Coaching or commentating? This question is commonly asked to tennis players about what they would rather do after their playing days are over. Many top coaches on the tour are former players, as are commentators. When asked recently what he thinks about his retirement, Novak Djokovic made his stance very clear.
The 28 year-old Serb, who is currently ranked number one in the world and has won three out of four Grand Slam titles this year, appears far from retirement. However, that is not to say he hasn’t thought about it. He was recently quoted saying "Tennis is my life. I'll stay somehow in tennis after my retirement and eventually coach somebody one day.”
Now, Djokovic is probably a long way off from thinking seriously about coaching. While he is certainly in the latter half of his career, he appears to have several good years of tennis left in him.
While it’s all well and good that Djokovic would want to coach, that doesn’t necessarily mean he will make a good one. It’s hard to say whether he would or not until he actually tries, however if he can be judged based on his playing career, there are a lot of reasons to believe that Novak Djokovic would make a good coach.
Fighting Spirit
First and foremost, his experience. Novak Djokovic has had an incredible career. It’s not just his numbers, but how he got to where he is today. It took Novak Djokovic years of top-level tennis to finally breakthrough and dominate. He reached number three in the world in 2007 and won his first Grand Slam in early 2008. Djokovic would not win another slam until 2011 and did not firmly establish himself in the top two until 2011 (apart from a brief stint in 2010 after which he fell back to number three) and didn’t reach number one until July 2011. It took four years to truly establish himself as an equal to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who had dominated the game from 2005 through 2010. The Serb was 24 when he reached number one for the first time, while Federer and Nadal were both 22 and had each won five or more slams before the age of 24. Djokovic only had two slams to his name.
Djokovic had to earn everything he got. He had to deal with trying to break through the most dominant duopoly the men’s tennis tour had ever seen. The current world number one had a great game in the late 2000s, but in that era it wasn’t good enough, which can be tough for a young player at number three in the world. His career is one of perseverance- he had to continue to push himself to improve, develop incredible mental toughness and overcome the mental and physical struggles he’d suffered throughout his early career. If Djokovic could teach these skills, anyone on the ATP or WTA tours would benefit. As a coach, Djokovic would have all the experience to draw on and would have so many things he could teach a player, especially a young prodigy. Djokovic understands the struggle as well as, if not better than any player.
Exposure
Djokovic has also benefitted from some good coaching himself, which he could use as an advantage as a coach. Marian Vajda has had a great influence on him since 2006, and Boris Becker has also done great things over the last two years with the Serb. Some of Djokovic’s past coaches also included former Grand Slam finalist Todd Martin and doubles legend Mark Woodforde. Djokovic has worked with lots of difference coaches and surely by now understands what a good coach is and how to treat player well. This would give him an advantage over a player like Rafael Nadal, who has only ever been coached by one person. It could be tough for the Spaniard to coach because of his own personal lack of exposure, but for Djokovic, he's had plently of it.
Style
A third reason why Djokovic could be a good coach is his own style. He has an extremely complete game. His all-court game gives him a very complete understanding of how the game is played, which could be very beneficial because he could theoretically help any player of any style. Every shot is essentially a strength for him, so he can easily help a player improve any aspect of their game. If a player is looking for a coach to help with their return, Djokovic could help. Groundstrokes? Djokovic would be your man. Strategy? Yup. His knowledge of tennis should be so transferable because of how he plays the game.
The Problems
Now, there are also reasons to be question. One big reason is attitude. Djokovic has gone on record saying he and Boris Becker aren’t friends and that their relationship is purely professional and often tense. It’s hard to say whose fault that is, but it’s not a good sign. What’s more is that Djokovic is known for bouts of poor attitude on court, screaming and smashing racquets. That may not affect his coaching, but it could be hard for him to drill the negative traits out of a player he’s coaching. Depending on how he himself behaved, it could even rub off on an impressionable player.
Another issue is the constant cheating accusations. Novak Djokovic is continually dogged by accusations that he receives coaching during matches, which is against the rules. While he’s never been punished for this, it would imply that he might have a hard time staying on the sidelines during matches as a coach, especially when there have been clear instances of him interacting with his coach during a match. Justifying yelling in a ball boy's face by saying that you were yelling at your coach doesn’t really clear you of wrongdoing.
There are reasons to suggest that Novak Djokovic would make a good coach, but there are also reasons to suggest that, if he does want to remain in the tennis world after he retires, that he should maybe use his big personality in the commentary booth. If he brought the right attitude and found a way to effectively pass along his experience in the sport, he could do great things for a young player. However, in any case, that decision is probably several years down the road.