Former World No. 1 Simona Halep recently parted ways with her coaches Daniel Dobre and Adrian Marcu after her 2022 Australian Open exit. According to the Polish press, Halep, who will be participating in Dubai and Doha tournaments, has appointed Piotr Sierzputowski as a temporary coach for those events.

The collaboration is said to be initially only for Dubai and Doha tournaments and if things go well, there could be a long-term partnership between the two. The aim would be to bring Simona back in the top 10, as the Romanian has slid to 23rd on the WTA rankings. Interestingly, Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou had a part to play in the temporary appointment.

Piotr Sierzputowski was the former coach of Iga Swiatek, who was with her during her breakout year in 2019. He also worked with the young star during her 2020 French Open triumph, and won the coach of the year award that year.

As per reports, Simona’s manager, Virginia Ruzici, contacted Sierzputowski through Patrick Mouratoglou. Patrick is currently guiding the likes of Serena Williams and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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The Simona Halep coaching dilemma

This would be Halep’s 4th coach in 5 years. Simona Halep had Darren Cahill as the longest tenure coach (6 years) at the senior level. Cahill shaped her gameplay and worked on the psychological aspect of the game with her. He helped her to clinch her 1st Major, 2018 French Open title.

After his 1 year gap for family reasons, Halep hired Romanian Daniel Dobre in March 2019. She won her 2nd Grand Slam in that year, winning the Wimbledon final against Serena Williams in 2 sets. Then Cahill returned in the autumn of 2019 and stayed for another 2 years.

After her early 2021 US Open exit, she rehired Adrian Marcu and Daniel Dobre to her coaching team. Now, Piotr Sierzputowski will try to get Halep on the winning track again.