It is not always the case in sport that the best athletes make the best coaches. Those who reach the biggest stages may not always be able to communicate clearly what it takes for others to get there.
Of course, there are always exceptions.
In tennis, we've seen the rise of the ‘super coach' - the likes of Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg and Andre Agassi – and at The Championships this year are a couple of coaches who know how it feels to lift a singles trophy on Centre Court.
One such champion is Goran Ivanisevic, who, having worked successfully with Marin Cilic and Novak Djokovic, and briefly with Elena Rybakina, is now in charge of guiding Stefanos Tsitsipas (main picture) back into the top 10.
After three appearances in the final at The Championships, in 2001 Ivanisevic became the only player to win a Wimbledon singles title as a wild card, achieving the feat while ranked world No.125.
Another champion-turned-coach on Tour is Conchita Martinez, who since April 2024 has been in charge of teenager Mirra Andreeva, who many believe is primed to lift a Grand Slam trophy sooner rather than later.
In 1994, Martinez defeated Martina Navratilova to become the Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion and the first Spanish woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Last year Andreeva and Martinez watched that match back together.
“I put on the video from YouTube, her final against Navratilova, and she's like ‘no don't watch this moment. Start from this score in the second set’,” Andreeva said.
“I was like 'ah-ha. OK'. And of course, I put the moment that she didn't want on purpose, but of course she tells me about the way she played.”
Andreeva registered her best finish at a Grand Slam at last year's Roland-Garros, reaching the semi-finals, and followed it up by making the fourth round at Wimbledon, and says she regularly picks the brain of Martinez.
“She has shared some experiences and some emotions with me and it's really, really nice to hear what she was going through (at) that time.”
Juan Carlos Ferrero has been coaching defending champion Carlos Alcaraz since 2019. Ferrero, a former world No.1, won 16 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including Roland-Garros in 2003. He was also runner-up in Paris in 2002 and at the 2003 US Open.
South African great Wayne Ferreira has recently taken up post as coach to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin and has made an immediate impact - just like he did with his former charge Frances Tiafoe.
It's really, really nice to hear what she was going through (at) that time.
Ferreira, who won 15 ATP singles and 11 doubles titles and reached a career-high ranking of world No.6, spent a brief period with Jack Draper last year (during which Draper won his maiden ATP title in June 2024) and has been with Popyrin since March of this year.
The Australian surged into the quarter-final of the Monte Carlo Masters and more recently the second week of Roland-Garros - his best Grand Slam result to date. Popyrin's backhand has made a noticeable improvement and he loves Ferreira's laid-back, easy manner.
“He came in and he's brought in complete and utter calmness,” Popyrin said. “Don't worry about results. Don't worry about what you're doing in tournaments. Focus on the practice and then if you practise well, results will speak for themselves.
“But also, then a little technical change on the backhand, which helped a little bit. He's an unbelievable tennis brain and unbelievable tennis knowledge. I think the way he played was very smart and a little bit similar to me.
"He always says that he had a worse backhand than I do, but he still managed to play top 10 and have an unbelievable career.”
Bryan Shelton reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1994 and his son Ben, whom he started coaching in 2023 after successful stints in charge of Georgia Tech women's US college team, and the men's University of Florida team, matched that last year.
Overall, 22-year-old Ben has usurped his father, reaching two Grand Slam semi-finals and is enjoying a rise into the world's top 10.
Michael Joyce was a world No.64 in April 1996. As a coach since then, he guided Maria Sharapova to three Grand Slam titles and after also working with the likes of Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka, has now been with young US player Ashlyn Krueger since 2021.
The 21-year-old Krueger won a first WTA singles title in 2023 and a doubles title in 2024 and has a big game and huge potential. She is one to watch out for.
Darren Cahill is arguably the most successful coach on tour at the moment. As a player the Australian won two ATP singles titles, 13 on the doubles circuit and reached the Australian Open men's doubles final in 1989.
Since then he's worked with Grand Slam champions Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, Ana Ivanovic, Simona Halep and now current world No.1 Jannik Sinner.