RMC Sport of France reports that world No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is in search of a new coach. Tsonga has not had a coach for a year and a half. Larry Stefanki’s name has popped up, as the longtime U.S. coach is now available with Andy Roddick’s recent retirement.
“If it’s a stranger, obviously we think Larry Stefanki,” said Patrice Dominguez, the French Tennis Federation’s former director of tennis. “He has worked with three world No. 1’s in Marcelo Rios, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andy Roddick, so he has the experience and right credentials.”
However, Stefanki told ESPN.com this week that he is enjoying watching his is third and youngest son, Joe, a baseball catcher, play during his senior year in high school. But he is leaving the door open for a return.
“I’m not totally retired yet,” said Stefanki, who also coached John McEnroe, Tim Henman, and Fernando Gonzalez. “I still have that thing inside my soul to coach at the highest level. It’s never over, over. It’s in my blood. Andy said ‘You’re a lifer.’ I said ‘No.’ I like the challenge of someone challenging themselves. If they’re 20, 25, 30 in the rankings, I don’t care about the number, it all has to work in kind of like a reality check of saying ‘I'm stuck, you’ve seen me, you’ve been out there.’ That's how Fernando approached it. He said, ‘I've played all your guys a lot. What do you think?’ I said, ‘It doesn’t matter what I think. What do you think? That's the most important thing because it's an individual game. There’s no one holding your hand, and you have to get it done.”