TFP 076: How Brad Stine Coached Kevin Anderson and Jim Courier to Top 5 in the World

On Episode 76 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with Brad Stine about how he coached Kevin Anderson, Jim Courier, and many other players to top ATP world rankings. Brad's philosophies, systems, and strategies have enable him to consistently propel whoever he coaches, from high level juniors, college players and tour pros, to top rankings and grand slam titles. It was fascinating to hear Brad's tennis journey and how both he and his players have risen to the upper echelon of the game.

Brad is a world-class tennis coach from Fresno, California who has coached numerous top ATP pros in his career, most notably former world #1 Jim Courier. He currently coaches ATP world #6 Kevin Anderson, and has also previously coached Andrei Medvedev, Jonathan Stark, Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent, Sebastien Grojean, Sargis Sargisian, and Byron Black.

Brad played and coached at Fresno State, and led the program to a top 20 DI ranking as a coach. He was also a US National Coach for the USTA and coached the US junior national team, which was loaded with top talent: Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, MaliVai Washington, Todd Martin, Jonathan Stark, Jared Palmer, David Wheaton and Jeff Tarango

On this episode, we talk about how Brad became a top level coach and his journey from coaching at the USTA, to college tennis, and eventually to coaching some of the best ATP pros of all time.

I really hope you enjoy my interview with Brad! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below!

Show Notes:

Brad’s favorite place in the world to go snowboarding

Brad's first memory of hitting a tennis ball

How Brad got his start in coaching

Brad’s experience coaching the US Junior National Team, which was loaded with top talent: Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, MaliVai Washington, Todd Martin, Jonathan Stark, Jared Palmer, David Wheaton and Jeff Tarango

The most important skills Brad focused on developing in the US Junior National Team

Coaching D1 college tennis at Fresno State

The most important changes Brad made to the Fresno State tennis team that caused the program to eventually get a top 20 DI ranking, and why an atmosphere of respect is so important

Differences between coaching in college and the pro tour

Going from coaching college tennis to Jim Courier and how they ended up working together

Jim’s personality and the approach Brad took to maximize Jim’s abilities

Jim’s unorthodox backhand and how the coaching team maximized his game

The importance of the backhand slice to Jim’s success

The traits and habits that most contributed to Jim Courier’s rise to the top of the game

How Brad and Kevin Anderson started their coaching partnership

The importance of self-containment and conserving energy and how this has improved Kevin’s results

How we can strike a balance between getting pumped up and positive versus conserving energy

An example of having a stronger physical presence on the court

Kevin’s most important traits that make him a top 10 player

Kevin’s increased focus on his fitness training and getting stronger

What’s next for Brad and Kevin

3 books Brad would gift to a friend to help them play better tennis

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