Coach of the Month
ATP Coach Spotlight: Craig Boynton
The American coach prides himself on developing a player on and off the field
September 16, 2024
ATP
Craig Boynton has been coaching since 1993.
By ATP staff
Back in the London flat he shared with coach Craig Boynton after sealing his 11-hour Wimbledon victory over Nicolas Mahut in 2010, John Isner was feeling good about life.
“I actually felt good physically, not knowing I was going to feel bad the next day,” Isner told ATPTour.com this week. So I told CB, ‘I feel like a million dollars’.”
“Yeah, in the quarters,” Boynton replied, knowing full well that a 70-68 victory in the fifth set would take its toll.
“And he was right. I felt like a million dollars in the quarters the next day, so bad,” laughed Isner. “You are smart; he is one of the smartest guys i know. He always has quick questions to get back to you. Ask anyone, this guy is funny.”
Boynton, one of the game’s most respected voices known for his Santa Claus beard and warm personality, is the subject of ATPour.com’s ATP Coach Spotlight this month.
Boynton’s life has been intertwined with tennis since his college days at Clemson University. After a brief professional career, Boynton found his true calling in coaching — a path he’s been in for more than 30 years — while working with some of the sport’s biggest names.
Boynton built a decorated career, coaching players like Jim Courier, Mardy Fish, and Isner.
Most recently, the American coach spent five and a half years working with Hubert Hurkacz before the two parted ways amicably a few weeks ago.
“It’s been a labor of love – if that, it wasn’t even a job. It was a great pleasure, getting to know these great people and helping these great players,” Boynton said of his coaching journey.
Boynton’s first real coaching break came in 1993, when he started working with Courier.
“With Jim, I was a traveling coach, and he brought a whole different level to the Tour,” Boynton said of working with the World No. 1 of the former.
Boynton was particularly impressed by the American’s fitness and drive.
“I remember Jim saying then: ‘Anybody can win a five-set match,'” Boynton said. “I’m the only one who can win the same five-set match tomorrow. I was able to see that firsthand, and he was an amazing competitor, an amazing worker.”
After a few years coaching Courier, Boynton moved to Tampa Bay, Florida, in 2007 to lead the tennis program at Saddlebrook Tennis Academy.
At Saddlebrook, Boynton crossed paths with Isner, a 22-year-old American who was just making a name for himself. In March 2009, Isner sought help from Boynton, who eagerly accepted.
“I had the luxury of knowing John for about two years before we started working together,” Boynton said. “I was able to watch him, I saw his game improve. I knew him and we got along. It was really nice to see him impose his presence and come into his own in 2009 and 2010.”
Isner was outside the Top 100 when both started.
By the end of the year, he had reached more than 100 places in the PIF ATP Rankings and made his first appearance in the round of 16 at the US Open.
“He can adapt to the player for sure,” Isner said of Boynton’s coaching. “He contributed to my success, he took me out of the Top 100 and into the Top 20, where I have not been for a long time. I started working with CB and jumped to the top of the game.”
Boynton’s sense of humor and holistic coaching approach, which balances who a player is on and off the court, has been an asset to Isner.
“For me especially, he would know when to push me and when to back off,” said Isner, in his after-work job co-hosting the Nothing Major podcast with Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey and Jack Sock. “He didn’t know, he listened to me. His work ethic is amazing, and he loves being on the court and always makes practice fun.”
Under Boynton’s three-year reign, Isner reached the quarter-finals of his first Grand Slam, made the final of the ATP Masters 1000, and broke the Top 10 for the first time in his career.
After his time with Isner, Boynton became involved as a USTA Player Development coach, working with players such as Donald Young and Sock.
Then in 2019, Boynton began coaching Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
When the two started working together, Hurkacz was already inside the Top 100. Under Boynton’s guidance, he reached the semifinals of his first Grand Slam, won two ATP Masters 1000 titles, and in August of this year, beat World No. .
“Hubi and I had five and a half good years. It was a great trip,” Boynton said. “I understand that this high-level relationship will end, but I am proud of the way I am still close to the players I coached.
“I think the one thing I will take away from my time with Hubi is how meaningful it was to work with a European player for five and a half years as an American coach. That doesn’t happen very often, and I’m proud of both the relationship we’ve built and the success we’ve had together.”
Hurkacz shared similar sentiments with his former coach.
“One ride! Thank you for everything we have achieved as a team! Thank you, CB,” Hurkacz wrote on his Instagram story with a photo of the two sharing a smile on the court.
Boynton continues to love coaching and takes pride in knowing he has a positive impact on his players on and off the field.
Although she doesn’t see herself giving up coaching, she is looking forward to spending more time with her family and traveling to places she has never been as part of her coaching journey.
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