Previous Players Coached:
Karolina Pliskova (2014-16).
Coaching Career Highlights:
• Following his retirement from the ATP Tour in 2011, Vanek began his coaching career a few years later when he signed on with fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova
• The duo captured five titles together, including the biggest title of her career at Cincinnati in 2016
• Vanek helped her break into the Top 10 for the first time in her career and reach her only Grand Slam final to date at the 2016 US Open
• In November 2016, Petra Kvitova (David Kotyza) and Karolina Pliskova (Vanek) swapped coaches
• In his first full season with Kvitova in 2018, the tandem lead the tour with five titles and finished second in match wins on the year (47)
• Kvitova’s triumph at 2018 Madrid made her the first player ever to win that title three times (also in 2011, 2015)
• Under Vanek’s tutelage, she also became the first player since Serena (2015) to win one title on three different surfaces in a single season
• The dynamic duo have produced an incredible start to the 2019 season, winning her 26th title in Sydney prior to a runner-up finish at the Australian Open, quarterfinal appearance at St. Petersburg and a finals visit in Dubai
Playing Experience:
• Highest ATP Singles Ranking: 74
• Highest ATP Doubles Ranking: 94
Vanek was an impressive junior tennis player, reaching as high as No.14 in singles and No.21 in doubles in 1995. He produced his best year on the junior circuit in 1996 following a quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open and a semifinal finish at Roland Garros. Following his transition to the pro tour, he went on to capture 11 Challenger level titles and reach a career-high singles ranking of No.74 in October 2000.
Personal:
Began playing tennis at age nine with his father, Jiri, who is a businessman; mother, Lubica, is a nurse. Played hockey, soccer, track and field as a youngster. A big hockey fan and favorite NHL teams are the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Says if he wasn’t a tennis player, he would be a hockey player because it’s the most popular sport in Czech Republic. Played in two hockey games in November 2000 against fellow players from Slovak Republic and split series, with Slovaks winning 8-4 on the road and Czechs taking a 4-2 victory in Slovakia.