The Tennis Files Podcast

On Episode 65 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with ATP world #73 Denis Kudla about how his obsession with tennis turned into a pro career.  Denis turned pro as teenager and has had his share of ups and downs, but through it all his passion for the game and excellent support system has helped him catapult back into the Top 100 once again. Denis has always been one of my favorite players to root for because he is from Arlington, Virginia, which is very close to where I'm from (Maryland), and also because he is a very down to Earth guy.  I first met and interviewed Denis at the Citi Open last month after he and Frances Tiafoe played a doubles match (two in the same day actually).  Denis wore a Washington Capitals shirt, which has been the pride of DC for their championship win (and one of my favorite hats to wear).  Denis was kind enough to make some time to speak with me while he was in New York preparing for the U.S. Open.  You'll hear Denis talk about his tennis career from the beginning, how he trained as a junior at the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), why he has always prioritized fitness, and how he bounced back from the lowest point of his career. It was a pleasure speaking with Denis on the podcast, and I wish him all the best in his career.  Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! Time-Stamped Show Notes [2:36] Denis's training and preparation for the US Open [3:43] Playing golf at the Stowe Tennis tournament in Vermont [4:26] Similarities between tennis and golf [5:27] Why this has been the best year of Denis's sports fan life (Washington Capitals / Philadelphia Eagles) [7:47] Denis's first memory of hitting a tennis ball [9:04]  Transition to training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center, and why Denis's family made the decision [10:37] How Denis stayed focused on his tennis training as a junior and avoided distractions [11:54] The most important changes Denis made in his game as a junior [13:27] A quote that has always stuck with Denis throughout his career [14:05] The structure and hours of being homeschooled at a tennis academy (Junior Tennis Champions Center) [15:51] Denis's closest friends and competitors during his junior career [17:17] How to overcome your doubts against stiff competition [18:26] Why Denis decided to turn pro instead of going to college [19:44] The lowest point in Denis's professional career and how he bounced back to the Top 100 [21:34] What caused Denis to hit rock bottom as an ATP pro [22:59] Differences between Challenger and ATP Tour Level players [24:14] Why routines don't always work as a professional tennis player [25:44] What Denis changed in his fitness routine after losing a two set lead vs. Thiem at the Australian Open [26:39] Denis's approach to fitness in the off-season [27:22] One piece of advice from Denis to help you improve your tennis game Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 64 of The Tennis Files Podcast, you'll hear several of my interviews with some of the best tennis players in the world and my top takeways from them to help improve your tennis game.  I spoke one-on-one with David Goffin, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Donald Young, Marcos Baghdatis, Hyeon Chung, and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski at the 2018 Citi Open last week after their matches and heard a ton of excellent tips from these amazing players that I want to share with you on the podcast. It was a pleasure interviewing these players, and I have to thank everyone from the Citi Open, ATP Tour, and LINK Strategic partners for helping make these interviews happen.  If you want to see more media from this year's tournament, including my interviews and press conferences, head over to my Youtube Channel! I hope you enjoy this episode of TFP with the pros, and let me know what you think in the comments below! Time-Stamped Show Notes Interviews: Donald Young - 4:30  Thai-Son Kwiatkowski - 11:28  Marcos Baghdatis - 16:39 Hyeon Chung - 21:32 David Goffin - 26:09 Stefanos Tsitsipas - 34:40 and 43:51 Bonus Clip: Alexander Zverev Championship Press Conference snippet (pretty funny :) ) - 50:58 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with Mark Gonzalez from Alpha Racquet Sports about stringing machines. I asked Mark about the different types of stringing machines, how to choose the right one for you, and tips and tricks to become a great stringer.  The International Alliance of Racquet Stringers (IART) has said that Mark’s knowledge of stringing machines ranks among the very best in the industry. Mark wears many hats in the tennis world; he is a Sales Manager for Alpha Racquet Sports, an industry consultant for IART, and a Yonex rep.  Mark has a reputation for being super responsive and has helped me figure out my stringing machine needs. When I did research on best value stringing machines, Alpha was the brand that popped up more often than all the others in the forums and everywhere else, which is why I decided to bring Mark on the podcast. It was a pleasure having Mark on The Tennis Files Podcast, and I know this episode will help you choose the right stringing machine for your game and become a better stringer.  You'll also save a lot of cash if you get a tennis machine which you can use to play more tennis, upgrade your racquets, and enjoy happy hour after your league matches (if you are of-age, anyway! :) ) I hope you enjoy this episode of TFP with Mark, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Time-Stamped Show Notes Intro [4:02] The biggest advantage of owning a stringing machine [5:32] The biggest hesitation that players have when deciding whether to buy a stringing machine [7:20] What sparked Mark’s interest into the world of stringing machines [9:46] The stringing machines Mark has used throughout his tennis and stringing career? Researching Stringing Machines [11:47] The optimal approach to buying a machine [14:30] When buying a stringing machine, do we plan for the short term or long term? i.e. space in apartment, stringing skill level, potential to string for others, etc. [15:47] What are the biggest mistakes people make when buying a stringing machine? Different Types of Stringing Machines [17:31] What are the different types of stringing machines? [20:42] The kind of machine Mark recommends for a player’s first machine, that plays 2-3 times a week and breaks strings once every 2-3 weeks? [21:55] The drop weight machine is the cheapest kind generally - why is that? [23:53] Who would you suggest a drop weight machine for? [25:06] Why drop weights can be one of the most accurate types of stringing machines despite the price [25:47] Is an electric machine worth it, and if so, what type of players would you suggest get one? [27:58] 2 point vs 6 point machines - what does this mean, and does it matter? Stringing Accessories [29:38] The most helpful stringing tools for stringing raquets [32:29] What part of the stringing machine tends to break the fastest and what to do about it [34:55] What is the WISE electronic tensioner head and what type of benefit would we gain from getting one? Is it worth it? Stringing Racquets at this year’s Australian Open [37:33] Mark’s experience stringing at the Australian Open and the ATP/WTA players he strung racquets for Stringing Technique [40:19] The biggest mistakes novice and intermediate stringers make [41:40] The best way to measure how much string you need to string your racquet and the “4-Wingspan Rule” Alpha Stringing Machines [42:57] The awesome stringing machines Alpha has in its lineup and a cool story about customer service [49:46] Are there any new machines planned for Alpha in the near future, and how we can get an Alpha stringing machine if we are interested in... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, I review the 7 biggest serve killers and how to fix them.  Over several decades of playing the game, observing other players, learning from my coaches, and the hundreds of interviews on my podcast, Tennis Summits, and Youtube channel, I've come to identify several huge leaks in tennis players' serves.  And today I'm speaking with you one on one about them.  I've personally struggled (and still sometimes do) with several of these leaks, and I hope that you find this episode as useful as I do in identifying and finding ways to fix your biggest serve killers.  It's certainly not an easy process, but if you work diligently and consistently at your serve killers, you will come out a much more powerful and consistent server. I hope you enjoy this episode on the 7 Serve Killers and How to Fix Them!  Let me know what you think in the comments below! 7 Serve Killers (and How to Fix Them) I Discuss on the Show: 1. Serve Grip 2. Toss 3. Hitch in Motion 4. Shallow Racquet Drop 5. Weight Distribution 6. Opening Up Early 7. Eyes Not Watching the Ball Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with my friend Ian Westermann, founder of Essential Tennis. I asked him about his passion for the game, how he went from country club tennis instructor to one of the biggest online tennis instructional sites in the world, and how we can become better singles and doubles players, among many other interesting topics.  Ian was featured in Forbes as one of the most successful online tennis instruction entrepreneurs and he is considered one of the pioneers of online tennis instruction. Ian started the Essential Tennis Podcast in 2008, which is one of the most popular tennis podcasts of all time. Ian and his awesome team at ET have produced an incredible amount of free, high-quality, value-filled videos that have helped millions of people improve their tennis games.  The proof is in the pudding: Essential Tennis currently has over 125k subscribers on Youtube, which says a lot about the quality of ET’s instructional content. Ian and his team have also created tons of amazing premium tennis courses at EssentialTennis.com. It was a pleasure having Ian on The Tennis Files Podcast, especially because we both share the same passion as you do: to become better tennis players.  I hope you enjoy this episode of TFP with Ian, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Time-Stamped Show Notes [3:36] Ian’s secret nickname [4:49] Does Ian really have an Essential Tennis tattoo? [5:19] How Ian got his start in tennis [9:08] Ian’s incredible passion for the game [13:22] Ian’s junior career [16:47] Not making the college team the first year [19:22] The highlight of Ian’s college tennis career - playing in the zone [24:32] Ian’s experience taking the Professional Tennis Management Program at Ferris State [28:35] Ian’s coaching jobs at various tennis and country clubs and the frustrations he experienced [33:56] Tough career choices [36:23] The Essential Tennis Podcast: one of the longest standing tennis podcast out there [38:32] What to expect next from The Essential Tennis Podcast [41:15] Leading yourself through the tennis learning process when you can’t find a coach for you [44:04] Ian’s 3 key tips to playing better singles [46:10] How to become a better doubles player [50:28] What is a Vlog and why Ian started one [54:52] Three books Ian would gift to a friend to help him/her become a better tennis player [58:36] When to expect Ian’s new book [59:38] What’s in store next from Essential Tennis [1:00:46] Where can we connect with Ian and Essential Tennis online [1:01:51] One key tip to help us improve our tennis games Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After nearly 4 months of hard work, I'm proud to announce that I'll be hosting the world's biggest online tennis conference: Tennis Summit 2018! From April 25-30, you'll be able to watch presentations and interviews from 30+ world-class coaches on your computer and smartphone. And you can get a free ticket to watch all the sessions! On today's episode of TFP, I put together a preview of Tennis Summit 2018.  You'll get to listen to five ten-minute clips of some of the best sessions on the summit.  These sessions include presentations and interviews from Paul Annacone (coach of Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Tim Henman), 17-time grand slam champion Gigi Fernandez, sports performance expert and iTPA/Kovacs Institute founder Dr. Mark Kovacs, performance consultant and founder of the McCaw Method, Allistair McCaw, and registered Dietician Jeff Rothtschild, who has worked with the Brian Brothers and other famous athletes from multiple sports. I hope you enjoy this preview episode of Tennis Summit 2018, and be sure to get your free ticket to the summit here! Time-Stamped Show Notes [2:38] Paul Annacone - The Secrets of Federer, Sampras, and Henman [14:16] Gigi Fernandez - Optimal Doubles Strategy From a 17-Time Grand Slam Champion [26:01] Dr. Mark Kovacs - Mastering Your On-Court Movement [37:39] Allistair McCaw - How to Become Champion Minded [50:10] Jeff Rothschild - Carbohydrates, Sports Drinks, and the Heat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, I spoke with 17-time grand slam champion Gigi Fernandez about her unique path to becoming one of the legends of tennis.  Gigi is widely considered to be one of the best doubles players of all time. She won 2 Australian Opens, 6 French Opens, 4 Wimbledons, and 5 US Opens, 2 Olympic Gold Medals with Mary Joe Fernandez, the 1990 Fed Cup, and is a Hall of Famer.  In 2000, Gigi was named Puerto Rican Athlete of the Century. The former world #1 doubles and #17 singles player now spends her time coaching adult players how to excel in tennis and developed the Gigi Method of doubles. We discussed how Gigi overcame a lack of resources as a junior in Puerto Rico, her strategies for playing dominating doubles, her journey to winning 17-grand slam doubles titles, the Olympics, life after tennis, and much more on Episode 59 of the The Tennis Files Podcast! I hope you enjoy my interview with Gigi, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Time-Stamped Show Notes: [3:03] Where Gigi stores her 17-grand slam trophies and the 100s of other trophies she won in her lifetime [3:33] What Gigi would have been if she wasn’t a professional tennis player [4:28] 3 things most of the world doesn’t know about Gigi Fernandez [5:49] How Gigi got her start in tennis [6:42] Memories of her Gigi's first tennis tournament [12:36] Gigi’s lack of role models and how she blazed her own trail instead [8:03] Where she trained as a junior [9:26] How Gigi elevated herself to the best player in Puerto Rico despite very few resources [14:40] Gigi’s most memorable experience as a junior [16:21] What made her decide to play at Clemson [19:02]  Why Gigi improved her game the most in college vs any other time in her career [23:47] Gigi’s most memorable Grand Slam win and how changing her thoughts helped her come back from her lowest point in her career [27:40] Why detaching from the outcome is the most important advice Gigi has ever received in her career [29:13] The benefits of meditation and how it helps control your emotions [31:43] How doubles has changed from when she played vs. today [34:33] Gigi’s most important accomplishment in her pro career out of all the grand slams, the #1 rankings, the gold medals, Fed Cup title, Hall of Fame induction, and all of her other titles [35:23] Gigi’s experience at the Olympics and the difference playing for your country vs. at pro tournaments [36:39] How Gigi was able to stay consistently successful during her remarkable run of winning at least one Grand Slam title every year from 1988–1997, except in 1989, and for three straight years winning three of the four Grand Slam doubles titles in the same year (1992–1994) [39:36] How Gigi balanced her singles training with her doubles training, since she played both at a very high level [41:48] Doubles drills she practiced with her partners [43:22] Why she decided to retire in 1997 at the age of 33 [46:10] Life after pro tennis and earning a new identity: coaching pros and going back to school [48:32] What is the Gigi Method and Doubles.tv all about? [52:31] Big improvements players have made through learning tennis at doubles.tv [54:44] Books she'd gift to a friend to help them become a better tennis player [56:51] One big myth that a lot of tennis players and/or coaches believe today [58:21] One key tip from Gigi to help us improve our tennis games [1:00:16] Where we can find Gigi online and in person Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, I spoke with Ramon Osa from Osa Tennis 360 about how to hit kick serves.  Ramon is an expert at helping tennis players discover the fun in tennis, while showing them what they need to do to improve their technique and tactics.  Ramon is the founder of Osa Tennis 360, where he produces value-filled and fun tennis videos.  He also has an awesome Youtube channel with fantastic tips and advice.  Ramon believes that fun, along with the right system to develop world-class strokes and sound fundamentals, is the key to improving your tennis game. We discussed technical aspects of the kick serve, how to toss the ball properly when hitting a kick serve, kick serve strategy, Ramon's approach on how to learn this severely underused and often feared serve, and much more on Episode 58 of the The Tennis Files Podcast! I hope you enjoy my interview with Ramon, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Time-Stamped Show Notes [5:56] What is the kick serve, and how can it help us win tennis matches? [9:07] Why are players uncomfortable hitting or trying to hit kick serves? [11:05] At what level (NTRP rating) do players consistently use the kick serve? [12:34] The number one thing that players do incorrectly when trying to hit a kick serve. [13:41] How to be more relaxed when serving [15:15] The technical differences between the kick serve and a flat or slice serve [17:38] How we should toss the ball when we hit a kick serve. [18:45] How should we approach developing our kick serve -- piece by piece or as a whole? [20:17] Ramon's two favorite drills that teaches us how to hit a kick serve. [22:28] How far forward should we lean into the court for kick serves? [25:21] How often should we use the kick serve in tennis matches? [27:26] Why we should use the kick serve more often in doubles matches [23:18] One key tip to help us hit better kick serves [30:52] How Ramon's serve course helps tennis players develop their kick serves [34:56] What is in the course, and how is it organized? [38:44] Results Ramon's players have achieved through his instruction and courses [41:55] Advice to players who don't believe they can develop a solid kick serve Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show, I reveal the top 10 things that improved my tennis game in 2017.  It's always critical to periodically examine your progress so that you can figure out what is working and what you may need to change to become a better tennis player.  I sat down and made a list of things that I did differently in 2017, and then marked the top 10 of those changes to discuss on the podcast.  I encourage you to pick one or two of the things I mention on the show, try them out, and see how it works for you.  Let me know what you think in the comments below! Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show, I spoke with sports performance coach Dean Hollingworth about how we can train to become stronger, fitter, and faster tennis players and athletes. I first met Dean while eating breakfast before the World Tennis and Fitness Conference, hosted by the International Tennis Performance Association.  Dean gave a fantastic presentation about plyometrics, and I knew that he would be the perfect guest for the podcast. Dean is the Director of Fitness and Sports Performance at Club Sportif Cote-de-Liesse (CDL) in Montreal, Canada. He has over 25 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, and is a highly regarded author, speaker, and fitness and performance consultant.  Dean is the only strength and conditioning coach in Canada to be certified as a Master Tennis Performance Specialist by the iTPA.  He is also a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Speed and Agility Coach, and worked as the S&C coach for Canada’s Fed Cup team win against Serbia in 2014.  Dean coaches a wide gamut of athletes, including professional tennis players such as Elena Vesnina and Francoise Abanda. We spoke about why strength and power training is essential for your tennis career, exercises to increase your strength, power and movement, why plyometrics is a great way to improve your speed and power on the court, Dean's experience as part of Elena Vesnina's team, and much more. I hope you enjoy my interview with Dean, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Time-Stamped Show Notes: [3:59] Why focusing on our fitness training is so important in helping us become better tennis players [5:05] The specific benefits we get from fitness training for tennis [6:34] How Dean became a world-class fitness and sports performance coach [8:31] Associations and conferences that helped Dean expand his tennis fitness knowledge [9:45] Dean's first exposure to tennis [11:19] Why tennis is the hardest sport to train athletes for [14:47] Should we use undulating periodization in our training? [16:29] Why we must decide when we want to peak, or else we won't improve [17:54] The biggest mistakes that tennis players make in the gym [19:45] Dean’s favorite thing about being a fitness coach [20:53] Examples of tennis players Dean trained that focused seriously on their fitness and had a huge improvement on their game [22:21] Dispelling the myth that weight training is bad for your tennis game [24:53] Part of the body tennis players need to improve the most [26:31] The importance of “heavy lifts” i.e. deadlifts, squats, and bench press, and why single leg training is so critical [29:32] How many days per week to perform fitness training, and considerations when creating a program [31:34] Tips for training on the road and in faraway places with little equipment [33:30] Exercises for speed training [34:57] How long does each set last for speed training [36:18] What is plyometrics and how can it help our speed on the court? [39:15] How to integrate plyometrics with speed training [41:03] Plyometrics technique tips [42:00] Plyometrics exercises you can perform to improve your speed [44:47] How many reps per set should we perform for plyometrics? [46:07] Key principles to help us do plyometrics the right way? [48:10] If an athlete is deficient in a certain area, and you focus on that more so in their training, once they are proficient in it, do you then reduce focus on that area and train everything equally again? [49:36] Static stretching routine and optimal number of exercises [51:05] Dean’s advice for improving our endurance on court [53:02] Should we do heavier lifts in certain parts of the season, such as squats, deadlifts, and bench press, or all-year round? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices