Frances Tiafoe will start the 2026 Grand Slam season with a brand new coach, having recorded a disappointing campaign in 2025.
In October, Tiafoe parted ways with his David Witt after over a year of working together, following a poor string of results.
The American fell to as low as 30th in the rankings last season, and, despite a quarterfinal finish at the French Open, failed to go far at majors.
He has since appointed Mark Kovacs, a physiologist and biomechanics researcher, as his new head coach.
Ahead of Tiafoe‘s run at the Australian Open, Kovacs revealed the changes he wants to make to the 27-year-old’s game.
Mark Kovacs speaks about his time with Frances Tiafoe so far
In an interview with Bounces by Ben Rothenberg, Kovacs said: “He was making some changes, and asked if I could help him.
“Originally, it was just really to try to help him for a week or two, reset, get him on the right track. And then he asked me if I can come to Australia and start working with him a bit more—and that’s where we’re at right now.
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“Frances is in the middle of his career—he’s going to be 28 pretty soon, so you’re not making drastic changes.
“It’s more about: how do you maximise him and his game and his ability that he has, and try to get him to be the best version of himself?
“I mean, I’ve known Frances a very long time, and we had some non-negotiables that we talked about. If I was going to help him, these things had to happen—and he’s done them. He’s been phenomenal.
“He’s committed to his health, his fitness. He’s improved his habits. It’s a lot of non-tennis stuff, obviously, as well.
“But on the on-court side, it’s just trying to make him the most aggressive version of himself and make sure that he can play as well as he can in the Slams and for the regular season.”
Frances Tiafoe says Mark Kovacs was a ‘great hire’
Tiafoe said: “I’m working on a bunch of things in my game; I think everything can get better. He’s great with moving as well.
“So yeah, I mean, he’s super knowledgeable about the game, on and off court, so I thought it was a great hire.”
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To start the 2026 season, Tiafoe suffered an early exit at the Brisbane International, where he recorded a win and a loss.
He beat Aleksandar Vukic, but was knocked out of the tournament by first seed Daniil Medvedev.
In the first round of the Australian Open, Tiafoe will take on home hope Jason Kubler.
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