Madrid Open: Young American Peyton Stearns Seemingly Pulls off Master-Stroke as Maria Sakkari’s Ex-coach Spotted in Her Box

With tennis becoming more competitive with each passing day, the role of the coaches has become a lot more important. Ask Peyton Stearns, who played her qualifying match earlier today at the Madrid Open. The 22-year-old American sensation has had a breakthrough season, playing consistently at the top level. Further, she has another thing to cheer about after a special member was spotted in her box.

Stearns is coached by Eric Hechtman, who also trained the likes of Serena Williams and Venus Williams. In addition to him, another renowned coach joined her backroom staff, further bolstering her already strong team. During Stearns’ first-round qualifying match at the Madrid Open, Tom Hill was spotted in her box. As a result, rumors began circulating about whether Hill would soon begin coaching the young American.

Hill was a long-time coach of Maria Sakkari and the two worked together for six years. During their partnership, Sakkari won many big titles and was amongst the best in the world. However, they ended their stint together earlier this year.

Update: reports have begun to emerge that Sky has confirmed that Hill and Stearns will be working together. Although on a trial period, he will be the new coach of the American sensation, marking a new era in her career. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what role will her current coach, Eric Hechtman, will take on, with whom Stearns enjoys a wonderful bond.

Peyton Stearns forged an unbreakable bond with current coach

Hechtman, having worked with the legendary Williams sisters, knows what it takes to become the best in the world. Having a good relationship with the player on and off the court is one of those things. As a result, Hechtman not only spends time on the court but also off the court with Stearns, doing various activities like fishing and other sports.

Talking about their bonding, Stearns took to social media and said, “Off-court, he loves to fish, I love to fish, so we can kind of mesh over that. During pre-season, we’d have practices where we’d go fish after.”

Further, she went on to add, “I think it’s nice to have that kind of relationship with a coach, where you can separate tennis and other things and sometimes he’ll throw in some fishing analogies on the court, which is nice.”

Although her coaching team has been bolstered by Hill’s arrival, Stearns will be disappointed with her Madrid Open result. She went down fighting against Tatjana Maria in three tough sets. She will have to back to the drawing board and work hard with her new coach to make a strong comeback in the upcoming tournaments.