For Daniil Medvedev, the year 2025 will not live long in the memory from a professional point of view.
The 2021 US Open champion arrived at Flushing Meadows looking to roll back the years but was instead dumped out in round one by Benjamin Bonzi.
Once again, Medvedev suffered something which resembled a meltdown out on the court, smashing his racket to smithereens after a five-set defeat.
Nick Kyrgios defended Medvedev after his controversial defeat and some big changes have taken place since his departure from the US Open.
Medvedev has been coached by Gilles Cervara for eight years, but now he’s decided to split with him and opt for something a little bit different.
Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty ImagesDaniil Medvedev’s departed coach shares what has gone wrong in 2025
Medvedev has split with his physio too and it’s fair to say that when it comes to 2025, things haven’t been bad, they’ve been borderline embarrassing.
Medvedev has won just one match at a Grand Slam this year and for a player who has won the titles he has and boasts the experience of winning majors, it simply won’t do.
Now, Cervara has shared why he believes things have gone so wrong at the big events in 2025 and delivered a hope for the future when it comes to Medvedev.
He told Tennis Majors: “Hard to say. I firmly believe he still has it in him—that he can soon be brilliant and victorious. That spark was there at times this year. But he couldn’t close some matches—for various reasons, including possibly lacking mental prep resources, which he will now rebuild with Francisca Dauzet. That’s almost certain to put things back in order.
“Many athletes, many tennis players, go through troughs and bounce back. I am sure he is capable—and it will happen. If he wins a few matches, he can catch fire again, like he did after Rotterdam 2023—arriving full of doubt, then delivering a top-level season. In New York, I told the staff: ‘If he flips that match against Bonzi, we’ll see him in the Round of 16 against Alcaraz, for sure.’
“It’s easy to say now, but that’s exactly what I felt.”
Things can only get better for Medvedev in 2026
There are still some more tournaments for Medvedev to try and take some confidence from in 2025, with the Asian swing on the cards after the US Open.
However, the first major of the new calendar year will almost certainly be eagerly anticipated by Medvedev as he looks to start proving his critics wrong.
It won’t be easy next year, however, and Medvedev will have to do things the hard way, with his current ranking of 13 likely to ensure that he plays the game’s better players earlier in tournaments.
Losing to Learner Tien is one thing, given his potential, but there’s no way that Medvedev should be coming unstuck against Cameron Norrie or Bonzi like he did at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, respectively.
Medvedev is wise to get rid of his coach and try something new and now it’ll be fascinating to see what happens with regards to his future.