Top 15 ATP player hires Felix Auger-Aliassime’s former coach 17 days after their split

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Jiri Lehecka has hired Felix Auger-Aliassime’s former coach, Frederic Fontang.

The world number 12 has hired a new coach ahead of this week’s Los Cabos Open.

Lehecka split from his coach, Michal Navratil, after losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon.

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He’s now brought in Auger-Aliassime’s former coach, 18 days after the Canadian split from Fontang following his Wimbledon exit.

Jiri Lehecka welcomes Frederic Fontang to his team ahead of the Los Cabos Open

Lehecka shared the following message on Instagram.

“Arrived to Los Cabos with new challenges ahead,” he said.

“Welcome to the team Fred!

“Let’s go!”

Fontang worked with Auger-Aliassime from 2017 to 2026, guiding the Canadian to two Grand Slam semi-finals, two Masters 1000 finals, nine ATP titles and a career-high ranking of fourth.

Official ATP Rankings

It’s unclear why Auger-Aliassime and Fontang parted ways, although there was clearly no bad blood between the pair as they sent heartfelt messages to each other on social media.

A coach of Fontang’s ability was never going to be unemployed for long, and Lehecka acted fast to bring him into the team.

Timeline of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jiri Lehecka’s coaching moves

• Monday, July 6 – Jiri Lehecka loses to Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon (4R)
• Tuesday, July 7 – Felix Auger-Aliassime loses to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon (QF)
• Friday, July 10 – Jiri Lehecka confirms split from Michal Navratil
• Friday, July 10 – Felix Auger-Aliassime confirms split from Frederic Fontang
• Monday, July 27 – Jiri Lehecka welcomes Frederic Fontang to his team

The world number 12 has impressed at times this year, most notably when he reached the Miami Open final, but needs to take a major step forward to begin challenging those ranked inside the top 10, including Auger-Aliassime.

Perhaps Fontang will be the man to help Lehecka realise his full potential.

They’ll certainly be looking to begin their coaching relationship with a big win in Mexico.

Jiri Lehecka is the favourite to win the Los Cabos Open

Even before hiring Fontang, Lehecka was the clear favourite to win the ATP 250 event in Los Cabos.

The Czech is the top seed in Mexico and one of just two top-20 players in the draw.

Top eight seeds in Los Cabos

• [1] Jiri Lehecka – ATP #12
• [2] Luciano Darderi – ATP #23
• [3] Francisco Cerundolo – ATP #20
• [4] Karen Khachanov – ATP #26
• [5] Cameron Norrie – ATP #39
• [6] Corentin Moutet – ATP #57
• [7] Martin Landaluce – ATP #63
• [8] Denis Shapovalov – ATP #68

Lehecka won’t want to underestimate the opposition, but if he is to become a top-10 player, these are the tournaments he needs to start winning comfortably.

Receiving a bye into the second round, Lehecka will begin his Los Cabos Open campaign against Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong, who defeated the young American Darwin Blanch in his opener.

Provided Lehecka beats the man ranked 96 places below him, he could very well meet the Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the quarter-finals.

Moutet is never an easy opponent, providing mental, physical, and tactical challenges, although if he plays his best tennis, Lehecka should have enough to secure the win.

Then, he could play two of the top three seeds, Francisco Cerundolo and Luciano Darderi, in the semi-finals and the final.

Both players are talented in their own right, but Lehecka shouldn’t fear either the Argentine or the Italian.

Whatever happens in Los Cabos, the future looks bright for Lehecka, especially with a top coach like Fontang in his corner.

Lehecka will play Wong in the second round of the 2026 Los Cabos Open on Thursday, July 30.