone with Martina’s accomplishments in my corner is going to be hugely advantageous and give me a big boost.
We are originally from a similar part of the world so we share an understanding about tennis and life, which I’m sure will translate into a successful relationship.”
While Radwanska made the big news with her hiring of Navratilova, a couple of American players also added new coaches.
Madison Keys said that she will work with former Grand Slam champion Lindsey Davenport and Jon Leach for bigger tournaments, according to Sports Illustrated’s Courtney Nguyen. She has yet to announce who she will be working with on smaller tournaments.
Eugenie Bouchard’s former coach Nick Saviano has found a new pupil. Stephanie Myles of Open Court reports that Sloane Stephens will be working with Saviano in 2015. The 21-year-old Stephens and Saviano have history that goes back to when Stephens began training at his Florida facility when she was 12.
