Soon after announcing a split with Kristina Mladenovic, Sascha Bajin has officially joined the team of Dayana Yastremska, Ukrainian teenager who is currently at a career-high ranking of No.22.
Bajin’s illustrious career includes an eight-year cooperation with 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams as a hitting partner and he held the same role for two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka.
Moreover, coaching Naomi Osaka for 13 months since the 2017 off-season, Bajin helped the Japanese win two major titles and ascend to the top of the rankings, the achievements that earned him the 2018 WTA Coach of the Year award. However, Osaka shockingly sacked Bajin soon after the Melbourne triumph, saying: “If I’m not waking up happy to practice and happy to be around the people I’m around, this is my life. I’m not going to sacrifice that just to keep a person around.”
The famous coach then moved into Kristina Mladenovic‘s team in April 2019, but that partnership ended abruptly as well, this time initiated by Bajin, leaving Mladenovic disappointed: “I enjoyed our work, we had some great wins and I truly felt my game was on the rise again. I think that there was a lot more to achieve together but I can’t change his opinion and decision.”
Just days after parting ways with Mladenovic, 19-year-old Dayana Yastremska, who had split with coach Olivier Jeunehomme in October, announced on social media that Bajin will work with her from now on. Being on the verge of a Top 20 debut, Yastremska is one of the brightest young stars on the WTA tour. In 2019, the teenager won titles in Hua Hin and Strasbourg, reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon, and climbed 38 spots from her 2018 year-end ranking of No.60 to her current No.22.
