Daniil Medvedev’s 2025 season on the ATP Tour has been one to forget, having tumbled down the rankings to as low as 18th in the world.
The Russian, who started the year ranked fifth, has been a shell of his former self since January, crashing out in the early stages of several tournaments, including all four Grand Slams.
At the Australian Open, Medvedev bowed out in round two, which ultimately ended up being his best result at a major this year, following first-round exits at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
He has managed to reach just one final in 2025, which came at the Halle Open, where he failed to find an answer for a red-hot Alexander Bublik.
Though he is enduring a tough period in his career at the moment, all hope is not lost for the former major champion.
Photo by Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty ImagesDaniil Medvedev can look to Naomi Osaka to get his career back on track
After his disappointing run at Flushing Meadows, Medvedev parted ways with Gilles Cervara, his coach of eight years, who guided him to the 2021 US Open championship.
Switch-ups in coaching staff can often end poorly, but sometimes it is exactly what the player needs, as evidenced by four-time major champion Naomi Osaka.
Returning to the WTA Tour in 2024, Osaka endured a similar year to Medvedev, struggling to string together a series of wins.
The Japanese star’s difficulties continued for the majority of 2025, but after ending her player-coach relationship with Patrick Mouratoglou, everything changed.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
Osaka appointed Tomasz Wiktorowski, who had previously worked with Iga Swiatek, and has since been producing her best tennis in years.
With Wiktorowski, the 27-year-old has reached the final of the Canadian Open and recorded her best Grand Slam result in four seasons.
She dropped just one set en route to the US Open semifinals, battling past the likes of Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova to advance to the final four, where she fell to Amanda Anisimova.
Like Osaka, Medvedev’s new coach, Thomas Johansson, has plenty of experience, and with a fresh start, he is more than capable of returning to the level that saw him reach world number one status.
Thomas Johansson’s player-coach relationships with ATP stars
Johansson has worked with four ATP stars during his coaching career, the first of which was Borna Coric, with whom he had a brief spell in 2015.
Following another short stint with Filip Krajinovic, the Swede then began coaching David Goffin and helped the Belgian reach two tour-level finals.
In 2024, he was hired by Kei Nishikori, who rediscovered his old form with Johansson in his corner, making the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open that year and the final of the Hong Kong Open in 2025.
Now, he will have the opportunity to help Medvedev climb back up the rankings and fight for the biggest prizes in tennis once again.
AloJapan.com