Former World No 1 Karolina Pliskova confident of performing well at WTA Finals without a coach

Tokyo: Former World No 1 Karolina Pliskova is confident that splitting with coach David Kotyza will not be a hindrance as she attempts to go it alone over the home stretch of the season, leading up to the WTA Finals in Singapore in October. Pliskova, who began working with Kotyza in December 2016, won three WTA singles titles this season and reached the French Open semi-finals and US Open quarter-finals, but parted company with the 50-year-old last week after losing the No 1 ranking. [caption id=“attachment_3917869” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Karolina Pliskova. AP[/caption] The 25-year-old Czech does not plan on hiring a replacement until next season and will work with her father for the last few tournaments of the year. “Obviously I need a coach, but it’s not the main thing in my team. I can play well even without a coach,” Pliskova was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency. Pliskova, who is down to fourth in the rankings after her exit from the US Open, said she was still hopeful of regaining top spot from Spaniard Garbine Muguruza because of how open the women’s tour was this season. “This year, it’s very open when Serena (Williams) is not there. There’s a chance for everybody, every grand slam has had a different winner. It’s very close in the top 10,” she added. “For now, my main goal is to get to Singapore. Anything can happen. I think it’s about few points so every tournament it can change. I just want to play well and if I play well, I have a chance to get to World No 1 again.” The top eight singles players qualify for the 22-29 October event in Singapore which offers $7 million in prize money. Pliskova, who is in action in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this week, faces either Poland’s Magda Linette or Daria Gavrilova of Australia first.