Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens announced on Wednesday that Francisco ‘Francis’ Roig, one of the architects of Rafael Nadal’s record-blitzing Grand Slam career, will become her new coach.
“Happy to have Francis Roig join my team as my new coach! Here’s to a successful journey together, let’s get to work,” the 29-year-old Stephens wrote on Instagram.
Roig had worked with Nadal since 2005, the year the Spanish star won the first of his 22 Grand Slam titles at the French Open.
However, he will now become a head coach in his own right after agreeing to team up with 37th-ranked Stephens, who was crowned US Open champion in 2017 and finished runner-up at Roland Garros the following year.
Stephens, who has seven career titles, reached a high of world No 3 in July 2018.
Nadal announced last week that Roig was leaving his team where he worked initially alongside his uncle, Toni Nadal, and then Carlos Moya and Marc Lopez.
“Francis has been an important person in my career and I am very grateful to him for all these years of work and friendship,” said Nadal.