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Another factor is having a hitting partner – a role almost exclusively filled by men.
While the biggest stars often travel with both a coach and a hitting partner, many players on tour can’t afford to bring both to every event. As a result, they choose a coach who they believe can fill both roles.
Given that women compete against other women, why is a male hitting partner considered essential? Perhaps it’s not the extra power and top spin in their shots, but the confidence they exude.
“Sometimes we laugh that you can have male trauma partners and their egos are so big — they come in and just think they know everything,” Janiuszka, 34, said.
“When you’re top 100 or top 50, it’s a lot about the mental game and believing in yourself and projecting confidence.
“It helps on that level, because if you have a player who doesn’t think you’re confident and (that) you believe in them and yourself — because it goes together — then they’re going to sense that very quickly.”
A high level of confidence is something that Martinez has been able to transfer to Andreeva.
“He understands me more than anyone,” the Russian teenager said 12 months before her triumph at Roland Garros.
“She’s been through it. She’s a woman too. She’s played a lot of matches on tour, she’s very experienced. She’s a Grand Slam champion.”
Janiuszka believes that female coaches can sometimes be unfairly judged because they express confidence differently.
“It’s not that women are more insecure, I wouldn’t say that,” Janiuszka says.
“We just think more, so we’re more aware of things. We really want to make sure we can figure it out before we give advice to somebody.
“It can sometimes portray feelings of insecurity.”
