Kerber ends coaching partnership with Rainer Schuettler: 'It’s the right time for a fresh start'
Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber and coach Rainer Schuettler have mutually agreed to end their partnership.
The German announced the news officially on Friday, making her the second Grand Slam champion to announce a coaching change in the past two weeks.
Last Tuesday after Wimbledon, two-time major champion Garbiñe Muguruza announced the end of her longtime partnership with Sam Sumyk.
Read more: 'The end of an extraordinary ride' - Muguruza announces split with coach Sumyk
"Moving forward, it’s never easy to change - especially when you work with great people like Rainer," Kerber wrote in a Twitter post on Friday.
"But for now, we’ve decided that it’s the right time for a fresh start. He has become a friend and I‘m thankful for his hard work and dedication in the last months."
Kerber and her compatriot began their partnership in the 2018 offseason, and the German reached two finals this season with him: at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, and the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne on grass.
"Rainer understands me a lot more because he played and so he understands what it's like to be alone on court, and how to feel the pressure, and how to make decisions on court," Kerber said ahead of the French Open.
"They are small details rather than big changes, because at this level you can change two or three percent, and that's it. That's what I'm trying with Rainer, to add that two or three percent."
