Breaking Down Tennis' Greatest Coaches

Though tennis is one of the sports where having a coach is not necessarily a requisite, it has been shown time and time again that the greats in tennis allow for themselves to be coached. Let's delve into some of the best coach-player pairings in history.

Throughout tennis there has been, and will continue to be, a debate for the greatest of all time, with the consensus seeming to be that it is one of the big three in Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. Despite tennis being one of the sports where a coach is not necessarily a requisite, many athletes will insist that a good coach-player relationship is instrumental to long-standing success. Let’s look at some of the best tennis coaches to grace the court.

Rafael Nadal, as mentioned, is one of the best talents the tennis world has ever seen, having notched 92 ATP singles titles, with 36 of them having Masters distinctions. It is no surprise, therefore, that his uncle and longtime coach Toni Nadal is recognized as one of the best coaches to ever do it. His hard-nosed, disciplined coaching style still proves effective today, as he coaches the 7th ATP singles ranked male player in Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Ivan Lendl is one of the most successful tennis players that went on to coach. Dubbed “the father of modern tennis” by many, it came as little surprise that Lendl’s strategy-oriented approach could translate so well into the coaching sphere. His most successful pupil to date is undoubtedly Andy Murray, who’s accolades include: 46 singles titles, including three Grand Slams (US Open and Wimbledon twice), 14 Masters 1000 series, two Olympic Gold Medals, and a title at the ATP Finals.

Paul Annacone is yet another player turned coach, though most of his success came from the latter part of his tennis career. Through his coaching style that brought an emphasis to technique, toughness, and mindfulness, Annacone notably coached two of the greatest talents tennis has seen, in Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. The two have a combined 167 top-level singles titles, which includes 34 Grand Slams.

While each coach has garnered success throughout their careers, it is important to appreciate the differing styles that allowed each one to reach the peaks they’ve seen. As tennis continues to grow as a sport, I think there will be an increased importance of having a cool headed coach in your corner.