Although officially set to take over as Denmark’s new national men’s singles coach on August 1st, Hans-Kristian Vittinghus has already started making his presence felt on the sidelines.

An early start
Speaking at the STATE Denmark Challenge 2025 presented by RSL, Vittinghus revealed that he will now officially begin his full-time coaching duties on June 1st, two months earlier than initially planned.

The former world-class singles player has been easing into the role since January, supporting the national training setup part-time alongside coach Jonas Lyduch. With the tournament held just a short drive from his home, Vittinghus saw it as a natural opportunity to step in and start building match chemistry with players he’ll soon be coaching full-time.

"I've already been coaching them since the start of January, just not full-time," he said.

The tournament was a good opportunity to observe how the players behave in match situations and to start developing their working relationship on court he expressed.

Focused on a core group
For this tournament, Vittinghus was primarily working with Mads Christophersen, Magnus Johannesen, and William Bøgebjerg, three of the four men’s singles players currently the top priorities in the national setup, alongside Rasmus Gemke.

Despite strong performances earlier in the event, both Johannesen and Christophersen exited before the finals, bowing out in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Bøgebjerg was out before the main draw on the first day after three qualification matches.

He noted that while those four are currently the highest priorities, there’s also a wider training group he supports when time allows.

International schedule
When asked about upcoming travel plans, Vittinghus mentioned that he will be attending the YONEX Italian Open 2025 and Macau Open (Super 300) in the coming months. With players at various stages in the rankings, he expects to split his time between the BWF World Tour and the European Circuit.

"So obviously Gemke is part of the World Tour. But the other guys, the ranking is not high enough. So I need to travel to a bit of both, actually," he explained.

A smooth transition
While still technically in transition, Vittinghus says the shift from club coaching to national responsibilities has been smooth so far.

"I've had Jonas Lyduch as the guy who's been in charge of the training, and I've just been more on the side helping out... So I think it's been a good way to kind of get into it and not starting from scratch when we start on the 1st of June," he said.

World Championships uncertainty
On the topic of the World Championships, Vittinghus was unable to confirm his role in coaching top players such as Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen, both of whom work with personal coaches.

"It’s not really my decision to make," he said. "I'm always happy to work with Antonsen and Viktor, no question about that. But I have honestly no clue yet."

Full interview: