Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2021

Tennis coaches, in most cases, play an extremely important role in the life of a tennis player, and often to the extent that the trajectory of his/her career completely changes based on the coach they decide to work with.

Be it the history of Rafael Nadal’s coaches in terms of the equation he shared with his Uncle Toni to Carlos Moya or Gustavo Maraccio, or the one between the William sisters and their father Richard Williams, the player-coach relationship translates to an integral part of the game on-court and a noteworthy storyline off-court.

With regards to World No.1 Novak Djokovic, after two decades on the international circuit, the Serb recently shared his views on considering moving forward without a coach following his decision to part ways with Goran Ivanisevic after the Indian Wells earlier this year.

Talking about the same, he said (via The Telegraph):

“I am considering whether I should or shouldn’t have the coach,” Djokovic said on Monday. “I had a really good time with Zimonjic… we’re talking about continuing. Let’s see, I’m going to make the decision in the next period.

“It’s not like I think I don’t need a coach at all. I think there’s always value in having that quality team… But I think I’m in the stage of my career where I can afford to maybe think having no coach is also an option.”

Djokovic’s thought process is not something new in the world of tennis as the game has witnessed some big names spending the last few years or even a major part of their career without being under the guidance of a coach.

With that said, let’s have a look at a few such prominent tennis players who had a successful career even without a coach.

#3 John McEnroe

Former World No.1 John McEnroe occupies a significant position in the history of tennis, not just because of his vast list of accomplishments but also his confrontational and greatly aggressive on-court behavior. Additionally, he is the only tennis player in the Open Era to have held the No.1 ranking in both singles and doubles at the same time in his career.

As a young boy, McEnroe briefly played under Australian tennis professional Harry Hopman who in turn introduced him to Mexican Davis Cup player Antonio Palafox who played a crucial role in shaping the American’s game and also worked with him as he turned pro.

However, recollections of any specific coaches in McEnroe’s career especially since the end of the 1970s till his retirement in 1992, are hard to be found. Hence, while he did have a few people guiding him along the way, McEnroe preferred relying on his instincts.

In continuation to the same, speaking at the Here’s The Thing Podcast, McEnroe said:

“Coaching can be overrated and at times it can be critical. I didn’t have a coach who traveled with me. I did not like that.”

On the other hand, after retiring from tennis, McEnroe founded his academy and has had a successful career as a commentator. Additionally, he also coached Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic for a brief period.
John McEnroe coaching Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic during Wimbledon 2016

# 2 Nick Kyrgios

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios is one of the few tennis players on the professional circuit who decided to not work under a coach.

Kyrgios has held a career-high ranking of World No.13 and was a runner-up at the 2022 Wimbledon Championship in addition to winning seven ATP singles titles. However, while the Australian has been involved in a range of controversies owing to his perceived casual approach to tennis, he is one of the few players to have defeated all three of the Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic at different points in his career.

In addition to his ‘bad-boy’ image, Kyrgios also stands out from the commonalities of tennis because of his decision to not work with a coach and speaking about the same after reaching his first ever Wimbledon semifinal in 2022, the Australian said (via Business Insider):

“I would never put that burden on someone….Each and everyone in my team plays a very important role.”

Kyrgios added:

“I feel like no one knows my tennis better than I do. I’ve been playing this sport since I was seven and now into the semifinal of a Grand Slam. I’m pretty happy.”

While Kyrgios is yet to prove his mettle in terms of bagging a Grand Slam and is struggling to recover from injuries, the 29-year-old seems to be continuing with his plan of not working under a coach.
Nick Kyrgios (right) and Novak Djokovic after the Wimbledon finals in 2022

#1 Roger Federer

Swiss legend and one of the Big Three tennis players of the Open Era, Roger Federer is a classic example of tennis players who have had a successful career without a coach.

Federer has been coached by some prominent figures of the tennis fraternity, namely Severin Luthi, Stefan Edberg, Tony Roche, Paul Annaconne, and Ivan Ljubicic at different points in his career.

However, even though, the Swiss shared long partnerships with some of his coaches, there were times when the former World No.1 did not work under the guidance of a coach and still managed to do fairly well. One of these instances came quite early in his career in 2003-2004 when he managed to win four Grand Slam titles without a coach – 2003 Australian Open, 2003 and 2004 Wimbledon, and the 2004 US Open.
Roger Federer after winning the Wimbledon Championship in 2004
With regards to the said period of 2003-2004 and the few times when Federer was coachless in between the time he spent with the aforementioned names, many believe that he knew the game pretty well and left little space for any coach to introduce any changes to his game. However, this point of view is often countered by the fact that if Federer had a consistent guide, especially during the early stage of his career, he could have continued having an edge over players like Nadal and Djokovic, something that seemed to have deteriorated as the Swiss approached the last few years of his career.