One of the biggest stories from post Wimbledon is the fact that three of the top 12 players in the world fired their coach after being eliminated. World number four Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada fired Frederic Fontang of France, world number eight Daniil Medvedev of Russia fired Thomas Johansson of Sweden, and world number 12 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic fired Michal Navratil.
The firing of Fontang should get the greatest attention. The reason is because Fontang has been coaching Auger-Aliassime for a decade and he has been instrumental in helping Felix get to the top five in the world.
However, Auger-Aliassime has not been pleased with his game lately. The bottom line is that he had hoped to have won a major in his career by now, and has not got to a grand slam singles final. His best grand slam result was making the United States Open semifinal twice (first time in 2021, and the second time in 2025).
The timing of the firing seems a little strange. Auger-Aliassime is getting high praise for his overall performance (despite losing in five sets to Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Wimbledon quarterfinal). Still, you could argue that Auger-Aliassine came up flat when the match mattered most. That was the fifth set tiebreak where Djokovic dominated Auger-Aliassime by a score of 10-4.
There is a saying in sports, “careful what you wish for.” The bottom line is that Fontang is an elite coach who got a lot from Auger-Aliassime. Just not a major title. It will be interesting to see who Auger-Aliassime brings on board next. A major championship is what Felix wants.
It could take time for Auger-Aliassime to gel with his new coach and success may not happen right away. Taking the time and selecting the right coach for Auger-Aliassime is vital for him going forward.
