Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

The adidas Player Development Program, set up by Jim Latham ten years ago and regarded as innovative for much of its’ life, is set to fold at the end of the year.

Leading players, most notably Andy Murray, Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep,  have benefitted from participating in the program that was led by Sven Groeneveld until he accepted the offer to become Maria Sharapova’s full-time coach two years ago, and then taken on by fellow Dutchman Mats Merkel.

Following the retirement of Andre Agassi, his former coach Darren Cahill and fitness trainer Gil Reyes also became members of the adidas’ program’s staff with a training facility located in Las Vegas.

Cahill’s commitment to the program has long been compromised by his commentating commitments with ESPN and in the last year he has also escalated the amount of coaching he has done with world no.2 and adidas-attired Simona Halep.  The 50 year-old Australian has recently returned to live in his native country, and makes the long commute to the United States and Europe to fulfill his commentary commitments. He will also be alongside Halep in a coaching capacity at the forthcoming WTA Finals in Singapore. It is understood that Cahill’s contract with adidas is set to expire at the end of the year.

Many other leading players have benefitted from the adidas program including the now retired Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, Britain’s Laura Robson, Germany’s Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber, the Czech veteran Daniela Hantuchova, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.