New coach-player partnerships at Australian Open 2025 ft. Naomi Osaka & Patrick Mouratoglou, Coco Gauff & Matt Daly

The 2025 Australian Open is only a few days away, and the players are all busy preparing for the year's first Grand Slam. The preparations include establishing a working relationship with new coaches for the new season.

Several top players engaged new coaches in the latter half of the previous season. Especially in the women's game, top players like Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Naomi Osaka hired new coaches for their future seasons.

Let's look at some of the new coaching collaborations that will be in full flow at Melbourne Park.

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#6 Elena Rybakina- Goran Ivanisevic

Elena Rybakina split with her former coach, Stefano Vukov, under controversial circumstances after the US Open. This ended a fruitful partnership for the Kazakh player, who had the 2022 Wimbledon and reached the 2023 Australian Open final under Vukov's tenure.

However, in what was widely considered a good move, the World No. 6 hired Goran Ivanisevic as her new coach. The Croatian had a glittering coaching phase with Novak Djokovic as the Serbian won 9 Grand Slams with Ivanisevic at the helm of his coaching team.

The change seems to be working, as Rybakina had a nice start to her 2025 season at the United Cup. The former World No. 3 looked near her best again, winning her matches against the likes of Jessica Bouzas Maniero, Maria Sakkari, and Laura Siegemund. However, she lost to Iga Swiatek in the final.

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#5 Iga Swiatek- Wim Fissette

Wim Fissette (L) and Iga Swiatek (R) (Getty)

In October of 2024, Iga Swiatek announced her split with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, ending a three-year-long coaching collaboration. One of the most successful player-coach associations on the WTA Tour, Swiatek won four Grand Slam titles under Wiktorowski.

Separating from Wiktorowski, Swiatek made another high-profile coaching hire in Wim Fissette. The Belgian has worked with numerous Grand Slam winners. Before being hired by Swiatek, Fissette coached Naomi Osaka, who won two Grand Slams under his tutelage.

The coaching change seems to be working, as Swiatek has had a solid start to the 2025 season. She played in the United Cup, where she won her matches against Malene Helgo, Karolina Muchova, Katie Boulter, and Elena Rybakina. However, she lost to Coco Gauff in the finals in straight sets.

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#4 Hubert Hurkacz- Ivan Lendl and Nicolas Massu

Hubert Hurkacz was one of the players on the ATP Tour who ended a long coaching stint with Craig Boynton, who had been the Pole's coach for five years. All of Hurkacz's 8 career titles have come under Boynton, including Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Shanghai and a semifinal appearance at the 2021 Wimbledon.

Hurkacz has hired a high-profile coaching team of Nicolas Massau and former Major champion Ivan Lendl. While Massu has the coaching credentials, as he was on Dominic Thiem's team for the Austrian's only Grand Slam triumph at the 2020 US Open, it was Ivan Lendl under whom Andy Murray won all his 3 Major titles and ascended to the World No. 1 ranking.

The new coaching set-up seems to be working for Hurkacz as he put up a decent show at the United Cup. He won his matches against Billy Harris and Alexander Shevchenko to take Poland to the final. However, in the summit clash, he lost in a three-set tussle against Taylor Fritz.

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#3 Naomi Osaka- Patrick Mouratoglou

Patrick Mouratoglou (L) and Naomi Osaka (R) (Getty)

Naomi Osaka made her competitive return to tennis in 2024 after a long hiatus. The Japanese player had some sporadic flashes of brilliance but could not string together a series of performances for a title run. She decided to split with coach Wim Fissette, who had helped her win two Grand Slams.

Osaka hired Patrick Mouratoglou, who has been one of the serial winners as a coach in the tennis world. Under his coaching, Serena Williams won 10 of her 23 Major titles and an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

The Frenchman already seems to be doing his magic with Osaka, as the Japanese player started the 2025 season by reaching the final of the ASB Classic, her first final since 2022. However, she had to retire from the match after winning the first set. If Osaka can manage her injuries, then with Mouratoglou behind her, she will be one of the top favorites for the Australian Open.

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#2 Coco Gauff- Matt Daly

One of the coaching splits that has brought immediate success for the player has been Coco Gauff hiring Matt Daly. After her disappointing exit at the US Open, the American teenager parted ways with Brad Gilbert and hired Daly. The change brought results last season itself as he won the Wuhan Open and the WTA Finals.

The results continued for Gauff in 2025 as well, as she guided the USA Team to the United Cup title. The American player won all her matches against the likes of Leylah Fernandez, Donna Vekic, Zhang Shuai, Karolina Muchova, and Iga Swiatek.

The hiring of Daly seems to have helped Gauff to overcome her technical deficiencies. This is evident from the American's performance against Swiatek. Before Daly, Gauff trailed 1-11 against Swiatek in the head-to-head and struggled to win sets against the Pole. However, under Daly, Gauff has had successive wins over Swiatek, which puts her in good stead before the Australian Open.

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#1 Novak Djokovic- Andy Murray

Andy Maurray (L) and Novak Djokovic (R) (Getty)

In one of the most surprising announcements of the 2024 season, Novak Djokovic hired Andy Murray as his new coach for the 2025 season. This Serb split with Goran Ivanisevic in March, ending a five-year-long association that saw the former World No. 1 win 9 Major titles.

The Djokovic-Murray collaboration shocked one and all in the tennis community. However, the Serbian stated that having one of his longtime rivals in his corner would help improve his level and understand the strengths and weaknesses of his game with a fresh perspective.

However, the fresh coaching personnel has not changed the results for Djokovic on the court. He lost to Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International, and his search for his 100th career title still continues.