World no. 26 Alexei Popyrin parted ways with his coach, Xavier Malisse, ahead of the Miami Open. The Aussie is just three positions behind his career-best ranking achieved in August last year. However, the main reason for his changes in the coaching box is his poor results in 2025.
Alexei is 2-6 this season, kicking off the action with four straight losses and still waiting to notch back-to-back victories. Despite reaching the new heights under the Belgian, the Sydney native is ready to chase the top-20 spot under someone else.
13th August 📆
Montreal 📍Alexei wins his first Masters 1000 title against Andrey Rublev 🏆 pic.twitter.com/6Jpb8gPEwi
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 31, 2024
Xavier joined Alexei’s team in October 2022. The young Aussie could not find form or rhythm that year, finishing his campaign with only five ATP wins and dropping out from the top-130. The pair enjoyed a much better run in 2023.
Popyrin collected 23 ATP victories and cracked the top-40 following his first ATP title in Umag and the Cincinnati Masters quarter-final. The Aussie challenged Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open before losing ground a bit again.
The Sydney native left the top-50 by Roland Garros before taking another set away from Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. Alexei entered the Canada Masters as world no. 62 and displayed his best tennis. He notched five top-18 wins in a row to stun the field and lift a trophy!
Alexei Popyrin, Indian Wells 2025© Stream screenshot
Thus, Popyrin became the first Australian player with a Masters 1000 crown since Lleyton Hewitt in Indian Wells in 2003. Alexei achieved his career-high ranking of world no. 23 and made more headlines during the US Open.
Popyrin defeated Novak Djokovic en route to the last 16, celebrating a high-profile Major triumph. He embraced ten matches by the end of the season and scored five victories, closing the season inside the top-25 and hoping for more in 2025.
Alexei Popyrin, Paris Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
However, that did not happen in the opening two and a half months! As we already said, Alexei is 2-6 this season ahead of Miami, which led Xavier and him to a mutual decision to part ways. Popyrin thanked Malisse for the amazing memories and everything he did for him during their collaboration.
“Hey guys. Xavier Malisee and I have mutually decided to stop working together. I just want to thank X for all the amazing memories, fun vibes and hard work! Thank you, X-Man,” Alexei Popyrin wrote.
Tennis World USA