Previous Players Coached:
Amanda Coetzer (1997-2000), Barbara Schett (2000), Daniela Hantuchova (2000-05), Maria Kirilenko (2005), Ana Ivanovic (2011-16) and Ekaterina Makarova (2017)
Coaching Career Highlights:
• Previously worked with British players: Katie Boulter, Jeremy Bates, Mark Petchey, Chris Bailey, Barry Cowan, Andrew Richardson, Clare Wood, Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong
• Currently also helping Emma Radacanu as a consultant
• Sears coached Amanda Coetzer from 1997-2000, helping her advance to the semifinal stage of 13 events in their first year together. Of those 13, two included final four appearances at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, one finals visit in Leipzig, and two title runs at Luxembourg and Budapest. Coetzer achieved a career-high ranking of No.3 in the World and finished the year ranked No.4
• Coetzer qualified for the year-end championships all four years under Sears. Over the course of their last three years together, the South African won titles at Hilton Head (1998) and Antwerp (2000), in addition to a quarterfinal outing at the US Open (1998)
• Sears also coached Barbara Schett in 2000, helping her finish the year ranked No.23 in singles after winning Klagenfurt and advancing to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. In doubles, Schett finished the year ranked No.12 following quarterfinal showings at Roland Garros and US Open, semifinal appearances at Australian Open, Miami and Linz, and two finals visits at Klagenfurt and Filderstadt
• Sears served as Daniela Hantuchova’s coach from 2000-05, with their highlight season being 2002 when she won the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells and finished the year with her best-ever year-end ranking in both singles and doubles at No.8
• Other notable results for the duo in 2002 were quarterfinal finishes at Wimbledon and US Open and a Fed Cup title
• In 2005, the Brit helped coach Maria Kirilenko to a quarterfinal finish in Doha, two semifinal appearances in Hyderabad and Tokyo and a title run in Beijing
• From 2006-2011, Sears served as Head of Women’s Tennis at the LTA as well as Great Britain’s Fed Cup Captain
• Took over the reins of Ana Ivanovic’s coaching camp (2011-16) and helped bring about a late career renaissance in 2014 when she won titles at Auckland, Monterrey, Birmingham and Tokyo, qualified for the WTA Finals and finished the season at No.5 in the World
• Sears moved on to Ekaterina Makarova in 2017, capturing the Washington, D.C. title, prior to moving on to coach Anett Kontaveit in June of 2018
• The duo made a finals run in Wuhan, helping the Estonian qualify for WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai for the first time
Playing Experience:
Represented Great Britain at National competitions as a junior, winning the National doubles title at 18 years old. Played full-time for six years across the futures, challenger and pro tours, including three appearances in the doubles main draw at Wimbledon. Retired at the age of 24 to become a coach.
Personal:
Married to Leonore, with two children, Kimberly and Scott, and two grandchildren, Sophia and Edie. Serves as an Ambassador for Tennis First Charity and the Elena Baltacha Foundation. Has run the London Marathon on three occasions for charity. Also completed the Hawaiian Ironman in 1997. Is a member of the All England Club Wimbledon. Served as Olympic Coach for Great Britain (1996 Atlanta), Slovakian Coach (2004 Athens) and Serbian Coach (2012 London, 2016 Rio). Sears divides his time between coaching and commentating on the WTA Tour for BT Sports broadcast.