Sascha Bajin
| Full name | Aleksandar Bajin |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Germany |
| Born | October 4, 1984 Serbia,[1] Yugoslavia |
| Prize money | $2,054 |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | 1149 |
| Doubles | |
| Highest ranking | 1180 |
| Coaching career (2017–) | |
Naomi Osaka (2017–2019) Kristina Mladenovic (2019) Dayana Yastremska (2019–2020) Karolína Plíšková (2020–Jul 2022, 2023) Alycia Parks (2024) Donna Vekić (Dec 2024-present) | |
| Coaching achievements | |
| Coachee singles titles total | 3 |
| List of notable tournaments (with champion) US Open (Osaka) | |
| Coaching awards and records | |
| Awards WTA Coach of the Year (2018) | |
| Last updated on: 9 December 2024. | |
Aleksandar "Sascha" Bajin (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Бајин; born 4 October 1984) is a German tennis coach and former player of Serbian origin.
Biography
[edit]Bajin had a brief career on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour, reaching career high rankings of 1,149 in singles and 1,180 in doubles.[2]
He is best known as the former hitting partner of Serena Williams when she won several of her major title wins; and for coaching Naomi Osaka to two Grand Slam titles, one at the 2018 US Open and one at the 2019 Australian Open. He won the inaugural WTA Coach of the Year award in 2018 for coaching Osaka to her first two titles, the US Open and the Indian Wells Open.[3] Osaka split with Bajin shortly after her Australian Open title.[4]
In April 2019, he began working with Kristina Mladenovic.[5] He split with Mladenovic in October 2019 and started coaching Dayana Yastremska.[6] In September 2020 they split after Yastremska had a disappointing performance in the 2020 US Open.[7]
From November 2020 to July 2022, Bajin coached Karolína Plíšková. [8][9] She reached the 2021 Wimbledon Championships final under his tutelage. The two reunited in December 2022 for the 2023 season.[10] He briefly coached Alycia Parks in the beginning of 2024 during the Sunshine double.[11]
Bajin had previously served as a hitting partner for Serena Williams for eight years, and then was a hitting partner for Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, and Caroline Wozniacki.[12]
In December 2024, Donna Vekić announced she had hired Bajin as her new coach replacing Nikola Horvat who had quit the previous month for family reasons.[13][14][15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Profil – Aleksandar Bajin". sueddeutsche.de (in German). 9 September 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Alexsander Bajin". ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Naomi Osaka's coach, Sascha Bajin, named WTA Coach of the Year". ESPN. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Did Naomi Osaka suggest not everything was rosy with her coach before their shock split?". news.com.au. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Mladenovic officially adds former Osaka coach Sascha Bajin to team". WTA. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Ubha, Ravi (16 January 2020). "Adelaide finalist Dayana Yastremska and Sascha Bajin are dreaming big". Tennis.com. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "Yastremska reveals Bajin split following US". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Pliskova teams up with new coach Sascha Bajin". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Další radikální krok Plíškové! Končí i trenér Bajin". ČTK. 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Pliskova, coach Sascha Bajin reunite for 2023". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Sascha Bajin ends coaching partnership with Alycia Parks following disappointing run". 15 May 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Sascha Bajin". WTA Tennis. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Donna Vekic adds Sascha Bajin to her coaching team for 2025". tennis.com. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Vekic brings Osaka's ex-coach Bajin to her team ahead of 2025". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Vekic adds 2018 WTA Coach of the Year Sascha Bajin to team". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
