TENNIS – Agnieszka Radwanska, who finished the year in sixth place in the WTA Ranking, will be coached by Martina Navratilova, 18-time Grand Slam champion continuing the recent trend of current tennis stars hiring past legend. Diego Sampaolo
The tradition started with Ivan Lendl who guided Andy Murray win the 2012 Olympic title, the 2012 US Open and the 2013 Wimbledon. Since then more players have started working with other tennis legends: Roger Federer hired Stefan Edberg who helped the Swiss legend win five ATP titles and his first Davis Cup title in 2014. Boris Becker has guided Novak Djokovic to Wimbledon triumph last July. Kei Nishikori became the first Asian player to reach a Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open where he lost against Marin Cilic who is coached by 1992 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.
It’s now the turn of Agnieszka Radwanska to hire another tennis legend Martina Navratilova. Last week Radwanska announced the Polish press that she would be hiring a super-coach. She did not announce any names but she hinted that she was a former Grand Slam champion with coaching experience.
Navratilova won a total of 59 Grand Slam titles, 18 in singles (including nine Wimbledon wins), 31 in doubles and 10 in mixed doubles and spent 332 weeks at the top of the WTA Ranking in singles and a record of 237 weeks at the top of the ranking in doubles.
Radwanska will continue working with her current coach Tomas Wiktorowski. Navratilova will begin working with Radwanska’s team after Christmas. Will Navratilova be able to help Radwanska achieve the biggest dream of her career to win the first Grand Slam Trophy of her career ?
“I am really excited about the opportunity to join Agnieszka’s team and work with Tomasz. It is going to be a fun challenge. I did not sleep very well last night, thinking about getting back into match mode and the competitions. I was delighted when Agnieszka asked me if I would collaborate with Tomasz and I can’t wait to get started on this new phase of my career.”, said Navratilova.
“I am absolutely delighted that Martina has agreed to help me and my team next season. She is my idol in tennis and I am honoured that we will be working together. Her achievements speak for themselves and I hope that I can learn from all her experience. We are originally from a similar part of the world so we share an understanding about tennis and life which I am sure will translate into a successful relationship. My goal is to win a Grand Slam, so to have someone with Martina’s accomplishments is going to be hugely advantageous and give me a big boost”, said Radwanska to the WTA website
So far in her career Radwanska was the first Polish player to qualify for a Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon in 2012 where she lost against Serena Williams and reached the Australian Open semifinal in 2014. This year she won her first WTA title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto where she beat Venus Williams in the final. She won the WTA Award for Fan Favourite Player.
Andy Murray, who was coached by Ivan Lendl until March 2013, congratulated with Navratilova and Radwanska on Twitter and sent his best wishes for 2015. “Well done to Martina and Agnieszka I wish them all the best for next year. I hope it goes well for you both”.
