"Legendary" Coaches
During the 2006 U.S. Open, Andy Roddick’s new “coach,” Jimmy Connors, generated a lot of attention. But Connors is not the first great player to move onto the sidelines and pass on his/her knowledge of the sport to the next generation. In fact, Pancho Segura coached Jimmy Connors for a period of time. Billie Jean King coached and mentored Martina Navratilova during her career. The Aussie greats John Newcombe and Tony Roche coached both Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. Today, Roche continues to coach Roger Federer on a part-time basis. Some players, such as Evonne Goolagong-Cawley and Chris Evert, are involved with coaching juniors at tennis academies. Right now it seems as if recent retirees Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova are focused on their personal lives, charitable efforts, endorsements, etc. Over time, let’s hope that maybe one of them will also end up on the sidelines sharing his or her tennis talent with a future star.
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