Sydney, July 13: Former grand slam doubles champion Todd Woodbridge has been appointed as Australia’s Davis Cup and national men’s coach, according to Tennis Australia.
Woodbridge, 38, will take on a newly-expanded, full time position that will combine a role as the national men’s coach overseeing the country’s male player development along with the Davis Cup coaching position, TA said.
Director of Tennis Craig Tiley said the new role was a pivotal leadership position crucial to the development of tennis in Australia.
“Todd brings a terrific skill set to the role. He has a wealth of recent playing experience at the elite level, has been a national coach, tournament director and is a terrific communicator on and off the court,” Tiley said in a statement.
Woodbridge will work closely with Australian Sports Institute and National Academy coaches and have leading input into the technical and coaching direction for tennis training and competition preparation, Tiley said.
“I am excited by the challenge ahead. This job appealed to me because of the breadth of the scope and the chance to make a difference,” Woodbridge said.
“We have some terrific talent in both the playing and coaching ranks and a recently improved structure that I believe can help us drive some big improvements in Australian tennis performance.”
Woodbridge won a total of 16 grand slam doubles titles from 1992 to 2004, 11 of those with compatriot Mark Woodforde and five with Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman.
—-Agencies