What makes a modern tennis coach? These three teams show the way

Coaching at this elite level of professional tennis requires many abilities: Technical knowledge, strategic vision, social skills and the ability to motivate are some of the big-ticket items.

In many minds, particularly those from older generations, coaches are the strident embodiment of authority. But that heavy-handed approach doesn’t work with today’s athletes. 

When Marta Kostyuk -- by her own admission, fiery and emotional -- began working with coach Sandra Zaniewska in the summer of 2023 she was, quite frankly, amazed.

“Usually, when I had this kind of [boorish] behavior,” Kostyuk said, “all the other coaches, no one for one second would accept it or try to understand why I feel like this or try and have a conversation with me, or even just let me be.

“She did, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is next-level coaching. I’ve never seen this.’ ”

Listening, what a concept.

“It’s really everything, right?” Zaniewska told wtatennis.com last month from the Middle East. “It’s the player who hits the ball, who plays. So the coach needs to listen to get as much information as possible from the player because we’ll never feel what they feel on the court. The only way we can help them is by trying to listen when they articulate all those feelings into words.

“Just listen and try to make sense of it. Without it, there’s nothing you can do as a coach.”

That philosophy is at the heart of several coach-player pairings on tour. Below, we highlight three thriving partnerships:

Peter Ayers/Emma Navarro

Nine years ago, Ayers first crossed paths with 14-year-old Emma Navarro at the LTP Tennis Academy in Charleston.

“Just the eyes, the hands, the connection -- striking the ball over and over again, so repeatable,” Ayers said. “Also how willing she was to work at it. How much she seemed to enjoy the hours on court, the action of just hitting the ball.”

Ayers played tennis at Duke University, but when a professional career didn’t work out, he turned to coaching. He eloquently described the evolution of their relationship this way:

“One thing we talk about a lot is the idea that there’s directives and perspective. I think when a player’s younger, you’re working more with directives. And so I would say it’s more about me having a vision, certainly communicating, but imparting that to her and, ultimately, her buying in as the coach is driving it.

“And then, as you go along, it becomes less about directives and more about this is my perspective. You’re the one driving this, you’re the one hitting the balls. I’m really proud of the work she’s put in, we’ve put in, being able to make the transition from being in that more adult-child situation to being a young adult.”

Of course, as in any long-term relationship, there were occasional issues.

“Oh, for sure,” Ayers said. “There’s no way that you can’t have bumps with a young person coming of age. You want to have bumps, you want them to spread their wings and express themselves and become more and more independent. That’s always going to put a relationship to a different test. 

“This journey … it has to become yours. Something that you choose, and not something that’s chosen for you.”

And so it has become for Navarro. After a year at the University of Virginia, where she won the NCAA Division I singles title as a freshman, she’s transitioned smoothly. Navarro finished the 2024 season at No. 8 in the PIF WTA Rankings and was voted 2024's Most Improved Player of the Year.

“I’m in a new place that brings a little bit of pressure,” Navarro said from Australia. “Being Top 10 and playing a lot of players who don’t have that pressure -- they have nothing to lose. So it’s a different position to be in, but I’m working really hard to manage that.”

And Ayers, entering his 10^th year with Navarro, is right there with her. He doesn’t offer specific goals, but said, “Who knows -- we have dreams, she has dreams. And she dreams, probably, to the highest. But in the end, if he says, `I think I became the best player I could be’ and I say, `I think you did, too,’ then that’s the goal.

“We never forget where we’ve come from. And what it’s taken and how many long, hard days and how many wonderful and challenging moments. We treasure it, we take nothing for granted because we have so much respect for all that are out here.”

Conchita Martinez/Mirra Andreeva

When they started working together last April, there was an understandable distance -- especially when the 17-year-old Andreeva was losing.

“I was kind of trying to handle this by myself,” she explained at Indian Wells. “I was not looking at her. I was not listening. I was trying to do it by myself. Then a couple of matches showed me that, well, it’s not working if I’m out there by myself. I hired her as my coach for a reason.

“At first, I forced myself to really look at her, to come and to ask for advice. I don’t even need to ask. She just tells me what she thinks. We agreed on that she’s going to tell me what she thinks, what she sees.”

The honesty works both ways.

“Hopefully you have a relationship where she’s being open and can say anything,” Martinez said. “And know that I’m not going to judge. But I’m going to take into account that, `OK, I’m feeling this way or that way.’ I’m not going to say `Arrrggghh, you have to do this.’ I think I know when she’s like serious or like `OK, I don’t want to do this.’

“She’s very honest with that.”

The two have been working on everything -- baseline, serving, volleys by playing lots of doubles. Like many young players (see Coco Gauff) she’s equipped well to defend but needs to be more aggressive. The idea is to take advantage of her speed and power and get to net more often.

The two sit down before every match and, over the course of 15 or 20 minutes, discuss Martinez’s suggested tactics. It’s worked nicely so far this year; Andreeva has won 13 of 16 matches.

Listening, even to a 17-year-old with little experience as a professional, is vital. And it goes the other way, too. After Andreeva broke through with her title in Dubai, after making the media rounds, going through recovery and cooldown, the two sat down to dinner. They were both excited -- and curious to know how the other felt during that final.

Martinez makes an effort to present a calm, stoic front during matches, but according to Andreeva she was nervous at the outset.

“I started, it was 0-2, 0-30, so she was, like, `Hmm, it’s not the best start. OK, we’re going to see,’ ” Andreeva said. “Then after of course the nerves just flew away and she felt OK.”

Martinez said she was “super proud” of her player -- and Andreeva in turn thanked her for supporting her so well in Dubai.

How good can Andreeva be?

“She’s already very good, no?” said Martinez, smiling. “I mean, little by little we move forward. We need to work hard -- and not hear all this noise, there is plenty of noise. We are going to continue working at getting better at everything.”

Sandra Zaniewska/Marta Kostyuk

Taking on a new player requires something approaching a forensic investigation. The process began for Zaniewska after 2023 Wimbledon, when Kostyuk was No. 34 in the PIF WTA Rankings.

“Watching a couple of matches, diving deep into the game -- what I see that could be different,” said Zaniewska, who played professional tennis at the ITF level. “After I do my own analysis, I ask the player, how do you feel about your game? How do you see yourself -- today and when you’re going to be playing your best tennis?

“I have three pictures. My view, their present view and their future vision -- and I try to put it together in a way so what do we really work on to get you where you want to be?”

For Kostyuk it was a tricky proposition because at 22 she already has all the shots. Zaniewska’s initial thought was that Kostyuk hit the ball too flat and made too many unforced errors. Kostyuk, a go-for-it kind of player, didn’t see it that way. Eventually, they sort of met in the middle.

The biggest issue was trying to temper Kostyuk’s temper.

“Marta has had such great success ever since she was so young, winning Australian Open juniors at 14 -- I mean, who does that, right?” Zaniewska said. “I think there were a lot of expectations that were put on her, not only by the world but also herself at a very young age that maybe she did not meet.

“And then it doesn’t happen and you ask yourself, `Did I not progress any more? Am I not a good player any more?’ So she’s been through a lot of this, now is probably the time when it settles a little bit more, right? It’s listening with compassion and understanding to the player.”

Kostyuk has only won a single WTA Tour event, two years ago in Austin, but there has been steady overall improvement under Zaniewska.  She reached two WTA 500 finals a year ago, in San Diego and Stuttgart, her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open and first WTA 1000 semifinal at Indian Wells.

She describes her relationship with Zaniewska as “professional,” saying they have a lot of fun outside the court.

“But,” she said, “it’s a very thin line, being friends but also keeping this … how do you say, subordination? Structure? The hierarchy? We are going through things like all the people are going through things. It’s not always flowers and butterflies and everything is always great.

“Yeah, I think it’s important in any relationship -- at job, at home -- it’s important to keep the communication on a very high level. That’s the key to succeeding anywhere. I think we are doing pretty good. I’m excited for what we can build.”