Former world number fifteen, Julia Görges, has announced her return to tennis and a new coaching team for 2016. Having rested for the latter half of the year, she is set to return with Michael Geserer and Matthias Mischka supporting her.
Up and down year for Görges
Last year proved very much one of two halves for the German, with the first showing signs of a promising return towards the elite of the game. Fourth round appearances at the Australian Open and French Open suggested that she had rediscovered her form of 2013. She was even surprisingly chosen to lead the Germans out in their semi final appearance in the Fed Cup, her first singles rubber since 2013, but she lost in straight sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova in Germany's epic 2-3 defeat.
However, things took a turn for the worse after May, as she lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Timea Bascinszky and then at the same stage of the US Open to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, which saw her ranking tumble.
Having taken some time out, she will be returning to the game in time for the Australian Open, where she will be hoping to replicate or even better her performance from this year.
Who are the new men?
Michael Geserer is a former ATP player, having begun his career in 1991 and reached a career high ranking of 189. The German has enjoyed much more success as a coach, as he helped Philipp Kolschreiber to the world's elite. He will be assisted by Matthias Mischka, a fitness coach with a degree in sports science.
The new appointments come on the back of her split in September with her coach of seven years, Sascha Nensel. Nensel helped Görges to titles in Stuttgart and Gastein, whilst saw her rise to the world's top twenty.
She announced the news on her twitter page, you can read it here, and at the same time her own excitement for the season ahead.
