Ivan Lendl does have enough to do (coaching Andy Murray) so he has decided to open his own International Junior Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island, S.C. The spring class features students from Canada, New Zealand, Russia and the U.S.

“The enrollment influx from fall to spring is a tribute to the elite instruction our coaches provide students each day,” says Peter Orrell, President and CEO of Junior Sports Corporation, owner/operator of the Ivan Lendl IJTA. “Ivan Lendl IJTA offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for passionate junior tennis players to reach their ultimate potential.”

Ivan Lendl IJTA students (grades five through 12) will attend Heritage Academy as they see school as a vital piece of the puzzle.

p.s. In the photo it looks like Ivan has been eating a little too much over the Christmas period. Im hoping he starts to do some fitness training himself when coaching Andy

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• Maria Sharapova Even Lacked Personality at 13 – October 20, 2011
• Andy Murray’s New Coach Will Be Darren Cahill – July 29, 2010
• Andy Murray Splits from Coach Miles Maclagan – July 28, 2010
• Bernard Tomic To Make Attack on ATP Tour If Possible – November 14, 2008
• Andy Murray’s French Open 2012 outfit! – February 6, 2012

Svetlana Kuznetsova has decided to start the year off with a new coach. Svetlana rehired Olga Morozova as her coach. Kuznetsova is currently training with Morozova in Dubai ready for the hot Australian summer. It will be very interesting to see if she is able to improve her performances from 2011, where she didnt do so well.

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• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Official Statement About Her Father Being Her New Coach – September 29, 2011
• Jack Sock Changes His Mind Again and Rehires Mike Wolf – September 28, 2011
• Melanie Oudinn Splits with Brian DeVilliers and is Now Working with Tom Gullikson – September 28, 2011
• Kim Clijsters Changes Coach to Carl Maes – September 25, 2011

World number one Caroline Wozniacki has finally hired a new coach to replace her father, Piotr. The Dane announced a couple of months ago that she and her father have decided no to work together on a coaching basis, but didn’t announce the name of her new coach since the announcement.

Her father Piotr accompanied his daughter to tournaments even after they agreed to split, but a Danish newspaper recently announced that her new coach will be Spain’s Ricardo Sanchez.

Wozniacki hasn’t had any luck at the Grand Slam events, and didn’t even reach the semis at the year-ending championships this year. The Spanish coach has stated that his goal will be to get the number one player up to her potential and win the Australian Open next month.

Hopefully Sanchez will be a good coaching match for her and will help her win at least one Slam to consolidate her top ranking in the women’s game. If she is to win a Grand Slam she shouldn’t play so many tournaments throughout the year and make wise choices as to where to play in order to get ready for a Grand Slam. I think Ricardo will help her realize her objectives as a player and maybe we will see an improvement in her game next year!

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• Caroline Wozniacki drops Ricardo Sanchez as Coach – February 1, 2012
• Martina Navratilova States the Obvious! Caroline Wozniacki Wont Be the Number 1 Player in the World After Australian Open 2012 – January 24, 2012
• Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka Storm into Australian Open 2012 Seminfinals – January 24, 2012
• What The Top Seeds Think of the Australian Open 2012 – January 16, 2012
• Caroline Wozniacki Blogging from Australian Open 2012 for USA Today – January 16, 2012

Jelena Dokic has released a statement about her father being her new coach.

“I want to thank the Australian public for their incredible ongoing support and assure everyone that I remain Australian and will continue to play for Australia,” she said. “I would like to confirm media reports that I have reconciled with my father. My partner Tin Bikic and I have visited my father at his home to finally put an end to our disagreement. I initiated the meeting as I want to reunite my family and allow us all to get on with our lives and be happy. This has gone on too long. I am in a very positive and confident frame of mind in my life and I really wanted to do this because I believe it is the right thing to do both for me and for all of my family. My father was very receptive and I believe he has changed greatly. He understands that I am my own person who makes my own decisions.

“He is now accepting of Tin and I am very pleased we have been able to sort things out. This has been a very uplifting experience for me and for my family. I am very excited about the future. I plan to continue to work with my fantastic coach Louise Pleming with the ongoing support of Tennis Australia and am extremely thankful to both for their help. My next tour event will be in Linz, Austria.”

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• Jelena Dokic Has a New Coach: Damir Dokic – September 28, 2011
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• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jack Sock Changes His Mind Again and Rehires Mike Wolf – September 28, 2011
• Melanie Oudinn Splits with Brian DeVilliers and is Now Working with Tom Gullikson – September 28, 2011

It seems as though Jack Sock has changed his mind and rehired Mike Wolf as his coach. Sock split with Wolf prior to the US Open, but has been regretting the decision ever since.

Sock will play USTA Challengers in Sacramento and Tiburon, California in the next two weeks.

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• Andy Murray’s New Coach Will Be Darren Cahill – July 29, 2010
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• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Official Statement About Her Father Being Her New Coach – September 29, 2011
• Melanie Oudinn Splits with Brian DeVilliers and is Now Working with Tom Gullikson – September 28, 2011

It seems like the time of year when all of the top players on both tours split with their coaches.

The latest player is Melanie Oudin and she has split with her coach Brian DeVilliers and is now working with Tom Gullikson.

Im a big fan of Tom Gullikson so it will be interesting to see if he can get the best out of Melanie Oudin. Oudin is known for choking in big matches, so it will be tough work for Gullikson.

Related Articles

• Svetlana Kuznetsova Rehires Olga Morozova as Her Coach – December 13, 2011
• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Official Statement About Her Father Being Her New Coach – September 29, 2011
• Jack Sock Changes His Mind Again and Rehires Mike Wolf – September 28, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Has a New Coach: Damir Dokic – September 28, 2011

He has coached the former top player before on a private basis, but Kim isn’t expected to return to play until the next season due to injuries she has sustained this year.

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• Svetlana Kuznetsova Rehires Olga Morozova as Her Coach – December 13, 2011
• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Official Statement About Her Father Being Her New Coach – September 29, 2011
• Jack Sock Changes His Mind Again and Rehires Mike Wolf – September 28, 2011
• Melanie Oudinn Splits with Brian DeVilliers and is Now Working with Tom Gullikson – September 28, 2011

Stanislas Wawrinka has just announced that he has split with coach Peter Lundgren. Lundgren was previously the long term coach of Roger Federer and he has been able to keep Wawrinka in the top 20 for over 3 years now. However, Wawrinka hasnt really had the performed well in Grand Slams this year.

“He played a major role in my career and I am deeply grateful,” Wawrinka wrote. “We have had a lot of success and fun working together, I can’t thank him enough.”

Related Articles

• Peter Lundgren is Stanislas Wawrinka’s New Coach – July 15, 2010
• Svetlana Kuznetsova Rehires Olga Morozova as Her Coach – December 13, 2011
• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Official Statement About Her Father Being Her New Coach – September 29, 2011
• Jack Sock Changes His Mind Again and Rehires Mike Wolf – September 28, 2011

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• Ivan Lendl Launches Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy – February 6, 2012
• Tennis Racquets All Grown Up – January 12, 2012
• Svetlana Kuznetsova Rehires Olga Morozova as Her Coach – December 13, 2011
• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Official Statement About Her Father Being Her New Coach – September 29, 2011

1. How to pick a coach
2. Doing your part as the student
3. When and why to change coaches

Picking a coach… There are coaches all over the place, just Google it and you can find a coach but how to you find the right coach for you.  Take a few things into consideration, your level of play and what you are trying to accomplish.  Taking this example… a junior player with a mid range ranking trying to get to a top 10 ranking in their section.

First, do your homework.  Ask other players where they train and why they like it there.  Ask parents as well.  Once you have a few names look into,  What is the coaches’ background?  Do they or have they played competitive tennis?  Do they currently work with competitive players?  Please understand that this is just to get things started and hopefully getting you on the right track.  If this particular junior player is serious about reaching their goal, the process of picking the right coach can be a bit lengthy.

Next, schedule a few meetings with a minimum of three coaches and do an informal interview.  Get a feel for the facility and most important ask if you can watch a class or practice session (this is mainly for players looking to join a group class)  Take note as to how the group is run, do they look organized?  What is the player-coach ratio? And most important, is there any instruction taking place or is it just a bunch of hitting balls and rotating courts?   After you have met with a few coaches it’s time to select which one you are going to try first.

So, you have selected someone that fits what you are looking for, great, now the work begins.  I always recommend to try a coach for a minimum of 30 days which means you will either take four private lessons and/or participate in the coaches junior program a minimum of two times per week.  In this time you can learn a lot about the coach, their personality, their style of coaching and most important, do they have a plan for you?

Now that your 30 days are over, you either go thru the same thing with your number two pick or you decide to stick with the coach you just tried out.  Next we will discuss doing your part as the student.

Related Articles

• Roger Rasheed and Gael Monfils Go Their Separate Ways – July 11, 2011
• Ivan Lendl Launches Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy – February 6, 2012
• Svetlana Kuznetsova Rehires Olga Morozova as Her Coach – December 13, 2011
• Caroline Wozniacki Hires New Coach – December 6, 2011
• Jelena Dokic Official Statement About Her Father Being Her New Coach – September 29, 2011