By Adrianna Outlaw | Wednesday, December 2, 2015
In a Facebook post, Thanasi Kokkinakis announced he's split from long-time coach Todd Langman and hired Ben Mathias as his new coach.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Thanasi Kokkinakis will finish the season as one of four teenagers ranked in the ATP Top 100. The 19-year-old Aussie will start the 2016 season with a new coach by his side.
Kokkinakis has ended his 12-year partnership with coach Todd Langman and hired Ben Mathias as his new coach.
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Langman had coached Kokkinakis since the age of seven. Kokkinakis announced the coaching change in a Facebook post today.
New Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, who will pull the plug on his playing career after the 2016 Australian Open, and Jason Stoltenberg, who previously coached Hewitt and advised Kokkinakis in 2015, will both mentor Kokkinakis.
"After 12 years I thought a change was in order and am looking forward to kicking off a new season with my new coach Ben Mathias with help from Jason Stoltenberg and Lleyton Hewitt," Kokkinakis wrote in his Facebook post.
The 80th-ranked Aussie is the third highest-ranked teenager in the world behind No. 44 Borna Coric and No. 51 Hyeon Chung.
Kokkinikas was born in Adelaide, Australia, Hewitt's hometown, and still spends time training there. He sees both Hewitt and Stoltenberg as mentors who will serve as important advisors in his development.
Last March, Kokkinakis fought back from a two-set deficit to defeat world No. 31 Lukas Rosol in a five-set thriller that was the first live Davis Cup match of his career. That win sparked Australia to a 3-2 victory over the host Czech Republic.
Kokkinakis is expected to be part of a young, talented Australian Davis Cup team that includes No. 18 Bernard Tomic, No. 30 Nick Kyrgios and 60th-ranked Sam Groth, who will partner Kokkinakis in doubles in 2016.