The Spin Team
In other head scratching news, Sloane Stephens also announced that has parted ways with Kamau Murray. Again, the questions as to why
these decisions are made are interesting to me (and to many others) if only
because in other sports coaching changes are usually followed by announcements
as to why it is happening. The coaches
usually give a press conference and take questions from the media and players
usually do the same thing. In tennis
there seems to be a code of silence and mostly what comes to you is gossip and
innuendo. Already there are whisperings and allegations being made of doping as
regards the Osaka/Bajin split. Frankly,
as far as I am concerned if there were more openness in the coverage of tennis,
then whisperings like this would not happen.
The sport definitely needs to be more transparent when things of this
nature are discussed.
Naomi Osaka, World No.1
and holder of the last 2 hard court Slams has parted ways with her coach, Sascha
Bajin. News of this announcement came from Ms. Osaka herself via
Twitter.
Hey everyone, I will no longer be working together with Sascha. I thank him for his work and wish him all the best in the future.— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@Naomi_Osaka_) February 11, 2019
As there were no signs of
a fracture within the team this has come as a complete shock to many, but to
the Spin team not so much. Bajin has a track record of splitting with his
charges once they have achieved some amount of success with him at the
helm.
It all started with
Serena Williams (as does most things in tennis). Bajin, hitting partner
of Serena for many years, is alleged to have wanted to upgrade his role to
that of coach. As Serena already had a coach in Patrick Mouratogolou,
Bajin left the Serena camp to try his hand elsewhere. His first charge
was Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka had some success with Bajin, most notably
her victory against Serena in the finals at Indian Wells in 2015. Soon
after that victory, their partnership broke up.
Bajin next went to
Caroline Wozniacki. After successfully partnering with her to win the WTA
Year End Championships in 2017, they both called it a day. Wozniacki would then go
on to win her lone Slam at the 2018 Australian Open the following year.
Bajin then linked up with
Naomi Osaka, then just a young and upcoming player. Their results were
minimal at first, but then Osaka had a maiden title run at Indian Wells in
2018, followed by a huge win at the US Open, and followed up that victory with a win at this year’s Australian
Open.
Separate and apart from
the X's and O's, Bajin learned everything at the feet of Serena when it comes
to mental toughness.
I am never one to ascribe
a professional tennis player's success to any man, but in the Osaka/Bajin
situation it is hard not to ascribe her growth and development as an elite
player to Bajin's tutelage. Bajin spent the better part of 10 years
sitting in meetings and working every day with Serena Williams. As much
as people talk about him being a part of Serena's team and how much he has done
since parting with Serena, few credit Serena with Bajin’s success. Prior to
joining her team, Bajin was an unknown player ranked in the low 900s. Imagine how
much he must have learned from being around Serena: training with her,
listening to her, and learning from her. He has taken that knowledge and
experience and crafted it into a winning formula on the WTA circuit, so much so
that he was voted Coach of the Year over the likes of Nigel Sears, Sven
Gronefeld, and Tobin Beltz.
What then drives the No.
1 ranked player in the world to literally cut off her nose to spite her
face? What made her make such an unprofessional decision about her pro
career? Was it driven by her? Was there a disagreement over tactics (I
can't actually believe that part)? Was it over money?
I don't know what the
player/coach salary partnership looks like. If you know, please share what you
know of that dynamic. Do coaches get paid a percentage of winnings? Do
they get paid at an hourly rate? Do they have confidentiality contracts,
i.e. that they can't divulge the inner workings of Player A if the relationship
ends and they go to work for Player B, essentially a non-compete clause?
With all the movements in tennis, one wonders whether this is something that
players have ever had to discuss.
Bajin brought a level of
toughness to Osaka's game. She was confident on court and she played like
it. To make this decision after having so much success leaves me
pondering why.
I know folks will say
that other sports are not like tennis as it is a player/coach relationship,
however, tennis likes to compare itself to golf, and in golf, when there are
changes in coaching (caddy changes), these are well publicized with players
discussing in detail at times why the former relationship has ended.
The WTA has taken steps
to focus on the coaches on the WTA circuit.
As I set out earlier, Bajin was voted Coach of the Year. The allegations that are now being raised
about him must be nipped in the proverbial bud.
Allegations of doping in any sport is a death sentence. Allegations of doping against a person whose livelihood is dependent on a professional athlete hiring him could be fatal. The WTA should not stay silent on this
issue.
Petra Kvitova
This columnist is no fan
of Kvitova. The media's tactic of telling us of her innocence goes
against what we know of Kvitova. That being said, the Spin team
sympathises with her regarding the attack that almost placed her into
retirement. I have been following the news updates of the trial and I
have a few questions:
There is no doubt that
Petra, a multi-millionaire athlete, would perhaps live in a community that is
adequately secured. After all, she has 2 Wimbledon trophies, as well as
numerous other trophies in her home that she might wish to keep secure. She may
also have thousands of dollars’ worth of tennis equipment, as well as jewelry
etc., that every young woman worth millions might have. Therefore, I find
it strange that she opened her door to someone who claims to be there to fix her
boiler. In her sworn testimony, she indicated that she thought it was
doping control. Knowing how doping control works, the date and time would
have been what she had provided to the whereabouts folks, so that is understandable.
However, once she knew that it was not doping control, one would think that her
security would have announced that the boiler people were there to fix her
boiler. Was her boiler broken? Was she expecting someone to come
and fix it at that time? In short, was this a scheduled visit?
Leaving that part off for
a minute, once she allowed this person inside her home, he then attacks her,
but leaves after she gave him money.
Not only has she seen his
face, she can now identify him. Thank goodness that he did not kill her,
but why pay him? Was he asking for money? Why did he leave without doing
any further harm after she gave him money? From my experience of the law,
that is generally not how criminals operate. I suspect there is more to the
story and it may take us years to get to the truth.
Coaching Changes
Finally, in a coaching
change which could potentially see some movement where her ranking is concerned, Monica Puig has announced that is now working with Kamau Murray.
Hopefully Pica Power will finally become a thing.
