World number eight Holger Rune has added Severin Luthi, a long-time mentor to Swiss great Roger Federer, to his coaching team, just weeks after appointing six-time major winner Boris Becker as his coach ahead of the 2024 season. Luthi, 47, coached Federer from 2007 until the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s retirement in 2022 and also captains the Swiss Davis Cup team.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Rune, who is gearing up for the Jan. 14-28 Australian Open Grand Slam, has been working in Monte Carlo with Becker after bringing the German onto his team in mid-October.

“Very happy to welcome Severin to my team alongside Boris,” Rune wrote on social media along with a picture of his team. Rune made two ATP 1000 finals this year, at Rome and Monte Carlo, while his only title came at the Bavarian International in Munich in April.

ALSO READ | Tennis Premier League: Bengaluru SG Mavericks crowned champions of Season 5 after beating Bengal Wizards

Tennis governing bodies aim to combat online abuse of players

The major governing bodies of tennis on Wednesday said they will aim to protect their athletes from online abuse by monitoring, reporting and helping to identify who is behind threats and other inappropriate contact. The ITF, WTA, AELTC and USTA will use the Threat Matrix service to monitor players’ public-facing social media for abusive and threatening content on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok beginning Jan. 1. “This development reflects the commitment of the international tennis bodies involved to protect and support athletes from the mental trauma and potential real-world threat of online harassment and abuse,” the organizations said in a joint release.

Threat Matrix, which uses a combination of artificial intelligence and open-source data, will provide rapid threat assessment of personal safety, alert social platforms of abuse, and support law enforcement agencies in investigations of serious cases. “The Threat Matrix service will support the identification of abusers, against whom all available measures will be taken,” the bodies said. “Tennis is committed to supporting its athletes against online abuse, to which this ground-breaking initiative will make a significant contribution.”

Tennis players have said they have seen a rise in online abuse as sports betting has becomes more widespread, with betters who lose money on matches taking their frustrations out on the athletes.

You can now write for Baazigarnews.com and be a part of the Baazigar family. Share your stories and opinions with us here.