Fontang coached Auger-Aliassime for a decade and the months following their split were the worst part of his season; early exits from the US Open and China Open, both losses to Karen Khachanov, and only three wins since the Wimbledon quarterfinals. His 2026 record is 36-16 with one title, at Montpellier. What he wanted, on his own account, was the coach with the most experience.
Ljubicic qualifies on both sides of the podium. The Croatian was world No. 3 as a player with 10 titles and 426 tour-level victories, and he coached Federer from 2016 until the Swiss’s retirement in 2022, which brought three of Federer’s 20 Grand Slam titles. Before that, he worked with Milos Raonic from 2013 to 2015, another player built around a hard first serve. His strike-first philosophy is a natural match for Auger-Aliasimen’s winning games.
Renting comes with an unusual wrinkle. Ljubicic continues to serve as a special advisor to the French Federation. FFT made no secret of it, publicly responding under Auger-Aliasime’s post, wishing her “all the best in this new adventure and looking forward to our adventure.”
To protect ATP units
The federation confirmed to L’Equipe that her contract does not prevent her from coaching ATP or WTA players separately, making the two roles compatible. The main change is that Ljubicic is no longer in an operational role at FFT, as Gilles Simon has been appointed to Elite Players Manager. His job now is to advise President Gilles Moreton when asked, mostly on international relations.
Sporting urgency is Auger-Aliassime’s. He has an unforgiving points streak to defend between now and the end of the season; he was a finalist at the Paris Masters last year, he is the defending champion at the Brussels 250 and he is defending the semi-final points at the ATP Finals. Despite being fifth in the rankings, he is only 15th in the race that decides who goes to the Tour.
His first tournament with Ljubicic in his corner is the Shanghai Masters.
