Tennis News Roundup: Novak Djokovic's quest to beat Alcaraz-Sinner leads him to Coco Gauff's ex-coach; Gael Monfils reveals how retirement decision broke his father

Novak Djokovic hired Coco Gauff's former coach, Mark Kovacs, to overcome Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Gael Monfils said telling his father about his impending retirement was extremely difficult.

A tennis insider opined that Alcaraz should have prepared for the Australian Open in the offseason instead of playing exhibition matches. Rennae Stubbs expressed her delight at Gauff becoming the face of the WTA's deal with Mercedes-Benz. Jack Sock and Steve Johnson named Jelena Ostapenko and Yulia Putintseva to their ‘naughty list’ due to their on-court behavior.

On that note, let's explore the stories of the day:

#1. Novak Djokovic adds Coco Gauff's former coach to his team

Novak Djokovic is gearing up for the 2026 Australian Open, where he aims to win his record 25th Grand Slam title. His biggest challenge will be overcoming Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have divided the last eight Majors among themselves.

Thus, Djokovic has recently roped in biomechanics expert Mark Kovacs, who has also worked with Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, John Isner, and Madison Keys. The Australian performance expert is the co-founder and CEO of the International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA).

The Serb finished the 2025 season as the World No. 4 with a 39-11 record. He won a couple of ATP 250 titles this year in Geneva and Athens. An injury forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals in Turin last month.

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#2. Gael Monfils reveals his conversation with his father about retirement

On October 1, Gael Monfils announced that he will retire at the end of the 2026 season. The Frenchman, who turned pro in 2004, won 18 of his 33 matches in 2025, with his 13th career title coming at the ATP 250 Auckland Open.

During a recent conversation with RTL, the 39-year-old weighed in on his decision, saying:

"I still love tennis. But now it's more about age, recovery. I have a family now, and other responsibilities. Performances are much harder to string together. These are simply natural things for any athlete. At some point, there is an end."

Monfils also spoke about his father, Rufin, who has probably been his biggest supporter since day one.

"For 40 years, my father has been driven by his son who wanted to play tennis from a very young age. Announcing my retirement to my father was definitely the hardest part. I even told him that it wasn't easy to tell him," he added.

Nevertheless, the former World No. 6 said his father "understood very quickly" that every athlete has to move on at some point. Gael is married to tennis player Elina Svitolina, and they welcomed their daughter, Skai, in 2022.

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#3. Tennis insider unimpressed with Carlos Alcaraz chasing money during offseason

Carlos Alcaraz finished his 2025 season at the ATP Finals last month and has participated in multiple exhibition events since. He will play another exhibition match with Jannik Sinner in Seoul, South Korea, on January 10.

However, Steve Flink, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has expressed his displeasure at the Spaniard's apparent lack of seriousness. Appearing on the "Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis" podcast, Flink said Alcaraz should have prepared for the upcoming Australian Open, where he has yet to win.

“Carlos has never shown us his best form in Australia… I don’t think Ferrero and his team are very keen on Carlos spending his off-season playing exhibition matches. He has every right to do so, but he has his whole life to earn money. He has so much time to fill his bank account that I think it would have been wiser for him not to participate in these tournaments last year," he said.

Alcaraz won eight titles this season, including two Majors, and finished as the year-end No. 1.

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#4. Rennae Stubbs reflects on Coco Gauff becoming the face of the WTA-Mercedes-Benz deal

Last week, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would splash $50 million into the WTA Tour every year, starting in 2026. Moreover, Coco Gauff was declared the face of the 10-year deal.

Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, has shared her excitement for Gauff. Speaking on "The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast," actor-writer Caitlin Thompson said (19:22):

"Massive hats off and congratulations to the WTA Tour because that is a huge turn of events and Coco has been tapped as the face of this, which you cannot get a better brand ambassador, probably can't really get a better human and obviously somebody who really transcends the sport to be your brand ambassador."

Stubbs replied:

"So Coco. I feel like a G-Wagon is coming up into her driveway real soon. For sure.”

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#5. Ex-American players call out Jelena Ostapenko, Yulia Putintseva for their earlier on-court behavior

Jelena Ostapenko and Yulia Putintseva recently made it to former players Jack Sock and Steve Johnson's 'naughty lists,' respectively.

After her second-round loss to Taylor Townsend at this year's US Open, Ostapenko questioned Taylor's 'class' and 'education.' Putintseva, on the other hand, received flak for seemingly misbehaving with ballkids at the 2024 US Open.

Speaking on the latest episode of the "Nothing Major" podcast, Sock said:

“I'm going to go with Jelena Ostapenko. Sometimes she gets into it on the court with some people like kind of just a little whiny.”

Johnson recalled Putintseva's actions with the ball kids, saying:

“(For me) it’s Yulia Putintseva. She always just seems to be in controversy as our folks across the pond would say. Yeah, she's got the staring at the ball kid. She just, you don't do anything to the ball people out there, ball kids, ball adults. Like treat those people. You got to treat them fully with respect. You can't dog those people while you're out on the court. So, I don't like that.”