She was the most successful German tennis player in recent years. After her retirement, Angelique Kerber will remain with the federation.
Angelique Kerber will be an advisor to the German Tennis Federation (DTB). From the new year, the former world number one will support both the women’s elite team in the Billie Jean King Cup and young female players. The DTB announced the move, citing the “wealth of experience” of the athlete, who retired in the summer.
The 36-year-old, who won the Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon during her career, will work with two of her former coaches in the future: Rainer Schüttler is the team captain at the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly known as the Fed Cup. Torben Beltz was recently introduced as the head national coach for women at the DTB.
Kerber on German women’s tennis: “There is room for improvement”
“We speak the same language and get along well. Together we want to bring women’s tennis forward again. Because one thing is clear: there is room for improvement,” Kerber told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” about her new job. “Sometimes it will be more of a role as a mentor, where I will have one-on-one conversations or provide individual coaching, and sometimes it will be more of a group thing or during training on the court.”
DTB board member Veronika Rücker spoke of ‘pride and confidence’ that she was able to win the 2016 Olympic silver medalist for the tasks. “Angie has always been a shining example for young female tennis players with her fighting spirit and great passion on the court, and they can now benefit directly from her knowledge and experience.”
Resignation after the Olympics in Paris
Kerber was the world’s number one tennis player for a long time between 2016 and 2017. In addition to the three Grand Slams and the Olympic silver in Rio, she won eleven more WTA tournaments. In 2014, she led the German team to the Fed Cup final, where it lost to the Czech Republic. After her quarter-final exit at the Summer Olympics in Paris, Kerber, who has a young daughter, ended her successful career.
