Djokovic splits with Becker as coaching change trend rises

On Tuesday, Novak Djokovic announced a mutually agreed upon split with his coach of three years, Boris Becker. With the former No. 1 bleached head of hair in his player box, Djokovic won six of 12 majors, finished the season at No. 1 twice and wrapped up a career Grand Slam by winning Roland Garros.

"The goals we set when we started working together have been completely fulfilled…" wrote Djokovic. "My professional plans are now directed primarily to maintain a good level of play, and also to make a good schedule and new goals for the next season. In this regard I will make all future decisions."

Djokovic won two majors to start 2016, but the wheels fell of the wagon, albeit slightly, with early losses at Wimbledon and Rio. He also lost the No. 1 spot to Andy Murray at the ATP World Tour Finals.

The trend of splitting with coaches during the off season has been going strong for years, and the trend of posting the announcement on social media has only gotten more popular. Along with Djokovic, a number of top-ranked players have made cuts this off season:

1

The Canadian enjoyed his best career year so far, reaching his first major final at Wimbledon and ending at a career-high ranking of No. 3. He was one point away from upsetting Murray in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals. Still, he parted ways with Carlos Moya, the 1998 Roland Garros champion, with a Facebook statement.

“We will no longer be continuing our coaching relationship, but remain close friends,” he wrote.

2

Like Raonic, Madison Keys enjoyed a breakthrough in the rankings, reaching the Top 10 for the first time and ending the year at a career-high ranking of No.8. She’s been quick to change coaches for the past few years though, and that didn't change in 2016. After starting with Mats Wilander and Jesse Levine, the 21-year-old hired Thomas Hogstedt during the clay-court season. The two parted ways in November, citing “too big a personality conflict off the court.”

3

Another player to end the year on a high note was David Goffin. The Belgian wrapped up 2016 at a career-high ranking of No. 11 after strong showings at all the majors, but he hasn’t won a title since 2014. He recently stopped working with coaching consultant Thomas Johansson.

Goffin, however, is still working with his first coach Thierry Van Cleemput.

4

Johanna Konta is yet another example of a player enjoying a career-best year only to dump part of her team. The Brit is no longer working with her coach of three years Esteban Carril. With Carril in her corner, Konta enjoyed a stunning rise since 2015 from outside the Top 100 to the Top 10.

This season, she also reached her first major semifinal in Australia and won her first title in Stanford.

5

Like Konta, Elina Svitolina had a great year (though she started it already great at No. 19). The Ukrainian added her fourth career title, ousted Serena Williams in Rio, and finished as a finalist at the Elite Trophy in Zhuahi. Despite ending at a career-best No. 14, she opted to end things with her coach of two and a half years, Iain Hughes.

"He taught me many things on and off the court, made me a better player, and helped to reach many goals," Svitolina wrote. "It was an invaluable experience to work with Iain."

6

Yet another career-best year has ended with a coaching change. Karolina Pliskova won her biggest career title in Cincinnati and followed that up by beating both Serena and Venus Williams on her way to her first major final in New York. Still, she cut ties with Jiri Vanek in November after ending the year at a high of No. 6.

Fellow Czech Petra Kvitova has since hired Vanek. She parted with Frantisek Cermak after falling in the fourth round of the US Open.

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This list really makes it obvious that the majority of players made changes after career-best years. The most probable cause for that is that they outgrew the person guiding them, needing to make a change to rise even higher, or could no longer agree on contracts as prize money purses increased.

Each case is different though, and each relationship complex, so only the player and coach truly know what happened.