The tennis season is over. Look at off-season news
Tennis season is over. Players get some rest and go back home, to resorts, medical clinics, gyms, or anywhere else they want. Spectators read news, wait for the new season to start, and go to online bet, trying to predict future results on the tennis courts.
Among some interesting news in this off-season is Maria Sharapova, ranked #4 in the world, finally hiring a new coach Sven Groeneveld, who used to work with Ana Ivanovic, Monica Seles, and Mary Pierce. We remember that Maria has been without an official coach since August 2013 after her unsuccessful experience with Jimmy Connors, which lasted only one match.
Sharapova previously split from another well-known tennis coach, Thomas Hogstedt, after she lost in the second round of Wimbledon 2013. On her Facebook page, Maria wrote:
“I’m happy to announce my official partnership with Sven Groeneveld. We’ve been working together since I got back on the court and after seeing him on the opposing side for so many years, I’m excited to have him become a part of my team. It has been a very seamless transition and I have had a lot of fun with the hard work we have put in so far. Looking forward to the year ahead.”
Another story in the tennis world includes Andy Murray’s return to the court. If everything works out alright, Murray will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi on December 26th, one week before Doha is scheduled to start. We hope that Andy will be ready to play in the Australian Open, which begins on January 13th. In 2013, he lost in the finals to Novak Djokovic.
In the upcoming season, it will also be interesting to watch the progress of the top up-and-coming teenagers, such as Eugenie Bouchard, Laura Robson, and Madison Keys. By the way, Bouchard and her best friend Robson are trained by the same coach Nick Saviano, who has also coached Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig, and Mallory Burdette. I don’t know of any other contemporary tennis coach who has similar results in simultaneously developing top tennis players.
In the next post, I will try to answer the question “What is the best tennis academy/program in the U.S. now?” If you have any suggestions regarding a methodology of defining and comparing results of tennis coaches, please let me know. Thank you!
Like Us on Facebook. Thank you!
Look for Djokovic to do some intense training off-season. I’ll predict he will be on fire when January hits. As of Roger, if he doesn’t come to terms with some mental problems that have been affecting him, he will be less of a factor. Nadal keeps reinventing himself after his little injury breaks. He will continue to aggressively train since he has regain the #1 spot. I don’t see Murray as much of a threat. He will probably stay at #3 or 4. As for the American Men players. There is very little to talk about. If US and USTA don’t fix the ability to coach the men’s properly, US men’s players will continue to decline.