1. Michael Joyce

Coaches: Johanna Konta

It’s all set up to be a huge year for Johanna Konta. After last season’s breakthrough ended on a whimper, the British number one ended her partnership with Wim Fissette. In came Michael Joyce, the man widely seen as responsible for Maria Sharapova’s golden reign. Joyce was a long-time coach to five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, and most recently worked with former world number one Victoria Azarenka. If Konta can better her phenomenal 2017, then Joyce will have more than earned his paycheck.

2. Carlos Moya

Coaches: Rafa Nadal

The man credited with Nadal’s latest reinvention has a decent tennis pedigree as a former world number one himself. Prior to joining his fellow Spaniard, Moya carried Milos Raonic to number three in the rankings with the kind of aggressive game that seemed perfectly suited to Nadal. And so it proved. When Moya joined in December 2016, Nadal was without a Grand Slam title in three years. But he ended 2017 in the number one slot, with both the US and French titles to his name.
 

3. Dani Vallverdu

Coaches: Grigor Dimitrov

British tennis fans will recognise Andy Murray’s ex, who – alongside Ivan Lendl – was responsible for the Scot’s purple patch of two Grand Slams and an Olympic gold in 2012 and 2013. Since that split, Dani has changed his relationship status, first guiding Tomáš Berdych to his highest career singles ranking of number four, and then going one better with his current charge, Grigor Dimitrov, who reached number three last season.
 

4. Günter Bresnik 

Coaches: Dominic Thiem

Tennis coaches come and go. And they are often scapegoats for loss of form or lack of championships. But world number five Dominic Thiem knows a good thing when he sees it. Bresnik has coached the Austrian since the age of nine, and has known him since the age of three. A former coach of Boris Becker, Bresnik even published a book called The Dominic Thiem Method where he revealed how he turned the kid into a world-class athlete. Surely everyone’s new parenting bible?

5. Piotr Woźniacki

Coaches: Caroline Woźniacki

Talk about keeping it in the family, because the world number three’s primary coach is… her father. Piotr – a former professional football player – has coached his daughter since the age of 14, presumably giving those early daddy-daughter trips to the park a slightly different edge. And although she has been briefly under the wing of a number of different coaches over the years, it is now her dad who she says will see out the rest of her career.
 

6. Paul Annacone

Coaches: Stan Wawrinka

Paul Annacone knows how to work with Grand Slam champions – he’s a former coach of tennis icons Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. It was that CV that attracted everyone’s second-favourite tennis player, Stan Wawrinka. The two worked together during last year’s Wimbledon, although a first-round defeat there due to a knee injury finished Wawrinka’s season. But now Stan’s back. And with long-time coach Magnus Norman leaving his team, Annacone could be the missing piece in his comeback story.

7. Andre Agassi

Coaches: Novak Djokovic

It was one of the biggest coaching stories of last season: eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi, out of nowhere, joining Djokovic’s payroll. The Serbian ditched his entire team last term after falling down the rankings, but what made Agassi’s arrival most intriguing was how he would only join Novak’s team for major tournaments. With Radek Stepanek stepping up as Novak’s “day-to-day” coach, you couldn’t think of anyone better than the experienced, cool and calm Agassi for these massive events.
 

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