Popyrin parts ways with Malisse after two and a half years of collaboration
Alexei Popyrin has announced a change in his coaching staff in recent hours. Indeed, Xavier Malisse is no longer the coach of the 25-year-old player. The latter shared the news on his social media.
"Hello everyone, Xavier Malisse and I have decided to stop working together. I want to thank him for all the great memories we shared, the positive energy he brought, and the hard work. Thank you and good luck for the future," wrote Popyrin, 25, in an Instagram story recently.
Under the guidance of the former Belgian professional player, Popyrin achieved several significant milestones, reaching his career-high ranking (23rd in August 2024) and adding two new titles to his resume. First, he won his first clay-court title in Umag in 2023, defeating Stan Wawrinka.
Last summer, Popyrin made headlines by winning the biggest title of his career at the Montreal Masters 1000. He had an exceptional run, defeating Tomas Machac, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz, and Sebastian Korda before overcoming Andrey Rublev in the final.
A month later, Popyrin confirmed his strong form by reaching the Round of 16 at the US Open, eliminating Novak Djokovic in four sets in the third round.
Xavier Malisse, who reached a career-high ranking of 19th in August 2002, began working with Popyrin in September 2022, two and a half years ago. At that time, the Australian was ranked outside the top 80.
