COACHING CAROUSEL ... AND OTHER STUFF

The Spin Team

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. 

 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.

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.