Ex-Wimbledon finalist sacks coach and ex-Rafael Nadal ally after three months together

Jasmine Paolini has axed her coach Marc Lopez just over a week after her shock second round exit from Wimbledon. The Italian couldn't replicate her final appearance from 12 months ago as she was beaten by Kamilla Rakhimova.

Paolini was the hot favourite going into the match but was stunned and has reacted by riding of the man who had been coaching her. It concludes a swift player-coach relationship given that Lopez and the Italian had only been together for three months.

Under his guidance Paolini did win her second WTA 1000 tournament in front of her home crowd at the Italian Open. She also won the women’s doubles title at the French Open, but that wasn't enough to buy Lopez any more time.

The coach had been part of Rafael Nadal’s team, adding further pedigree to his CV, but Paolini indicated a desire to go in a new direction. She said: "We had some great results together. Especially in Rome and Paris. I appreciate all the hard work and energy Marc gave every day.

"Now that this part of the season is over, I've decided to make a change. "I've learned a lot and made good progress. And now I'm taking the time to reflect on what the next step will be. Thank you again, Marc, for everything."

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Following her loss at SW19 Paolini, who ended her decade-long partnership with Renzo Furlan and his now looking for a new coach, claimed that she may review her preparation going forward, suggesting she may bypass tournaments in the future.

She said: "I feel a little bit tired right now. Is tough to accept. Was two intense months before here. I don't know, maybe I could skip the first tournament after Roland Garros, Berlin, like I did last year to rest a little bit.

"But, I mean, doesn't make sense to talk about now these kind of things. I was hoping today to stand on court and try to focus every point. But, as I said before, my attention was going up and down. The goal, for sure, for the next part of the season is to reset a little bit and try to mentally stay there every point."

Paolini isn't the only highly-ranked player who had to digest an early Wimbledon exit with a number of the top women seeds succumbing to premature defeats. Coco Gauff was a shock early exit as the American and recent French Open champion was beaten in the first round.

Third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen were also knocked out of Wimbledon in round one. Paolini's second round loss and Madison Keys' third round defeat meant, come the fourth round, Aryna Sabalenka was the only player in the top six still present.