The Innovative CEO, Milos Raonic

This has been a good year for the man who styles himself “the CEO of Milos Raonic Tennis” (for those who aren’t aware, that’s the Wimbledon finalist himself). In addition to a wicked serve and blistering forehand, this chief executive officer has also brought some idiosyncrasies to the task.

That was most evident with the sleeve he had on his right arm for a couple of years – he first wore that at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells in 2014 to protect a heat rash, and he then didn’t take it off until this season’s European clay-court swing. And he has since appeared to be just fine without it. Something new that he believes could be helping him – and this is highly unusual for a non-contact sport – is a gum shield. “The mouth guard has been there since the beginning of this year,” he has said. “I struggled with my back last year for about six months and it cut my season short. So I ventured to see what I could do to deal with that pain. Maybe I won’t be able to solve my back issue completely, but at least I can keep it under wraps. The mouth guard is a way of aligning my spine.”

Away from the courts, Raonic has been enhancing his status as the renaissance man of the ATP World Tour by indulging his passion for art. He visited Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s installation while in Melbourne, has acquainted himself with pop artists such as the late Andy Warhol and is a keen student of prominent names in American art circles such as Rashid Johnson, Jeff Elrod and Dan Colen.

Much of this has been done alongside his girlfriend Danielle Knudson, a model based in New York. They share a Canadian citizenship – he is from the Toronto suburb of Thornhill while she is originally from the western Canadian city of Red Deer, Alberta.

While resident in Monte-Carlo, Raonic spends a lot of time in Manhattan with Knudson. That allows him to follow his other sporting passion – basketball. A fan of the Toronto Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder – at least until superstar Kevin Durant left the team as a free agent last summer – Raonic participated in the 2016 NBA All-Star weekend celebrity game in Toronto. He memorably ‘dunked’ – something that became a social media hit – while playing for a team that included fellow Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard and that was coached by hometown music mogul Drake.

Throughout his career Raonic has been a driven individual – carefully minding the minutiae of his profession whether it be his diet (including being a teetotaler), training regimes, equipment or coaching arrangements to try to maximise his ability as a player.

The latter was never more obvious than when he brought John McEnroe on board as a consultant during this year’s grass-court swing. That collaboration, as well as his other coaches Riccardo Piatti and Carlos Moya, helped Raonic to reach his first Grand Slam final when he was the runner-up to Andy Murray at Wimbledon.

“I take everybody’s consultations very personally,” he said. “I know everybody I have around me wants to help me to the fullest. I’ve looked to other people to try to get the most out of me. That would be my biggest regret if I didn’t do everything I could.”

Notable in the evolution of Raonic’s tennis in 2016 were his improved movement and a quantum leap in his volleying. Few players have ever improved their net play so dramatically when in the middle of their careers. That, combined with his awesome serve and pulverising forehand, enabled him to finish points more quickly, which is smart strategy for someone whose physique – he is 6′ 5” – isn’t best-suited to long, baseline battles of attrition.

Raonic, who aspires to becoming the World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, got off to an inspired start in 2016 by beating Roger Federer in the Brisbane final. He carried that form into the Australian Open where he had a two-sets-to-one lead on Murray in the semi-finals before a right adductor problem scuttled his chances.

Other highlights this year have included reaching the finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, The Queen’s Club and Wimbledon. This has been a comeback year for Raonic, who last season suffered from a painful nerve condition in his foot, as well as back spasms, and who didn’t make the cut for the 2015 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

“That slip in the rankings was hard to accept and also very motivating,” he has said. Raonic knows that, if he is to ever become the World No. 1, he will have to play great tennis for 30 weeks of the year. That won’t be easy. But that’s not going to stop him from trying. Or innovating.