Karen Khachanov has hired Andrei Chesnokov after splitting from his coach, Vedran Martic.
“Vedran and I have mutually decided to bring our professional partnership to an end after nearly 10 years of working together in total. Vedran has been my coach since the very beginning of my career. I came to Split to work with him when I was just 15 and a half years old. Throughout this entire journey, he has always supported me, and we have achieved so much together: breaking into the top 10, winning titles, and growing tremendously along the way,” said Khachanov on Instagram.
Khachanov and Martic have parted ways despite a recent positive run of form, which saw the Russian reach the US Open semi-finals. Khachanov has already brought in a replacement, albeit on a trial basis.
Karen Khachanov brings in former world number nine Andrei Chesnokov as his new coach
As reported by ‘First&Red‘, Khachanov has hired Andrei Chesnokov as his new coach. Chesnokov represented the Soviet Union and Russia during the 1980s and 1990s, won seven titles, including two Masters 1000s, and reached world number nine.
Andrei Chesnokov’s seven ATP titles
- 1987 Florence Open
- 1988 Orlando Open
- 1989 Nice Open
- 1989 Munich Open
- 1990 Monte Carlo Masters
- 1990 Tel Aviv Open
- 1991 Canadian Open
Khachanov is excited to work with Chesnokov for the remainder of the 2026 season. But why did he decide to bring in the 60-year-old to his coaching team?
“To be honest, we were thinking about who I’d be interested in working with. Now I’ve come to Andrei [Chesnokov] because he’s a very good former player, a top-ten player. He also has a coaching background, so he knows what needs to be done and might be able to offer some advice,” said Khachanov (translated from Russian).
Give us one bold prediction for the final months of the 2026 tennis season!
“So we decided to give it a try until the end of the year. He’ll go with me to the tournament in Vienna and Paris, and we’ll build on that and see how our collaboration continues, probably in the preseason for next season. So right now, you could say, it’s a trial period.”
Khachanov and Chesnokov will see how they work together in Vienna and Paris before Khachanov calls it quits for 2026. The Russian isn’t in contention for an ATP Finals place, and Russia remains banned from the Davis Cup, so he won’t play any more matches after the Paris Masters.
Live ATP Race to Turin
| Rank | Player | Country | Points | Status |
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | Germany | 9,150 | Qualified |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner | Italy | 7,950 | Qualified – Won’t play |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | 4,600 | Qualified |
| 4 | Ben Shelton | USA | 4,480 | Qualified |
| 5 | Flavio Cobolli | Italy | 3,540 | Qualifying |
| 6 | Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 3,420 | Qualifying |
| 7 | Frances Tiafoe | USA | 3,380 | Qualifying |
| 8 | Arthur Fils | France | 3,325 | Qualifying |
| 9 | Rafael Jodar | Spain | 3,159 | Qualifying |
| 24 | Karen Khachanov | Russia | 1,890 | Not qualifying |
There is work to be done before Khachanov and Chesnokov head to Vienna, though. The Russian is entered into the Almaty Open as the sixth seed. He will play his opening match in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, October 20.
Karen Khachanov’s route to the Almaty Open title
Khachanov hasn’t won an ATP title in 727 days. He won his last title at the Almaty Open, defeating Canada’s Gabriel Diallo, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, in the 2024 final.
Looking to win his second title at the event, Khachanov will play Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto in the first round. Ranked 99 places above Sakamoto, Khachanov will fancy his chances of reaching the second round, but will be wary of underestimating his opponent, who stunned Khachanov’s countryman Andrey Rublev last time out in Shanghai.
Provided Khachanov avoids the upset, he will advance to play Kazakh wild card Zangar Nurlanuly or Tomas Machac in the second round. Khachanov would be a heavy favourite against Nurlanuly, although if fit, Machac could cause him some real problems.
Looking ahead, Khachanov could meet another home favourite, Alexander Bublik, in the quarter-finals. Khachanov and Bublik are 1-1 in their head-to-head, although Khachanov’s win came six years ago in Cincinnati.
Khachanov could face former world number one Daniil Medvedev in the semis, and then Italy’s Luciano Darderi in the final. He certainly isn’t the favourite to win the title in Almaty, but if he plays his best tennis, you certainly wouldn’t want to bet against him.
The 2026 Almaty Open final will be played on Sunday, October 25. Medvedev defeated Corentin Moutet, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, in last year’s championship match.
