After 10 years of working together, Jasmine Paolini suddenly announced her split with longtime coach Renzo Furlan. The official decision was shared after the Miami Open, where the Italian reached the semifinal—by far her best result of the year—shocking the tennis world. While no specific reason was provided, the unexpected decision has fueled speculation among fans.
2024 was undoubtedly the best year of Paolini’s career, as she reached the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open, made her top 10 debut, qualified for the WTA Finals, and even won Olympic Gold in doubles alongside Sara Errani. Such accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without Renzo Furlan, a former tennis player who played a crucial role in her team, offering her advice and significantly improving her game. He was also awarded the ‘WTA Coach of the Year’ title. However, just three months into 2025, he and Paolini parted ways.
WTA Coach of the Year: Award or Curse?
Shortly after Paolini announced the split, former British tennis player Mark Petchey wrote on X: “Being coach of the year is a poison chalice…” Even though some might dismiss it as mere coincidence, he isn’t entirely wrong. The award was introduced in 2018, and almost every coach who has won it has ended their collaboration with their player shortly afterward.
Being coach of the year is a poison chalice… pic.twitter.com/5eCRtKPMIs
— Mark Petchey (@_markpetchey) March 31, 2025
It happened with Furlan, just as it did last year with Tomasz Wiktorowski, Iga Swiatek’s coach. The same fate befell David Witt, former coach of Jessica Pegula, who won the award in 2022, as well as Conchita Martinez, Garbine Muguruza’s coach, in 2021. Before them, Piotr Sierzputowski, another former Swiatek coach, won in 2020, and the first-ever winner, Sascha Bajin, who coached Naomi Osaka in 2018, was no exception.
The only coach who initially appeared to escape the curse was Craig Tyzzer, who won in 2019 while coaching Ash Barty. However, as is well known, Barty retired from tennis just a few years later, in 2022, so even for “Tyzz,” there was no real happy ending.
Who Will Be Next?
We’re not even halfway through the season, and anything can still happen. However, there are already three strong candidates for “WTA Coach of the Year 2025.” The first is Anton Dubrov, who has been coaching Aryna Sabalenka since 2020 and brought her to the top of the rankings. The second is Conchita Martinez, who won the award a few years ago with Muguruza and now aims to repeat the feat with enfant prodige Mirra Andreeva, who has already won two WTA 1000 titles. The third candidate is Bjorn Fratangelo, who not only coaches Madison Keys but is also her husband–she won her maiden Slam earlier this year at the Australian Open.
All three seem to have long-term intentions with their players, but as the WTA Coach of the Year award appears to be a curse, no one can feel completely safe.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
