Ana Ivanovic has parted ways with her coach Heinz Gunthardt and is looking for a full-time replacement.
Gunthardt unable to commit to full-time role
Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic has parted ways with her coach Heinz Gunthardt.
The Serbian ended a two-year title drought at the Linz Open in October but is keen to have a full-time coach at her side.
Gunthardt, who forged his reputation with Steffi Graf, had been working with Ivanovic since February alongside his commitments as a television analyst.
Ivanovic was world number one shortly after her Roland Garros triumph in 2008 but her game deserted her and she slipped to a low of 65th in the rankings last July.
The 22-year-old appeared to have turned the corner when triumphing in Linz and is now looking to take her comeback to the next level.
Gratitude
"I'm very grateful to Heinz for all his hard work, and for sharing his knowledge with me," Ivanovic said in a statement.
"We had nice success together and we definitely made improvements to my game.
"Looking ahead, I really need a full-time coach who is with me at all tournaments and during training periods.
"Heinz has family and other obligations, which I fully respect, so he is unable to give me the kind of commitment I am looking for."
Gunthardt, from Switzerland, has fond memories of their spell together.
"It's been a real pleasure working with Ana," he said.
"She's got lots of talent and I feel in the last few months the hard work that we have put in started to pay off.
"If Ana feels she needs a coach at her side full-time to be able to further improve, it cannot be me.
"I wish her all the best and I will be supporting her."
