WASHINGTON, July 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has announced on her website that she has hired US tennis legend Jimmy Connors as her new coach.
Sharapova, ranked number two in the world, was eliminated in a stunning upset in the second round at Wimbledon in June. She announced that she had parted ways with her previous coach, Thomas Hogstedt on Friday.
Hogstedt had worked with Sharapova since 2010, joining her team as she worked on a comeback after a shoulder injury. He became her head coach a year later and since then, she won last year’s French Open and reached two more Grand Slam finals, as well as an Olympic final.
Connors, 60, is an eight-time winner of Grand Slam tournaments and has worked with Sharapova before, having coached her prior to the Australian Open in 2008, which Sharapova won.
