Marie Bouzkova hires Grand Slam winner as new coach in bid to join WTA elite

Marie Bouzkova
Marie Bouzkova plays a shot

Marie Bouzkova is out to keep her momentum going after a strong finish to the 2023 season and has turned to a new coach to continue her progress.

The 25-year-old Wimbledon doubles semi-finalist has appointed Conchita Martinez as her new coach for the upcoming 2024 season.

A former Wimbledon champion, Martinez also has accolades as a coach, having taken home the WTA Coach of the Year award in 2021 while she was training Garbine Muguruza.

Martinez has also previously coached Bouzkova’s compatriot Karoline Pliskova. The Spaniard has skippered her country’s Billie Jean King Cup team and more recently, Martinez served as the tournament director of the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

Bouzkova contacted Martinez, who had been on a sabbatical from working in tennis, after the end of the 2023 campaign.

“Since February I have taken advantage of the time to rest, after some intense years of travelling. Now I have the energy to train again and enjoy my work. I am very happy to be able to contribute my experience again,” Martinez said during an interview with Eurosport Spain.

“Her (Bouzkova’s) agent contacted me to inquire about my availability and to ask if I wanted to train again. And now that we are at the end of the year and after evaluating everything, I have decided that it was a good time to return because I am excited about the project.”

Bouzkova fell narrowly short of claiming her second career title at the Jiangxi Open in October but lost out to countrywoman Kateřina Siniaková.

Bouzkova, a former junior US Open winner, is ranked 34th in the world. She has only one WTA championship to her name, which she won in the 2022 Prague Open. She also made it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2022, her finest Grand Slam run to this point. She has a 27-23 overall win-loss record this season.

Martinez feels there is plenty of scope for Bouzkova to improve her tennis.

“I love her because she is a very feisty and competitive player. She has many to continue growing and improving as a tennis player. She is very professional and is focused on her work 100%,” Martinez commented.

“Honestly, I think it has a lot of room for improvement in many aspects. It is true that she is quite complete, but I would like to focus on her gradually playing more aggressively without losing her essence as a great fighter. I definitely think she has the potential to be high in the rankings, but it takes time to work on.”

READ MORE: Incredible successes stun teenager with a bright future