In the tennis realm, Sven Groeneveld is no Jimmy Connors. For Maria Sharapova, that could be a good thing.
According to multiple media reports, Sharapova had hired Groeneveld as her new coach to start the 2014 season. He replaces Connors, who trained Sharapova in exactly one event - a loss to Sloane Stephens in the second round at the Western and Southern Open in July.
"I'm happy to announce my official partnership with Sven Groeneveld," Sharapova wrote on Facebook. "We've been working together since I got back on the court, and after seeing him on the opposing side for so many years, I'm excited to have him become a part of my team. It has been a very seamless transition and I have had a lot of fun with the hard work we have put in so far. Looking forward to the year ahead."
Sharapova, the No. 4 women's tennis player in the world, has not played a match since that loss to Stephens because of bursitis in her right shoulder that forced her to withdraw from the U.S. Open.
Groeneveld previously has coached Monica Seles, Mary Pierce and Ana Ivanovic to Grand Slam titles, according to SI.com.
Groeneveld becomes Sharapova's third coach in the past six month. After her second-round loss to unheralded Michelle Larcher de Brito at Wimbledon, Sharapova parted ways with then-coach Thomas Hogstedt.
She then announced the hiring of Connors, which created a buzz until Sharapova's loss to Stephens. She created a bigger buzz by firing Connors.
Her right shoulder, on which she had surgery in 2008 is part of a list of health issues Sharapova dealt with in 2013.
On the court, her problem has been her lack of success against world's No. 1 Serena Williams. Sharapova has lost 13 consecutive matches to Williams, going back to 2004.
According to SI.com, Sharapova will begin her 2014 season at the Brisbane International on Dec. 29.
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