Three years after retiring, 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone is getting back to work on the WTA Tour, this time as a coach of Croatian world No.21 Petra Martic.
A year and a half ago, the former world No.4 Schiavone shocked the tennis community by revealing that she had survived a malignant tumor after seven months of treatment. The 40-year-old will now try herself out in the coaching role for the first time.
Schiavone’s cooperation with Martic will kick off next week, at the TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship Istanbul, where the Croat is the defending champion. Then they’ll proceed to work together at the Mutua Madrid Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia and Roland Garros.
Here’s a short video of Martic and Schiavone practicing at the Milano Tennis Academy.
Martic reached a career-high ranking of No.14 in January 2020, following her outstanding 2019 season during which she reached the French Open quarterfinals. The 30-year-old has made the second week at each of the four Grand Slams.
