Wim Fissette has been one of the top coaches on the women’s tennis circuit over the last decade and a half. The Belgian began his career in 2009 and has coached several tennis stars, including six World No. 1 players.
Fissette played professional tennis in the 2000s. However, his playing days were short-lived. After nearly 10 years of being away from the tennis spotlight, he began his coaching career with compatriot Kim Clijsters as his first player. Over the years, he has coached 11. Apart from World No. 1 players, the Belgian has guided the likes of Petra Kvitova, Sara Errani, and Zheng Qinwen.
Six World No. 1 players coached by Wim Fissette
#1 Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek is the latest player to be coached by Wim Fissette. The Pole recently parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski and announced that she has hired Fissette as her full-time coach.
Swiatek and Wiktorowski worked together from the end of 2021 to October 2024. She lifted four of her five Grand Slam titles during this period. She also became the World No. 1 on the WTA rankings under his stewardship.
Swiatek will now work with Fissette to take her career to the next level. The duo’s first assignment will be the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
#2 Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka added Wim Fissette to her coaching team in February 2015 after her previous coach, Sam Sumyk, departed. At the time of Fissette’s appointment, she was ranked World No. 50 and their partnership lasted until July 2016, when the Belarusian went on a maternity break.
During their first stint, the former World No. 1 won three titles, including the Sunshine Double in 2016. Fissette once again linked up with Azarenka from 2018 to early 2020, and this time, the two-time singles Grand Slam champion found success in doubles. She won doubles titles at the WTA 1000 Italian Open in 2019 and finished runners-up in mixed doubles at the Wimbledon 2018 and women’s doubles at the 2019 Australian Open.
#3 Simona Halep
Wim Fissette became Simona Halep’s first non-Romanian coach when she hired him at the start of the 2014 season. The partnership lasted just one season, but it was successful. Under him, she made huge strides at the Grand Slams. She reached her maiden quarterfinal at the Australian Open, final at Roland Garros and a semifinal at Wimbledon. The Romanian reached her then-career-high ranking of World No. 2 in August 2014.
A few years later, Halep ascended to the pinnacle of the WTA rankings. In October 2017, she became the World No. 1 for the first time in her career. She won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019.
#4 Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber acquired Wim Fissette’s services in November 2017. With him by her side, the former World No. 1 reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and quarterfinals at the Roland Garros and picked up her third and final Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships, all in 2018.
Kerber parted ways with Fissette in October 2018. During their brief stint, he helped her rise from being outside the top 20 in November 2017 to becoming World No. 3.
#5 Naomi Osaka
When Wim Fissette joined Naomi Osaka’s coaching setup for the first time in January 2020, she was already a two-time Grand Slam champion and had once held the World No. 1 ranking. She continued her progress under the Belgian’s tutelage and won two more Grand Slam titles at the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open.
Wim Fissette remained Osaka’s coach until she went on maternity break in 2022. When the Japanese star returned to the tour in 2024, he rejoined her team.
During the 2024 season, Osaka returned to the top 100 on the WTA rankings and reached two quarterfinals. The second stint ended in September 2024. She is currently World No. 58.
#6 Kim Clijsters
Perhaps the most successful player Wim Fissette has ever coached is his compatriot Kim Clijsters. He was with her in 2007 before she went into her first retirement.
Upon returning to the WTA Tour in 2009, Clijsters hired Fissette as her coach. She won the 2009 US Open as a wildcard entrant and defended the title in 2010. That year, she also won the WTA Finals.
The 2011 season began with Clijsters’s fourth Grand Slam title, as she emerged victorious at the Australian Open for the first time. The Belgian, who had held the World No. 1 ranking in 2003, reached the summit again in 2011. She and Fissette parted ways in September 2011.
