Daniil Medvedev is currently one of the best tennis players in the world, but when asked about possibly coaching in the future, he admitted that he might try it.
The unique nature of the Laver Cup is that players essentially get a chance to coach some of their rivals. It’s a team effort, so every time there is a changeover, teammates have a chance to chime in, and Medvedev did lots of that during the most recent Laver Cup.
He was part of Team Europe, and not only did he play, but he also gave tips to other players during matches, which prompted a question during his China Open participation about coaching in the future. The Russian gave an interesting answer, admitting that he thinks he could do it.
“I think I could do it. It depends on what I want to do and what I will be doing in my life after my tennis career. It depends a lot of things. I think it’s very possible. Again, I like the life on tour.”
“If I will be a coach, I probably will not travel 40 weeks on tour like I do now. A little bit less. I could do it. I’m not sure I’d be a good one, but I can try.”
That might be somewhat surprising for many people because the Russian doesn’t really smile a lot and loses his cool often on the tennis court, prompting some to think that he really doesn’t enjoy his time on the ATP Tour. In reality, Medvedev loves playing tennis, and as he pointed out, loves the tennis life.
When it comes to the Laver Cup, being a team event obviously means that players give each other tips during changeovers. He admitted that he was shy in giving his opinion, which again might be a bit surprising as he’s generally seen as a player who doesn’t mind speaking his mind.
“Yeah, of course, in Laver Cup, it’s a team environment. Everyone tries to help each other. For me it’s tough. I’m someone who is like a little bit in a way shy to give my opinion. Let’s call it this way.”
“Especially when there is a top player sitting there, I know how it is, he’s thinking about something, he’s thinking what he has to. When Sascha was playing, I saw some things where I was like, Okay, I have to try to give him this advice. It worked. It was really happy. I also lost my both matches.”
Still, coaching is not something he ruled out completely. He might be on the Tour for the next twenty years, but that’s a very far future.
“I was the only one not to give a point to the team. I was like, Okay, if I give this advice, it works, I do something good for the team. It was a funny feeling. Yeah, maybe I can help in the future someone else.”
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