Medvedev out of top 5 for the first time since March 2023: What’s wrong?
Coaching changes and the responsibility of being a good husband and father have apparently affected Daniil Medvedev’s tennis
Laurent Lairys / Psnewz
There’s no hiding the fact that Daniil Medvedev is struggling on the tennis court. In the 2025 season thus far, he has two wins and as many losses but more what’s more worrying is the manner in which he has lost those two matches.
Medvedev’s first defeat came in January at the hands of qualifier Learner Tien at the Australian Open, a tournament where he’s made three finals in last five years (2021-22, 2024). The result notably pushed the Russian out of the ATP top 5 for the first time since March 5, 2023.
More recently, the world No 7 couldn’t overcome world No 92 Mattia Bellucci in the second round of the Rotterdam Open, where he triumphed in 2023 with a victory over Italian Jannik Sinner in the title clash.
Moreover, these on-court results have landed on Medvedev’s column after a trophyless season last year.
So what exactly has been going wrong on Medvedev’s side of the court?
No player is ever complete and carries a few, if not many, shortcomings and meanwhile the Russian has been pretty vocal about his problems, including the tennis balls and courts that he has had to deal with in the recent past, there are two major underlying causes that his struggles can apparently be attributed to.
being a responsible father and husband
Medvedev and his wife Daria welcomed their second daughter in January this year and while this may not be a convincing argument for the tennis player’s technical blemishes, it may help in identifying to some extent the mental stress he would’ve endured in the months gone by.
The responsible father and husband in Medvedev would’ve taken over the competitor in him on a number of occasions while travelling on the tour, away from Daria while she carried the second-born inside her.
arrival of gilles simon
Medvedev welcomed a new member in Gilles Simon to his coaching team in February 2024 to reach greater heights but things went downhill in a way as the Russian couldn’t add anything to his trophy cabinet. This culminated in him parting ways with Simon on February 4, 2025.
“It honestly was a good experience,” the former world No 1 told the press in Rotterdam after the split. “There are a lot of good things me and Gilles Cervara can take going forward. It just didn’t work out exactly the way we wanted in terms of results. We didn’t win a title or Grand Slam or something like this.”
Simon couldn’t help Medvedev in ways the latter would’ve apparently wanted, thus, creating counterproductive vibes among the team members.
first few months of 2025 crucial for medvedev
Amid all the hardships, however, Medvedev sees the funny side of it as he’s at least happy with the kind of fortune his on-court exploits continue to bring in.
“I don’t think that’s gonna happen soon,” Medvedev told the media while addressing retirement concerns in Rotterdam. “I like tennis, I’m still winning a lot of money, so I’m gonna continue playing until I can do it. Then, if I drop out of top 100, then I don’t know… but this is probably not gonna happen.”
The theory of the former US Open champion dropping out of top 100 is indeed far-fetched at present but the next few months before the onset of clay season will be crucial for him as he gears up to recollect ranking points he earned in Dubai (semi-finals), Indian Wells (final) and Miami (semi-finals) and stay inside the top 10.
