Mirra Andreeva has been working with former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez recently, but it's unclear whether she'll stay on as a permanent option.
Andreeva established herself as a tremendous player last year by winning a couple of great matchups against very solid players. She entered the Top 100 and then the Top 50 and stayed there ever since.
She did all of that as a teenager, though this year hasn't been that good. We haven't seen the same confidence, the same level, or the same type of wins. At least not until this week in Madrid, when she finally put together a couple of impressive wins.
She made the quarter-final, where she lost to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who would end up in the final a couple of days later. The 17-year-old has worked with former WTA player Conchita Martinez, who has experience working with some big names.
Andreeva and Martinez will be working together also next week at the Italian Open in Rome, even though the Spaniard was unable to confirm whether she'll stay on the team.
"We have to talk about it, we agreed not to touch on that topic until she finished in Madrid. Right now I know that I will go to Rome, but I think the trial period is going quite well, we have good chemistry and we are working very well. In the coming weeks we will talk about it."
Andreeva is at a crucial stage in her career where she's shaping herself into the type of player she wants to be. She's not the most aggressive player, and in the era of hard-hitting tennis, that might be a problem.
It certainly was the problem against Sabalenka, and that's why appointing a good coach may be crucial for her.