India, May 27 -- As Marta Kostyuk and Katie Volynets contested the second round of Roland Garros on Wednesday, their teams shared a peculiar commonality: female coaches.

Kim Clijsters is temporarily working with Volynets at this clay-court Grand Slam, while Sandra Zaniewska has been with Kostyuk since 2023. Zaniewska was also there earlier this month in Madrid, where Conchita Martinez sat in the opposite player box for the final between Kostyuk and Mirra Andreeva.

These are rare sightings in tennis, a sport not brimming with women coaches. Even for female pros, let alone men.

Just three singles players in the top 50 of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings currently have a woman as their primary coach: Andreeva, Kostyuk and Ann...