“Excited to start a new chapter”: Auger-Aliassime hires Federer’s former coach Ljubicic, who keeps his French federation role
Felix Auger-Aliassime hires Ivan Ljubicic, Roger Federer’s former coach, for a new chapter after a post-Wimbledon slump. Ljubicic retains his French federation advisory role, confirmed compatible with his new coaching duties.
Félix Auger-Aliassime, 2026 | © Scrine for UTS
Felix Auger-Aliassime has a new coach, and it is Roger Federer’s last one. The world No. 5 announced on Instagram on Friday that he has started working with Ivan Ljubicic, ending a search that began when he split with Frederic Fontang after Wimbledon.
“Excited to start a new chapter with Ivan. Let’s get to work,” the Canadian wrote. The pair have already begun working together in Monte-Carlo.
Fontang had coached Auger-Aliassime for a decade, and the months since their separation have been the worst stretch of his season: early exits at the US Open and the China Open, both of them defeats to Karen Khachanov, and only three wins in six tour-level matches since his Wimbledon quarterfinal. His 2026 record stands at 36-16 with a single title, in Montpellier. What he wanted, by his own account, was a coach with experience at the very top.
Ljubicic qualifies on both sides of the chair. The Croatian was world No. 3 as a player, with 10 titles and 426 tour-level wins, and he coached Federer from 2016 until the Swiss retired in 2022, a spell that produced three of Federer’s 20 Grand Slam titles. Before that he worked with Milos Raonic from 2013 to 2015, another player built around a heavy first serve. His first-strike philosophy is a natural match for the way Auger-Aliassime wins matches.
The hire comes with an unusual wrinkle: Ljubicic keeps his position as special advisor to the French federation. The FFT made no secret of it, replying publicly under Auger-Aliassime’s post to wish him “all the best for this new adventure – and looking forward to continuing ours.”
ATP points to defend
The federation has confirmed to L’Equipe that his contract does not prevent him from coaching ATP or WTA players individually, which makes the two roles compatible. The key change is that Ljubicic is no longer in an operational position at the FFT since Gilles Simon was appointed at the elite players manager. His job now is to advise president Gilles Moretton when asked, principally on international relations.
The sporting urgency is Auger-Aliassime’s. He has an unforgiving run of points to defend between now and the end of the season: he was the Paris Masters finalist last year, he is the defending champion at the Brussels 250, and he is defending semifinal points from the ATP Finals. Despite sitting fifth in the rankings, he is only 15th in the Race, which is the number that decides who goes to Turin.
His first tournament with Ljubicic in his corner is the Shanghai Masters.
