Magda Linette claimed two titles to begin the year winning in the Bronx and Hua Hin and there is one key to success for the Polish Number One.
For Linette, that is the use of statistical data and this is something she has massively worked on with her main coach Mark Gellard who was appointed in 2018 and for her this helps her to make small improvements in her game.
"When somebody tells me things, I want factual data," she states to
WTA. "Mark understands that it's not that I don't trust him, but when I see the numbers I just feel calmer and I can work better. And he can explain stuff more logically with the data. The numbers are not all useful, to be fair, and it's also a skill to interpret them. Sometimes you feel you don't have enough to always tell everything - some patterns aren't visible, it depends so much on who you're playing and how you're feeling - but it's getting really interesting now with SAP."
Help of Izo Zunic in her development
Her previous coach with Izo Zunic who she is in a relationship with but for the Polish ace, she massively credits him for her development also but by her own admission, couldn't keep their professional relationship up when it became personal.
"The work I did with Izo was absolutely crucial," added Linette. "He took me from almost World No.290 to World No.55, so that was a heck of a lot of work and a lot of sacrifices from him. At that level you don't have much money, so for almost a year I wasn't really able to pay him on a daily basis, so his sacrifices were really important for me and my career - without Izo I don't know if I could have made it, and without him I wouldn't have met Mark and had the opportunity of such a great coach."
"When we started, we said, if we want to be a couple there's no way we can continue the coaching," recalls Linette. "From the beginning we knew we needed to separate it."
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