Amanda Anisimova has begun working with Carlos Rodriguez, longtime coach of Justine Henin and also Li Na.
According to multiple sources, Rodriguez will travel with Anisimova full-time.
Rodriguez is known primarily for coaching Henin for over 15 years and guiding the Belgian to seven major titles, but he also spent three seasons with Li Na, a period that included the Chinese legend’s second major title.
Anisimova, a rising American that reached the semifinals at Roland Garros this spring as a 17-year-old, was formerly coached by her father Kontsantin. He passed away suddenly this August.
Anisimova is currently the third highest-ranked teenager on the WTA Tour. She became the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist since 2007 with her run at Roland Garros, where she knocked off defending champion Simona Halep in the quarterfinals.
“When I started working with him, I realised he was more cool. He's not stressful. So I felt I need a coach like him," Li Na said of Rodriguez in 2014. "Every day he would say, 'Believe in yourself, believe in yourself'. But if I was really doing something wrong, he would say. 'This is wrong, you have to change'. But the most important thing is, working with him for one-and-a-half, two years, he didn't tell me what to do. He would say, 'You have to play yourself. You have to know yourself what you should do."
Rodriguez has worked in China since 2011, at the Potter’s Wheel Academy in Beijing. He also worked with Daniela Hantuchova and Peng Shuai.