Jimmy Connors names the top five ATP player who he would absolutely love to coach

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Jimmy Connors turned to coaching following his illustrious playing career, with Andy Roddick the main recipient of his knowledge.

The former won eight Grand Slam singles titles during his time on the court, while Connors and Roddick were ‘largely’ successful together.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have recently gone down a similar route, with the latter set to coach the former at the Australian Open.

Connors likes Murray coaching Djokovic, with the duo having gone from rivals to partners following the Scot’s retirement.

Djokovic currently occupies seventh in the ATP Tour rankings, with injury and poor form seeing him drop down the standings in 2024.

Why Jimmy Connors would love to coach Alexander Zverev

Jannik Sinner tops the pile ahead of the Australian Open, with Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz in second and third respectively.

And it is the German who Connors would appreciate the chance to coach, having discussed the issue on the Advantage Connors podcast.

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“There are a lot of guys who like to take somebody who is already at the top,” he said. “I would rather take somebody like a Zverev who is a proven player but hasn’t quite gotten over that hump.

“That is the kind of guy I would be looking for. When you get up and look the difference is so small, so tiny, you are not looking to retool their whole game, you are looking to give them that one little something that gets them over that hump.

“The fun part with me when I was with Andy Roddick was trying to find out what that little something was and how to improve that.”

How close has Alexander Zverev come to Grand Slam success?

Zverev has, of course, come very close to both Grand Slam and number one success in his superb career so far.

READ MORE: Alexander Zverev confirmed to play 2025 tournament for the very first time in his career

But his current number two ranking is his best so far, while the German has lost both of his Grand Slam finals.

Injury has certainly played a major role in those near misses, with Zverev tearing all three of the lateral ligaments in his right ankle during his 2022 French Open semi-final with Rafael Nadal.

But ATP Finals success has been secured on two occasions, while he is also an Olympic gold medallist thanks to his Tokyo triumph.

That should give the German plenty of confidence for 2025, a season in which he has started brightly at the United Cup.