Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is set for an electrifying third-round clash with Iga Swiatek at the US Open, a matchup that promises to be full of intensity. However, as Pavlyuchenkova enters this pivotal match, her current situation of competing without a coach raises intriguing questions. It’s worth noting that there was a time when her brother stepped into the coaching role for the Russian tennis star.

Pavlyuchenkova has a notable history of working with her brother, Aleksandr Pavlyuchenkov, as a coach. Aleksandr, a former professional tennis player himself, took on the role of coach to guide his sister nearly 4 years ago in 2020. His insights and understanding of the game, combined with their close familial bond, provided Pavlyuchenkova with personalized training and support.

In the world of professional tennis, Aleksandr Pavlyuchenkov has left his imprint. He earned a career-high doubles ranking of 258 on May 28, 2018. Among his noteworthy achievements is his ATP Challenger doubles championship at the 2018 Fergana Challenger. His accomplishments demonstrate his commitment to the game and his proficiency in doubles. But when did Pavlyuchenkova think about having his brother in her coaching set-up?

Well, Pavlyuchenkova actually hired Philipp Sumyk in July 2019 after a lot of deliberations. Reflecting on this period, she stated, “Before that, I had a difficult period in my career. The training was not easy for me, so I found a strict coach who attaches great importance to the discipline.”

But by the start of 2020, Pavlyuchenkova began to feel uneasy about the team’s atmosphere and her connection with Sumyk, impacting her comfort and openness. Not only that, a few months later, she suffered a hip injury in Melbourne and attributed part of the blame to Philipp Sumyk, and then decided to hire her brother as a coach. “He (Sumyk) and my physio were partly responsible for it. In my entire career, I have never had any pain except for one little thing in my shoulder,” she said. It was then that the Russian turned to her brother for guidance. A few years back, Pavlyuchenkova recalled how she connected with her brother, to get on with the player-coach relationship.

How did Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova approach her brother for the coaching role?

In 2021, following her loss to Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reached out to her brother for support. She said, “I always like to work with him. It’s just that he wanted to restart his career, we were late maturing, he was younger, I was younger, and probably there was some miscommunication, but now I feel like we’ve grown up and I’ve always enjoyed and I love how he sees and approaches tennis.”

Further, she also talked about how it was easy for her to work with her brother, rather than any other coach. “He’s a very easy guy off the court so that’s also something that I love, but also I love how he sees and understands tennis and how he plays. He had a huge serve so it’s something that maybe I can learn from him, hopefully.” Pavlyuchenkova added.

After facing setbacks and experiencing difficulties with previous coaching arrangements, Pavlyuchenkova sought a supportive figure who truly understood her and her game. Her brother’s deep belief in her potential, along with his unique insights into tennis, helped the Russian bring her A game to the court. However, now it’s interesting to see who will coach Pavlyuchenkova next.