Daniel Vallverdú
Daniel Vallverdú (left) in 2011
Country (sports) Venezuela
ResidenceLondon, United Kingdom
Born (1986-03-17) March 17, 1986
Valencia, Venezuela
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro2004
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CollegeUniversity of Miami
Singles
Career record2-5
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 727 (August 8, 2005)
Doubles
Career record4-2
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 746 (August 15, 2005)
Team competitions
Davis CupSFAm (2005)

Daniel Vallverdú (born March 17, 1986) is a Venezuelan tennis coach and a former professional player. Vallverdu is the Tournament Director of the Washington Mubadala Citi DC Open ATP and WTA 500 tournament. He is also the Co-Tournament Director of the 2023 Next Generation ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. [1] He is currently coaching Grigor Dimitrov.

Vallverdu is also the Co-Founder of AD Global Sports a company founded to promote the growth of sports in the UK and globally. In November 2023 AD Global Sports together with Andy Murray acquired the Team AD/vantage part of the Hexagon Cup scheduled to take place in Madrid in February 2024.

Biography

Vallverdú has formerly coached Andy Murray[2] (2010–2014), Tomáš Berdych (2014–2016), Juan Martín del Potro, Stan Wawrinka (2019–2022) and most recently he is coaching Grigor Dimitrov (2016–2019, 2022–).[3] Vallverdu has also worked alongside Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Magnus Norman and Jamie Delgado.

Vallverdú and Murray had a longstanding and successful partnership which led to many tournament wins, including Murray's first Olympic Gold medal in 2012 (Vallverdú was head coach for the British Olympic tennis team), and two Grand Slam wins: the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon Championships.[2]

Under Vallverdú's guidance in May 2015, at the age of 29, Czech player Tomáš Berdych reached his highest career singles ranking of No. 4 in the ATP rankings.

He became the coach of Grigor Dimitrov[3] in July 2016. At the time the Bulgarian was No. 40 in the ATP rankings.[4] Vallverdú guided him to his first Masters 1000 title at the 2017 Cincinnati Masters,[5] followed by the ATP Finals title in November 2017,[4] resulting in Dimitrov's career high ranking of No. 3 by the end of 2017. In May 2019, Dimitrov and Vallverdú ended their working relationship.

Vallverdú joined Stan Wawrinka in July 2019 as his coach, together with Magnus Norman. Wawrinka ended 2019 back in the top 20 of the ATP rankings ranked 16 in the world. Magnus Norman and Stan Wawrinka parted ways in September 2020. Vallverdu and Wawrinka ended their working relationship in October 2022.

In December 2022 Vallverdu agreed to start coaching again Grigor Dimitrov.[6]

ATP Player Council

In June 2018, Vallverdú was voted by the body of ATP Coaches to act as the Coaches' representative in the ATP Player Council.[7] After electing to leave the Players Council for a short period of time Vallverdu was re-elected by the body of ATP Coaches to serve as the Coaches' Representative in the newly formed ATP Player Council of 2021 which included Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.[8]

In 2023 Vallverdu was re-elected by the body of ATP Coaches to continue serving as the Coaches' Representative in the newly formed ATP Player Council of 2023.[9]

Tournament Director

San Diego Open ATP 250

In August 2021, after the cancellation of the Asia Swing, Vallverdu instigated the collaboration between the ATP and the San Diego Barnes Tennis Centre which was then allocated a one-year 250 tournament license to be held 27 September - 3 October 2021 as a lead up to the Indian Wells Masters which had been postponed to October due to Covid.[10][11][12]

Vallverdu took on the role of Managing Director and the tournament attracted a very strong line up of players including Denis Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev, Kei Nishikori, Dimitrov and Murray. With 8 of the top 20 players attending and the ranking cut off being 42 to get in the main draw it was the 2nd most competitive ATP 250 all season since Doha. Billie Jean King[13] accepted the role of honorary tournament chair.[12]

In 2022, with the Asia swing still cancelled due to Covid, Vallverdu again instigated the collaboration between the ATP and the San Diego Barnes Tennis Centre which was then allocated a second one year 250 tournament license to be held post US Open 17-25 Sept. Vallverdu again took on the position of Managing Director.

Washington D.C. Citi Open ATP 500

In 2023 Vallverdu took on the role of Tournament Director of the Washington D.C. Mubadala Citi DC Open. [14]

Jeddah Next Generation ATP Finals

In 2023 Vallerdu took on the role of Co-Tournament Director of the 2023 Next Generation ATP Finals to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[15]

Coaching history

Andy Murray

Vallverdú met Andy Murray in the Sánchez-Casal Barcelona Tennis Academy when he was 15, where they were both training to become professional tennis players. The two quickly became best friends.

In June 2008, he became British tennis player Andy Murray's doubles partner for the 2008 Queen's Club Championships in London.

Vallverdú started working with Murray following his split with Miles Maclagan in 2010 and became Murray's de facto coach after he parted company with Alex Corretja in March. He coached Murray, organised practice sessions and served as liaison with Darren Cahill and Sven Groeneveld. "Quiet and unassuming, Vallverdú scouts opponents and helps devise tactical plans. Despite his relative youth, he is known for his professionalism and in-depth knowledge of the game."[16]

Vallverdú was also selected to be the head coach of the British men's tennis team for the London Olympics 2012, in which Murray won the Gold medal.[17]

With Andy Murray, Vallverdú worked actively alongside Ivan Lendl,[18] who joined Murray's team in 2012.[19]

Other memorable highlights of his coaching work with Murray and Lendl included when Murray won two Grand Slam titles, Wimbledon 2013.[2][20]

and the US Open in 2012.Following a mutual split with Murray in November 2014, Vallverdú took on the head coaching job for Tomáš Berdych.

Tomáš Berdych

Vallverdu started working with Tomáš Berdych following the mutual split from Andy Murray in November 2014.

At the time Tomáš Berdych was ranked World No. 7.

It was an immediate success as Tomáš Berdych reached his second Australian Open semifinal after beating Rafael Nadal, but then losing to Andy Murray in a tense match 6-7 (6-8) 6-0 6-3 7–5.

Under Vallverdú's guidance in May 2015, at the age of 29, Berdych reached his highest career singles ranking of No. 4 in the ATP rankings and entered Roland Garros as the fourth seed.

On 16 May 2016, Berdych and Vallverdú parted their ways.

Grigor Dimitrov

He became the coach of Grigor Dimitrov in July 2016.[3] At the time the Bulgarian was No. 40 in the ATP rankings.[4] Vallverdú guided him to his first Masters 1000 Win, as he beat Nick Kyrgios in the final of the 2017 Cincinnati Masters. This success was followed by the ATP Finals title for Dimitrov in November 2017, resulting in a career high ranking of No. 3 by the end of 2017. On 7 May 2019, after three years, Dimitrov and Vallverdú ended their working relationship.[21]

In October 2022 after parting ways with Wawrinka, Vallverdu agreed to coach Dimitrov again till the end of the 2022 season which ended in November 2022.[22] On 1 December 2022, it was confirmed he will continue to coach Dimitrov in 2023.[23]

Dimitrov under Vallverdu’s guidance made his first ATP Final since the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Rotterdam 2018 at the 2023 Gonet Geneva Open.[24]

At the 2023 US Open Dimitrov beat Andy Murray in straight sets to advance to the third round during a much anticipated second round match. Dimitrov had both of his coaches Vallverdu and Jamie Delgado - two of Murray’s former coaches, in his coaching Box.[25]

After a solid run of form in the China circuit, making the SF‘s of the Chengdu Open and the QF‘s of the Beijing Open at the 2023 Shanghai Masters (also known as the Rolex Shanghai Masters), Dimitrov beat Carlos Alcaraz (ranked #2 in the world) in the last 16 to reach the QF‘s against Nicolas Jarry.[26] Dimitrov beat Jarry to make it to the SF’s. [27]

At the Rolex Paris Masters with his 94-minute triumph, Dimitrov reached 40 tour-level wins in a season for the first time since 2017, which is also the year he last lifted an ATP Tour crown at the Nitto ATP Finals with Vallverdu. [28] Grigor Dimitrov advanced to his second ATP Masters 1000 final and first since 2017 when he clawed past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3) at the Rolex Paris Masters.[29]

Dimitrov lifted his first title in Brisbane 2024 since he won his last title with Vallverdu at the ATP Finals in 2017. [30] After beating Andy Murray in a difficult first round match up, Dimitrov did not lose another set the whole tournament beating Rune 7-5 6-4 in the Brisbane Final.

Stan Wawrinka

After parting ways with Grigor Dimitrov, Vallverdú joined Stan Wawrinka's coaching team before the start of the 2019 grass court season.

Following the departure of Magnus Norman in September 2020 Vallverdu became the de facto head coach.

Vallverdu and Wawrinka ended their working relationship in October 2022.[31]

Karolína Plíšková

In November 2019, Vallverdú agreed to work bilaterally (he was already coaching Stan Wawrinka) with Karolína Plíšková, ranked number 2 in the WTA rankings.[32] She successfully went on to defend her Premier Brisbane International title in January 2020 beating Naomi Osaka in the semifinal and Madison Keys in the final. Plíšková also reached the final of the Rome Masters in September 2020 defending her title but was forced to retire due to an injury.

Plíšková and Vallverdú ended their working relationship at the end of 2020 due to time commitments.[33]

AD Global Sports

In 2023, Vallverdu co-founded the company AD Global Sports with Arran Yentob to support the development of sports in the UK and globally.

In November AD Global Sports partnered with Andy Murray to acquire the team AD/vantage - one of six teams in the Hexagon Cup which will take place in Madrid in February 2024.[34]

Born under the motto "For the Fans. For the Players. For the Game", the Hexagon Cup is an innovative new padel tournament, launched by the team behind Formula E, that brings together the world’s top male, female and next generation players, to compete together for an impressive €1 million prize money, creating an exciting team competition and a big show sporting experience for fans.

Other teams confirmed to enter the tournament include the Rafa Nadal Academy by Richard Mille, RL9 by Barcelona footballer Robert Lewandowski, and a fan-led Hexagon Cup team.

‍Simon Freer, Chairman, Hexagon Cup, says: "It’s our honour to welcome Andy Murray, Arran Yentob, Dani Vallverdu and their Team AD/vantage entry to the Hexagon Cup.” [35]

Philanthropy

COVID-19—Coaches & Players Fan Experiences

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vallverdú in collaboration with the ATP launched the coaches and players fan experience initiative to help raise funds for tennis coaches most affected during the pandemic.[36] The first round of bidding raised over 90,000 USD.

In July 2020, The second round was launched and gave fans the chance to bid on more exclusive fan experiences [37] which included hitting with players Murray, Wawrinka,[38] Lopez and Dimitrov.[39]

The highest individual bid was made for two Wimbledon Final tickets and the chance to hit with Grand Slam Champion Murray and reached close to 52,000 USD. The bid to hit with the Swiss Grand Slam Champion Wawrinka went for 27,000 US Dollars.

In total the initiative launched by Vallverdú raised 218,000 US Dollars.

HIA - High Impact Athletes

In 2020, Vallverdu became an ambassador for the charity organization HIA Athletes. He is quoted saying “My family and I are passionate about the environment and helping the planet. Having coached some of the greatest tennis players in the world I understand how important optimization is. High Impact Athletes helps me optimize my giving by providing easy access to the most effective, impactful charities in the world.” [40]

Tour career

Doubles

In June 2008, he became British tennis player Andy Murray's doubles partner for the 2008 Queen's Club Championships at Queens Club in London.

Davis Cup

Vallverdú has played for Venezuela in eight matches over six ties, including a semifinal appearance in Group I of the Americas Zone in 2005.

Educational background

Sánchez-Casal Barcelona Tennis Academy

Vallverdú attended the Sánchez-Casal Barcelona Tennis Academy when he was 15, where he met Andy Murray and were both training to become professional tennis players. The two quickly became best friends.

University of Miami

Vallverdú graduated from the University of Miami in 2009 with a BA in International Marketing and Finance.[41]

During his time at the University of Miami, Vallverdú was captain of the university tennis team.

He received five all-American honors, was no. 3 in the nation in singles and no. 1 in the nation in doubles with teammate Carl Mikael Sundberg.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Article/Dani-vallverdu-directeur-du-masters-next-gen-creer-une-culture-tennis-prend-du-temps/1434832
  2. 1 2 3 Harman, Neil. "Joy of Dani Vallverdu who became Andy Murray's closest confidant".
  3. 1 2 3 "Dani Vallverdu Explains Why He Opted to Coach Grigor Dimitrov Instead of del Potro". 18 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Hear Him Roar, Nitto ATP Finals Title Belongs to Grigor Dimitrov! | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  5. ↑ "Formerly Baby Fed, Grigor Dimitrov won Cincy with an all-grown-up game".
  6. ↑ https://tennis.bg/article/otnovo-zaedno-za-postoianno-grigor-shte-raboti-s-valverdu-i-prez-noviia-sezon/36732/
  7. ↑ "New ATP Player Council Elected in London | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  8. ↑ "ATP Announces 2021-2022 Player Council".
  9. ↑ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/player-advisory-council-meets-in-melbourne
  10. ↑ Clarey, Christopher (4 October 2021). "Pro Tennis Finds New Cities to Play in, but Will It Return?". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ "Given a unique chance to host the pros, San Diego charged up to host "one of the toughest 250s"". 28 September 2021.
  12. 1 2 Ganguly, Sudipto (2021-09-17). "San Diego auditions for permanent spot on calendar with strong field". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  13. ↑ "Billie Jean King Named Honorary Tournament Chairperson for San Diego Open ATP 250 Tournament". 20 September 2021.
  14. ↑ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/washington-2023-atp-500-history-draw-schedule
  15. ↑ https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Article/Dani-vallverdu-directeur-du-masters-next-gen-creer-une-culture-tennis-prend-du-temps/1434832
  16. ↑ "Wimbledon 2011: The men who make Murray tick". BBC Sport. 30 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Box Shots: Team Murray Cheers Andy to Olympic Final | the Slice". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  18. ↑ "Dani Vallverdu Photos Photos: 2012 French Open - Day Nine".
  19. ↑ Hodgkinson, Mark (24 March 2011). "Andy Murray hoping old pals' act with new coach Dani Vallverdu will rekindle his form".
  20. ↑ "'An amazing day for Britain' - How Murray ended a 77-year wait". BBC. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  21. ↑ Dimitrov, Grigor (2019-05-07). "pic.twitter.com/FKzimMLkzg". @GrigorDimitrov. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  22. ↑ "Dimitrov will work with Valverdu till the end of the 2022 season". 18 October 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  23. ↑ "Dimitrov will work with Valverdu also in the 2023 season". 1 December 2022.
  24. ↑ "Nicolas Jarry Wins Geneva Title, Defeats Grigor Dimitrov | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  25. ↑ Amako, Uche (2023-08-31). "Andy Murray beaten at the US Open by classy Grigor Dimitrov". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  26. ↑ "Alcaraz beaten by Dimitrov at Shanghai Masters". BBC Sport. 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  27. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/67101850.amp
  28. ↑ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/hurkacz-dimitrov-paris-2023-friday
  29. ↑ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/tsitsipas-dimitrov-paris-2023-saturday
  30. ↑ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/rune-dimitrov-brisbane-2024-final
  31. ↑ https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/stan-wawrinka-reunites-coach-magnus-norman-basel-injury-comeback
  32. ↑ Kane, David. "Pliskova hires coach Daniel Vallverdu for upcoming 2020 season". WTA. WTA Tour, Inc. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  33. ↑ Goodwin, Sam. "'No longer together': Karolina Pliskova's brutal split after horror year". Yahoo Sport Australia. Verizon Media. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  34. ↑ https://www.sportindustry.biz/news-categories/news/murray-tries-his-hand-at-team-ownership/
  35. ↑ https://www.hexagoncup.com/news/tennis-star-andy-murray-launches-padel-team
  36. ↑ "ATP Coaches Launch Fan Experience". ATP Tour. ATP Tour, Inc. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  37. ↑ "Murray Wimbledon Lesson, 'Big 4' Racquet Draw Top New Fan Experience Prizes". ATP Tour. ATP Tour, Inc. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  38. ↑ "Corona-Hilfsauktion – Wawrinka versteigert sich für arbeitslose Coaches".
  39. ↑ "Andy Murray happy to support Daniel Vallverdu's efforts to raise funds for coaches".
  40. ↑ "Athletes".
  41. ↑ "Wimbledon 2011: The men who make Murray tick". BBC Sport. 30 June 2011.
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