The Tennis Files Podcast

On Episode 123 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with former ATP Pro Fazal Syed about what it takes to make it as a professional and have a long and successful career on tour.Fazal was ranked in the top 400 in singles, top 200 in doubles, and played Davis Cup for India. He was also a Bronze Medalist at the Asian Games and the #1 ranked junior in India. Fazal is a top notch instructor as well: he previously coached Mahesh Bhupathi and Martin Damm, who are both grand slam champions, and was awarded the USTA Middle States Pro of the Year.  Currently, he is the director of Level7Tennis and a faculty member at Tennis Congress.  On the show, you’ll learn how Fazal’s sheer determination and grit drove him to the upper echelons of the game, his transition from tennis in India to the US, how he managed to make the pro tour despite consistently training with players way below his level, his biggest takeaways from the pro tour, his thoughts on how to become a great tennis coach and much more!I hope you enjoyed my interview with Fazal! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 122 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with a former Division 1 college tennis player, academy owner, and founding and managing member of Arrowbar, Andrew Golub.Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science Degree with a focus on Business Management from the University of Miami. He played tennis for 4 years at Miami after a stellar junior career ranked in the top 20 in the nation. After graduating, he started Golub Tennis, and more than 120 students in his program have received scholarships to different universities across the country.  Andrew co-founded Arrowbar which is a gluten-free and all-natural, high-performance energy bar. Tennis pros such as John Isner, Steve Johnson, and former podcast guests James Blake and Michael Russell are just a few big names that are ambassadors of Arrowbar.  I have also tried and really enjoy eating it before exercising!On the show, you’ll learn how Andrew started his tennis career, how he became one of the best junior players in the country, how he managed to balance tennis and his studies in school, what inspired him to create his own training center, the ins and outs of creating Arrowbar, and much more!I hope you enjoy my interview with Andrew!  Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 121 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with Michael Russell, former ATP Pro and current tennis coach, about the grittiest player in history.Michael reached a career-high of 60 in the world in August 2007. He has also coached many well-known tennis pros, including Frances Tiafoe, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Taylor Fritz, and Mackenzie McDonald through USTA Player Development. Michael played on tour for 17 years and retired after the US Open in 2015. He currently owns a private tennis coaching business, Michael Russell Tennis, in Houston.On the show, you’ll learn about Michael's unrelenting commitment to fitness, his stellar career as a junior, how he gained his first ATP point, his recovery routine after matches, key tips to improve your game, and much more!I hope you enjoy my interview with Michael! Let us know what you think about the episode in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 120 of The Tennis Files Podcast, you’ll learn the 21 habits of winning tennis players. I have struggled for a long period of time with building the right habits, and this has motivated me to find out which ones are the most important from the top experts, professional players, and coaches on the planet and how to develop them.On the show, you’ll learn the importance of setting your intention before practice, self-discipline, continually challenging yourself through competition, understanding strategies that work best for your game, and much more. This episode will help you have a better understanding of the keys to being a successful tennis player (and person), and the most important habits you need to implement in your life. I really hope you enjoy this episode! If you like the format, let me know in the comments below!And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 119 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with fitness expert Nathan Martin about the fundamentals of tennis fitness. Nathan Martin has worked on the ATP and WTA circuits since 1999, including as a head tennis trainer at the renowned Sanchez Casal tennis academy in Barcelona. He specializes in strengthening and conditioning tennis players. Together with his wife, Giselle Martin, they have successfully created a unique tennis fitness system at tennisfitness.com called the Martin Method. Nathan and Giselle have also developed a deep knowledge of how to produce elite female athletes through their partnership with the WTCA (Women Tennis Coaching Association). They have trained numerous legendary ATP and WTA pros such as Lleyton Hewitt, Martina Navratilova, Sam Stosur, Monica Seles, and Jennifer Capriati, while also developing new programs to improve amateur players' tennis fitness and empowering the next group of young players.On the show, you’ll learn the most important principles to level up your tennis fitness, the biggest mistakes tennis players make in the gym, the right set and rep scheme for power and strength workouts, the huge benefits of practicing yoga, the Martin Method, and much more!I hope you enjoy my interview with Nathan! Let us know what you think about the episode in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 118 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with South Korea’s Daniel Yoo, a former ATP Pro, about how his commitment to discipline and work ethic unlocked his dreams of becoming a professional tennis player.Daniel achieved career highs of 326 in singles and 425 in doubles in 2011. He was coached by Pierre Arnold, one of the top developmental coaches in the world. Daniel has won numerous pro titles and played against many of the game’s elite players on tour.On the show, you’ll learn about Daniel’s extreme dedication to tennis at a young age in Korea, his supernational tournament win as a junior, his experiences as a tennis pro, how he ended up practicing with Roger Federer for two weeks in Dubai, how entering the army affected his tennis career, and much more!I hope you enjoy my interview with Daniel! Let us know what you think about the episode in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 117 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I am back to answering questions that I received from our fellow tennis players about playing against serve and volleyers and counterpunchers, maintaining fitness and improving movement, controlling power on our strokes, hitting faster serves and more! I routinely receive emails and messages on my social media accounts asking questions about how to level up, and I picked out eight of them to answer on the podcast today.I really enjoy receiving emails from the Tennis Files community and do my best to answer them all (even if it takes a little while!). I really appreciate all your questions because they will help a lot of passionate tennis players like you and me improve our games. Thanks again to every single one of you who has contacted me with your excellent questions!I really hope you enjoy this episode! If you like the format, let me know in the comments below so that I can do more Q&A episodes in the future!And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files below to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox!Questions on today’s show: How to play against serve and volleyers - Dan How to play against counterpunchers - Dave (4.5) I have difficulty hitting a good forehand on the far right corner of the court after hitting a backhand from the left corner of the court. Is there a technique on how i should hold the racquet while I am running from the left corner to right corner to be able to hit the good forehand? Davy - 4.0 My strokes are great but my movement needs to be faster as I'm overweight. Other than slimming down, what can I do to get faster moving around the court and to get into ready position? Lots of times my opponents hit hard to the corner and I miss it since I can't run that fast. Thanks. - Danielle 4.0 Power with control - If i hit with power, then the ball goes out. - Anonymous Dear Mehrban - My son plays tennis U14. His problem is that he is afraid and loses focus and control especially in critical moments and situations. For example by Deuce and Advantage. He can not control his Game and loses the Game or the Set. How to strengthen the shoulders to get stronger and more power and therefore have stronger hits (Forehand, Backhand and Volley). Thanx - Osama Being an effective volleyer. - Dennis , 3.0 Power, form, and strength on my serve - Emma - 3.5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 116 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with the founder of Crunch Time Coaching, Peter Freeman, about how to break bad habits that are limiting you from reaching your true tennis potential.Pete has coached Division 1 college players, produced state level and national champions and been awarded the honor of USTA Georgia Pro of the year. He has coached under Tony Palafox, who was John McEnroe’s former coach, and Frank Brennan former Stanford University Coach who won 10 national titles. Pete is hosting an annual online tennis conference this October called Tennis Con 3! This awesome and free event features many of the best tennis coaches and names in the business (including yours truly!) that will teach you how to break bad habits so you can level up your tennis game.On the show, you’ll learn the keys to breaking bad tennis habits, our list of the biggest habits you need to fix in your game, the all-star list of coaches on Tennis Con 3, details about how and when you can sign up for free to watch the event, and much more!I hope you enjoy my interview with Peter Freeman! Let us know what you think about the episode in the comments below and be sure to join us for Tennis Con 3! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 115 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with former ATP Pro and current tennis coach, Todd Widom, about how he has been able to develop elite junior players in a non-academy setting.Todd is a former Top 200 ATP Professional and 18-and under Super National champion. At the University of Miami, he became a two-time All-American, and now he is the owner of TW Tennis, which is South Florida’s top small group/private tennis training that is geared exclusively for high performance tennis players.On the show, you’ll learn what type of environment Todd trained in as a junior, what traits and skills he developed to become a top junior and professional player, his biggest accomplishments in his tennis career, the keys to training top juniors in a non academy setting, his personal advice to help you improve your game, and much more.I hope you enjoy my interview with Todd! Let us know what you think about the episode in the comments below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 114 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with journalist and podcast host Nina Pantic about how she transitioned from an elite tennis player to a career in the world of tennis media.Nina is the associate editor for Tennis Magazine and Tennis.com, and the managing editor of Baseline, which provides daily tennis news with a spin.   She also co-hosts the Tennis.com Podcast Inside the Tour alongside Irina Falconi on the Tennis Channel Podcast Network.  Nina played college tennis for UCLA and achieved career high WTA rankings of 530 in singles and 488 in doubles. After playing an elite level of competitive tennis, Nina decided to pursue her passion for journalism and managed to combine it with the sport she’s played all her life: tennis.  In other words, Nina has found a way to live the dream!  It was great to meet her at the US Open last month and I'm really glad we were able to make this interview happen.On the show, you’ll learn how Nina developed into a top ranked junior, what she thinks of home schooling when pursuing a professional career, the difficulties of making a living on the tour, how she became a journalist, what it’s like to work for Tennis Magazine, the highs and lows of working in tennis media, key tips to improve your tennis game, and more!I hope you enjoy my interview with Nina! Let us know what you think about it in the comments below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices