Dinara Safina is set to coach once again on the WTA Tour after accepting to work with world No. 104 Polina Kudermetova in 2026.
In the past, the Russian tennis legend turned down multiple coaching offers. In one interview, the former three-time Grand Slam finalist revealed that even Aryna Sabalenka reached out to her five years ago.
But then, in April, Safina made a stunning return to the Tour as Diana Shnaider's coach. What was expected to be a big partnership, ended after just four weeks. The exact reason for the split wasn't revealed publicly.
The former world No. 1's partnership with Shnaider may not have gone well, but she is willing to try herself in the same role for the second time.
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This time, Safina will collaborate with 22-year-old Kudermetova, who recently switched her allegiance from Russia to Uzbekistan. The Russian tennis legend won't act as the lone coach in the Uzbek's team as she will be joined by Ravshan Sultanov.
Kudermetova's coach Sultanov excited to welcome Safina to the team
"We have strengthened the team with Dinara - she will be working with Polina. Her approach and vision of tennis are very close to ours. Dinara is a very easygoing, open, and extremely pleasant person to communicate with. As a coach, I feel very comfortable working in the same team with Dinara. She has tremendous experience as a player who reached the very top of the rankings. At the moment we have only just begun the preparation process for the 2026 season," Sultanov said.
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Kudermetova has won nine titles on the lower-tier and has one WTA final on her resume after finishing as runner-up to Sabalenka in the 2025 Brisbane title match. The new Uzbek player achieved a career-high ranking of No. 54 in April.
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It will be interesting to see if Safina can help Kudermetova elevate her game to another level.
