Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard Loses First Match Since Coaching Change

Giovanni Mpetshi Perrricard lost his first match since splitting up from long term coach Emmanuel Planque. He faced Tallon Griekspoor, a man who had won 18 of the last 22 matches in the Netherlands, in the first round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis tournament.

The Frenchman was ultimately unable to progress, going down 6-4 6-4 to the Dutchman. It extends his losing streak to three matches, a run he will be aiming to thwart sooner rather than later.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard Falls at First Hurdle

He announced via Instagram on Sunday, February 9, that he was parting ways with Emmanuel Planque, after five years together, saying,

“After four years of working together, my collaboration with Emmanuel Planque has come to an end. Manu, I thank you for the work accomplished and your total engagement, which allowed me to grow not only as a tennis player, but also as a person. This step will be very important in my journey.”

It comes off the back of a disappointing 2025 season in which he finished with a 19-26 tour-level record. Currently No. 56, although set to drop at least one place, the Frenchman looked for answers for his lack of consistency.

After all, Mpetshi Perricard broke into the top 30 in 2024 and claimed his first ATP 500 title in Basel. Off the back of such a strong end to the season, there was considerable excitement heading into 2025. There’s no hiding space in tennis and some of his technical shortcomings were shown throughout, just as they were in his defeat to Griekspoor.

A One Dimensional Game

His serve is massive, make no mistake. His 153mph strike last season took the title as the fastest ever serve at Wimbledon. Moreover, only Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz owned a higher “serve rating” according to the ATP Stats website. The former Basel champion averaged an eye-watering 13.5 aces per match, bettered only by Reilly Opelka.

Yet, his lack of an all-round game left him reliant on this serve, with matches often reaching the tiebreak stage due to an inability to break. In the same set of stats, he ranked No. 80 in return, winning just 8.2% of his return games. To put it in perspective, Kamil Majchrzak, ranked one place above him in the official rankings, won 21% of his return games last year.

Simply, Mpetshi Perricard needs, on average, 12.5 games to break. It’s simply not sustainable. We saw this against Griekspoor, as he mustered up six break points throughout the match and was unable to convert any of them.

There is no quick fix to this solution, but at the very least, an improved ball-tolerance is necessary. All too often, when you watch the Frenchman, if he hasn’t hit a winner in his first three shots, he struggles to stay in the rally.

Technical Flaws

Of course, this is in part due to his physical makeup. His 6’8 frame makes moving out of the corners and recovering more difficult. Yet, even in position, his lack of takeback on the backhand can be exposed if the preparational timing isn’t perfect. This was displayed in the first set, at 3-3 and 30-40. Mpetshi Perricard prepared too late but still tried to take the ball early. Consequently, there wasn’t enough momentum to transfer the ball through the court.

Technical flaws tend to be exposed under pressure. Again, At 4-4 and 30-40 in the second set, a simple rally ball caught him out, as he framed a forehand comfortably long.

So, there are clear areas to work on for whoever takes the reins as coach. Nevertheless, with his incredible serve, he doesn’t need to be an all-around terrific player; but just to be reliable at the basics.

By the time Wimbledon comes around, there is no reason why he cannot make a run. Yet, for the rest of the season, there is work to be done.