Prizes
Russell won Coach of the Year at the 2024 ATP Awards
The American has helped his countryman Fritz reach a career high of World No. 4
December 11, 2024
ATP/Getty Images
Written by Andy West
Michael Russell has been voted Coach of the Year at the 2024 ATP Awards after helping compatriot Taylor Fritz hit the ground running this season.
Number 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fritz competed in his first Grand Slam final on home soil at the US Open, reached the final of the Nitto ATP Finals, and achieved the highest year-end finish in the PIF ATP Rankings in. the first American since James Blake also finished No. 4 in 2006. The 27-year-old Fritz also lifted the ATP 250 titles at Delray Beach and Eastbourne this year.
“It's amazing. I'm honored,” Russell told ATPtour.com. “I'm humbled to be selected by my fellow ATP coaches. It means a lot. We all work hard under the radar. We spend hours working on the players to get them in the best possible shape and develop their talent.” So it's really nice to be recognized. And I'm humbled and honored.”
Formerly No. 60 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Russell began working with Fritz in late 2021. In 2022, he helped the American lift his ATP Masters 1000 title and crack the Top 10 for the first time, and Russell can still prove it. in another great season where Fritz posted a 53-23 record.
“That's very satisfying,” Russell said, when asked about Fritz's accomplishments this year. “We always have process goals, and those are to continue to improve everything and get stronger and more explosive on the court, off the court, working on your game. But having results goals is really fulfilling. To have those good results and finish the year in the Top 5 – the first American No. 4 year-end since James Blake – is great company to be in and hopefully we continue to push the envelope and look to strive for even higher, in 2025 and beyond.”
While it's achievements like reaching the US Open final that make headlines, Russell sees the most important aspect of his career as the 'non-obvious' day-to-day work that he believes can help Fritz achieve greater success.
“I'm really focused on process-oriented goals and making sure that Taylor gets a lot of work in the gym and quickly on the field, and I'm becoming an all-around player,” Russell said. “I think the results will speak for themselves and they will come. That has been my focus from the beginning, since we started working together at the end of 2021.
“We've had a really good partnership, and it's been almost a step up since then. I think it's a testament to the continued work we've done, and it's continuing to improve.”
Russell partly attributes his rise to becoming a top 5-star coach to his wife, Lilly, who believed that his experience as a player on the ATP Tour and his excellent tennis IQ could be put to good use after he retired from competition.
“After I retired from playing in 2015, I started coaching High Performance here in Houston,” explained Russell. “My wife, who is part of the players' support team, and obviously a big fan of mine, encouraged me to get into professional coaching, because I had so much experience, I almost had a 'PhD' in tennis!
“There I started working with USTA Player Development, and that's where I started working with Taylor a few weeks a year. We had a really good collaboration and communication. So, when Taylor's opportunity came, looking for a full-time coach, it was a natural fit for me to step into that role, and it's been a really good team ever since.”
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Russell on the practice court with Fritz at the 2023 US Open. Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.
Although Russell has now been helping Fritz reach the top level for three seasons, he sees that the year 2024 was important for him to pay in terms of getting used to being part of the big tennis events. For Russell, those novel adventures also gave him an opportunity to learn as a coach.
“I think it is important for the player to continue to have that belief when he is in the big stages and Taylor gets there,” he said. “He had a heart-to-heart battle in the semi-finals of the US Open, and it was a quick turnaround in the finals that will play a night match on Sunday. So that's tricky, and that's the learning experience of trying your best to recover as quickly as you can, which we did.
“But I think the main thing is that, because of those experiences, the player has a lot of confidence, there is no doubt. It's a sure thing that they are different and they know how to stay calm and poised and confident in those situations. My job is to make sure that the player feels that way and is prepared with tactics and strategy going into those games.”
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