... except my memory of the split is it sounded very much Naomi's choice and that in an article about it Fitzy sounded rather upset.

I think the split was definitely Naomi's choice and in hindsight might have been a mistake but I think she began doubting that she could afford to keep paying a full time coach. It is no secret that Naomi has struggled mightily with finances during her career and working with Fitzy was a massive gamble, when it paid off it must have seemed worth it but during the last 3 or 4 months of their partnership Naomi had a run of fairly poor results. I think it was knee jerk and hopefully having stabilized and been able to earn a fair amount this year she will feel a little more confident about her ability to sustain a decent level and afford a coach to help her push back into the top 100. Naomi is an individual thinker though so who knows what she will decide, I wish her all the best.

Strongbow wrote:

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Another 29 points to add to the 57 last week and a couple of useful non-counters. Notice she's not in for the 100+ in Dubai

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I'm not at all surprised that Naomi is not down for Dubai. It's too late to count for the Aussie Open main draw cut-off and she's no doubt concentrating on her close season recuperation and preparations for the new year. These last 3 weeks in the WTA 125 series tournaments are clearly it for her year.

I more thought that Laura might well be on the list since Dubai will count for the Aussie Open qualifying cut-off. But she's not there.

theemptyvessel wrote:

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I think the split was definitely Naomi's choice and in hindsight might have been a mistake but I think she began doubting that she could afford to keep paying a full time coach. It is no secret that Naomi has struggled mightily with finances during her career and working with Fitzy was a massive gamble, when it paid off it must have seemed worth it but during the last 3 or 4 months of their partnership Naomi had a run of fairly poor results. I think it was knee jerk and hopefully having stabilized and been able to earn a fair amount this year she will feel a little more confident about her ability to sustain a decent level and afford a coach to help her push back into the top 100. Naomi is an individual thinker though so who knows what she will decide, I wish her all the best.

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Yes, this analysis sounds about right to me. Googling about Naomi's coaching situation I found other articles referring to her Wimbledon WC this June and Naomi stating that she hoped to use some of the £32k to rehire a coach again, and that she had simply been working with her father once more in the interim. Well, it may be a difficult choice for her, but without a decent coach she will struggle to make it back into the top 100 again, and to produce the earnings she needs to keep a coach on. Also Naomi's career earning are listed now as being over $1 mill. I know expenses are very high... but since the investment of having a coach in Fitzy for a while DID pay off...