Former top 10 player says when he found it ‘the most unpleasant’ to coach Daniil Medvedev before leaving his team

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Daniil Medvedev has been through some big coaching changes over the past 12 months.

Medvedev split with his long-term coach Gilles Cervara, with their eight-year partnership coming to an end after his first round defeat at the US Open.

The former world number one has since added new names to his team, with Medvedev being coached by Thomas Johansson, the former Australian Open champion.

Johansson is not the only former top 10 player who has coached Medvedev this year, with Gilles Simon now detailing what it was like to work with the 2021 US Open champion.

Gilles Simon explains what he found ‘unpleasant’ about coaching Daniil Medvedev

Cervara is not the only Gilles that Medvedev has been coached by this year, having also worked with Gilles Simon.

Former world number six Simon was part of Medvedev’s team for just over a year, before they parted ways after the Australian Open this year.

Medvedev has been part of some controversial moments since then, and now Simon has spoken about what it was really like to coach the Russian.

When speaking to Eurosport France, Simon was full of praise for Medvedev as a person, but less so for when he was in the coaching box during matches.

“The box is the most unpleasant moment with him,” said Medvedev. “He’s extremely pleasant off the court, but when he’s on the court during a match, he has a little monster to face inside that isn’t easy to manage.

“We’ve been players, we understand what’s going on, we know he’s not doing himself any favors, but we understand. It’s a shame it’s coming out like this, but I knew it before I worked with him. Everything else was pure joy.”

Gilles Simon reveals what Daniil Medvedev told him after parting ways

Simon officially left Medvedev’s team in February this year, and he has now relayed what actually happened.

In detailing his version of events, Simon also revealed that Medvedev hired him without even telling his main coach Gilles Cervara.

Simon said, “At the end of the year, I asked him, ‘How could I have convinced you?’ Daniil replied, ‘You already pushed very hard, and it wasn’t possible to go any further.’ “

The Frenchman added, “You should know that Daniil contacted me without telling Gilles [Cervara]. So Daniil must have realized that something was missing, or that he wanted to add things. For Gilles, it wasn’t a simple situation. He’s his long-time coach, and the very idea of ​​seeking something out was hard to accept.

“I tried to reassure Gilles about that; I didn’t have the time and I didn’t want to spend 45 weeks a year with a player, so his place wasn’t threatened in any way. But I didn’t take his comments badly, and in the end, Gilles and I were increasingly aligned on what needed to be done.”

Medvedev will be without either Simon or Cervara for the 2026 season, as he looks to continue his work with Thomas Johansson.

Although it was a very challenging year for the 29-year-old, Medvedev showed some resurgent form in the latter stages of the 2025 season.