Johanna Konta appoints former Maria Sharapova coach as Wim Fissette replacement

Michael Joyce will be in Konta's camp for the first tournament of the new season in Brisbane, starting on 1 January

Konta ended her partnership with Fissette after a disappointing end to what had been an impressive 2017 (Getty)

Johanna Konta has appointed Michael Joyce as her new coach.

The British No 1 has been looking for a replacement for Wim Fissette since they parted company in October and has turned to the 44-year-old, who used to coach Maria Sharapova.

Joyce will be in Konta's camp for the first tournament of the new season in Brisbane, starting on 1 January.

"Michael is a fantastic coach with a great pedigree and I'm really excited to work with him," she announced on Wednesday.

"2017 has been amazing but I feel like there is so much more to come.

"Our first tournament together will be the Brisbane International and the plan is for Michael to travel with me full-time through 2018."

Konta ended her partnership with Fissette after a disappointing end to what had been an impressive 2017. She won her biggest singles title of her career in Miami and followed that up with a run to the Wimbledon semi-final, which sent her to number four in the world.

But that proved the high point of her campaign and a poor run of form in the autumn saw her part ways with Fissette in October.

After a lengthy recruitment process she has now appointed Joyce, who worked with Sharapova for seven years between 2004 and 2011 and helped the Russian to two grand slam titles and the world number one ranking.


 Konta in action during the 2017 season 
 (Getty)

The American, whose highest rank as a player was 64 in 1996, has most recently worked with another former world number one Victoria Azarenka.

Konta has retained Gill Myburgh as her strength and conditioning coach, Milly Mirkovic as her physio and Elena Sosa as her mental coach.

PA