Felix Auger-Aliassime is not having a great time on the court as the Canadian lost to Karen Khachanov for a second time in one month. Having lost to the Russian at the US Open, Auger-Aliassime once again lost to the same opponent in his opening round match at the China Open. However, one would hope that hiring the former World No. 3 as his coach would help the Canadian player move past his on-court struggles.
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In a recent announcement, Auger-Aliassime unveiled Ivan Ljubicic as his new coach. The Croatian did have a brief but successful coaching stint with Milos Raonic in between 2013 and 2015, but his most notable coaching work came with Roger Federer. Ljubicic was integral to Federer’s late-career surge, which saw the Swiss win three Majors and reach the No. 1 ranking for one last time in 2018.
Taking on Ljubicic will be a new experience for Auger-Aliassime, who had a long-term collaboration with Federic Fontang. The two had been together since 2017, and all of Auger-Aliassime’s nine career titles have come under the coaching of Fontang. The partnership had its most fruitful season last year, when the Canadian reached the semifinals at the US Open and finished the season ranked No. 5.
Auger-Aliassime had a strong start to 2026 as well, winning the title in Montpellier and finishing runner-up in Rotterdam. The Canadian had a decent Slam season as well, reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open and Wimbledon, where he lost a five-set epic to Novak Djokovic at SW19. However, those losses were the decisive moment as Auger-Aliassime ended the partnership with Fontang.
Now with Ljubicic on board, Auger-Aliassime will hope to get a new direction, especially in terms of on-court tactics. The Croatian worked wonders on Federer’s backhand, which helped the Swiss make considerable inroads against players using heavy topspin, especially Rafael Nadal in the latter part of his career. Given that the backhand is the vulnerable stroke for Auger-Aliassime as well, hiring Ljubicic might just do the trick for the Canadian.
Having been on Federer’s coaching team until 2022, Ljubicic will also have a decent idea of the strengths and weaknesses of players who are Auger-Aliassime’s peers and closest competitors. Not to mention, Ljubicic has worked at the French Tennis Federation for the last few years as the High Performance Director, overseeing the transition of young French players into the senior circuit.
Ljubicic’s knowledge about player development by working at a national federation will come in handy while proposing training regimens as Auger-Aliassime’s coach. The Canadian will hope that the former World No.3 can work the magic with him as well, with Auger-Aliassime having a tough time since the Fontang split.
Felix Auger-Aliassime Has Had a Struggle Since Splitting With Former Coach
Since the split with Fontang after Wimbledon, Auger-Aliassime has had a torrid time on the court. The Canadian was forced to withdraw from his home event at the Canadian Open due to a back injury, despite having some extra days to recover. He was laid off for over a month between Wimbledon and his next match at the Cincinnati Open.
Auger-Aliassime had a couple of wins against the likes of Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Stefanos Tsitsipas, but lost to Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round in Cincinnati. His second-round loss at the US Open saw him drop a large number of points, but he still sits at No. 5 in the rankings, given his other results this year.
However, Auger-Aliassime will have his eyes on the ATP Finals qualification, with the Canadian being 15th in the Race rankings. He is over 600 points behind Daniil Medvedev, who is currently in 8th place on the race rankings. With the indoor season coming up, Auger-Aliassime still has a huge opportunity to rack up the points and make it to Turin.
Auger-Aliassime is one of the best indoor-court players on the Tour, having won 8 indoor titles from fourteen finals in his career. The Canadian won two indoor titles last year in Montpellier and Brussels, while also reaching the final of the Paris Masters. Should the partnership with Ljubicic click, Auger-Aliassime still has a decent chance of finishing the year with a strong set of performances.