The Tennis Files Podcast

On today's show, I had the pleasure of speaking with Martin Blackman, General Manager of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) Player Development Program. Coach Blackman is responsible for partnering with the U.S. tennis community to identify and develop the next generation of world-class American tennis players. The former ATP pro and college tennis coach spoke to us about the USTA's player development program that has recently seen a lot of success and a ton of top-ranked American talent. The current head of USTA PD was one of the top juniors in the world and eventually climbed to a ranking of #158 on the ATP Tour. He also played Davis Cup for Barbados. After his pro career, Blackman coached the American University tennis team and top junior players at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in Maryland. On Episode 35, Coach Blackman speaks to us about what the USTA is doing to bolster the development of top American tennis players. We can adopt many of Coach Blackman's and the USTA's principles into our own way of thinking to help us improve our tennis games. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [3:44] How Martin Blackman started playing tennis [5:00] Coach Blackman's college and pro tennis career [8:00] The most important part of the evolution of a tennis coach [9:35] How Martin figured out to have a stronger connection with his players [10:50] Advice Coach Blackman would give to his 20-year old self [11:50] The importance of embracing the process [13:11] How does Coach Blackman define player development? [18:57] What key characteristics or traits need the most development among top tennis players? [22:40] Knowing the long-term vision for the player and sacrificing short-term gain [23:11] Why Pete Sampras switched to a one-handed backhand, and Martin's victory over Pete in the juniors [25:10] What our audience can do to help improve their tennis games A huge thanks to Coach Blackman for coming onto the show and for speaking with me about how the USTA, and you all as players and coaches, can better develop into successful tennis players. I hope you enjoy my interview with Coach Blackman! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 34 of TFP, I had the honor of speaking with Brian Boland, Coach of the 2013, 2015, and 2016 NCAA Division I Championship University of Virginia Men's Tennis program. Coach Boland shows us how we can produce better leaders and human beings through college tennis. This approach is ultimately what determines whether coaches and players are truly successful in life. Coach Boland's approach of focusing on developing his players have resulted in incredible accomplishments, both on and off the court. Virginia Men's Tennis has been ranked in the top five of the ITA’s final rankings in 8 of the past 10 seasons, and they've also won 5 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, 14 conference championships and 18 NCAA and ITA individual national championships. What is so striking about Coach Boland is that he doesn't focus on the results so much as the development of his players. That his favorite moment at Virginia Men's Tennis has been attending weddings of his players, rather than winning titles, speaks volumes about his values. Coach Boland was also the very first contributor to one of my most popular articles, 30 College Tennis Coaches Reveal Top Character Traits of Successful Student-Athletes. Huge thanks to Coach Boland for coming onto the show! This episode is a must-listen for any coaches and players who want to get the most out of themselves and their players. Coach Boland shows us how we can do this through leadership, integrity, and character. Time-Stamped Show Notes (clickable!): [1:44] How did Coach Boland become a head coach at UVA? [5:03] One thing that the world doesn't know about Coach Boland [7:06] How do you keep motivated after winning everything there is to win in college tennis? [9:37] How did UVA bounce back from adversity this year to win the NCAA Championship? [13:06] How do you deal with players who aren't in the lineup [16:43] Challenges in maintaining an elite team year after year [18:42] What did Coach Boland mean when he said "It takes a village to be the best at what you can do." [23:38] What systems do you have in place to ensure that your players succeed? [26:42] How and where Coach Boland recruit players [29:49] The success of local mid-atlantic players at UVA [34:25] How UVA tennis player Thai-Son Kwiatkowski is skyrocketing up the ATP rankings [40:04] Shout out to Dr. Mark Kovacs (guest on Episode 34 of TFP) [40:51] Treat Huey's rise to the top of the ATP doubles ranks [47:02] What's the goal for UVA during the fall college tennis season? [52:07] UVA's individual and team practices in the fall and spring [54:12] The structure of individual practices [55:31] Difference between fall and spring seasons [58:42] Drilling during practices [61:20] Coach Boland's favorite drills [64:14] How to determine UVA's lineup [67:34] Coach Boland's toughest and most enjoyable moments at UVA [74:02] Sanam Singh's wedding [78:28] How has UVA Tennis changed over the years? [79:54] How can we save our college tennis programs? [81:40] Coach Boland's morning routine [85:26] Books that Coach Boland would gift someone looking to improve their tennis game [86:51] The importance of tennis coaches and experts sharing information with the community [89:15] Best advice that Coach Boland has every received [90:31] Where can we follow Coach Boland and UVA Men's Tennis online [92:08] One tip from Coach Boland that will help us improve our tennis games I hope you enjoy my interview with Coach Boland! Let me know what you think in the comments section! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, I spoke with world renowned sports science and fitness expert Dr. Mark Kovacs about strength and conditioning for tennis. Mark has trained numerous top professional tennis players, including John Isner, Sloane Stephens, Sam Querrey, Donald Young, and Melanie Oudin. In 2015, Stack named Mark one of the Top 31 Fitness Professionals to Follow in 2015. Mark is a performance physiologist, researcher, professor, author, speaker and coach with an extensive background training and researching elite athletes. He has been featured in many of the biggest sports and news publications, including ESPN, the New York Times, and Tennis Magazine. Mark was also a top college player at Auburn and achieved a world ranking on the ATP Tour. To sum it up, Mark has one heck of a resume, and it is an honor to speak with him on the show today. Mark co-authored an amazing book and resource, Complete Conditioning for Tennis (2nd edition), which was published a couple months ago. I have a copy of his book and have had a hard time putting it down in my spare time. It has a ton of invaluable information on how we can put together a personalized fitness program using the exercises and in-depth knowledge from Mark, E. Paul Roetert (former managing director of the United States Tennis Association’s Player Development Program) and Todd S. Ellenbecker (Vice President, Medical Services ATP World Tour, and clinic director at Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona). The book also includes 56 videos illustrating the exercises and stretches which you can access online. The value in this book is unparalleled in comparison to any other tennis fitness book I've seen on the market so far. In this episode, I ask Mark questions on how we can improve our tennis fitness to become better tennis players. We also talk about Complete Conditioning for Tennis (2nd edition) and some of the principles in the book that will help take your game to the next level. Mark has an unbelievable amount of knowledge in sports science for tennis, and provided us all with a ton of value on The Tennis Files Podcast. Time Stamped Show Notes: [3:18] - How Mark became a world-class fitness expert [5:08] - Mark's degrees and certifications [7:14] - One thing about Mark that most people don't know [8:27] - The elements of tennis fitness [10:25] - How to train the different elements of fitness [12:30] - What most tennis players lack in their fitness [14:12] - The muscle group that amateur players tend to undertrain the most [15:39] - Ways to train your your weakest muscle group [17:16] - How low should we go when we squat [19:22] - What type of squat should we use during training [22:35] - Will partial squats put pressure on the knees [25:04] - What set/rep/weight ranges should we use for our exercises and what are the effects of using different ones [29:16] - What is periodization and how does it affect our training [32:30] - In what order should we train the different fitness elements in a periodization program for maximum results [36:07] - What are the best strengthening exercises for the serve [38:37] - The importance of the kinetic chain and discussing Mark's "An 8-stage model for the tennis serve" scientific study [42:47] - How do we correct inefficient footwork [45:56] - Mark's favorite footwork drills to help your speed and agility [49:10] - Stretches that tennis players should incorporate into their routine [51:41] - Analysis of professional tennis players' fitness and why tennis is one of the toughest sports in the world [53:53] - How can we get the most value out of Complete Conditioning for Tennis (2nd ed.) and put what we learn into action Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I discuss 10 of my favorite tennis tools that I regularly use and recommend. These tools will help you improve your tennis game in many different ways, from learning more about the game to finding hitting partners. I recently published a blog post on The 41 Best Tennis Resources Every Tennis Player Should Know, and wanted to talk about the ones I use the most. These are the resources that I think will take your game to the next level. On this episode, you will learn about the following resources: Tennis Books Search Tools to find players, coaches, and tennis courts Online Tennis Instructors Youtube Online Forums Facebook Groups USTA Podcasts Blogs, and Organizational Tools I hope you find the resources in this episode useful! Try using them and let me know what you think! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show, I discuss 7 of the best technique tips I've ever learned in my 20+ years of playing and coaching tennis. These tips are awesome because they are easy to implement, and you will notice the positive effects on your game immediately. Pick one to use during your next hitting session and you will be really pleased with the results! The technique tips that I discuss cover different parts of your game, from the serve to groundstrokes and volleys. I racked my brain trying to think of which tips I've received that would offer the most value to you, my loyal and awesome audience, and I really hope you enjoy what I came up with. Let me know how the tips work out for you in the comments section below! On this episode, you will learn tips to instantly improve the following problems: Hitting the ball too short Inconsistent and weak serves Inability to follow-through on your strokes Erratic volleys Framing or shanking your groundstrokes, serves and volleys Hitting serves into the net Balance issues while serving Do me a huge favor and share this episode so that everyone can benefit from the value this episode will bring to your game! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, 15 professional tennis players answer the question: "How can our audience improve their tennis games?" I placed their answers in this episode and commented on their responses. The idea for this unique episode came to me when I attended Podcast Movement 2016 in Chicago last month. One of the presenters, Pat Flynn, gave us a list of cool podcast episode ideas. One of these was to ask a bunch of experts one question, and include them all on an episode. This is a brilliant idea, so when I was part of the media at the 2016 Citi Open, I ended just about all of my twenty or so interviews with ATP and WTA pros by asking what the key is to improving our tennis games. It is inspiring to hear what the best tennis players in the world think we should be focusing on to take our games to the next level. I hope you enjoy this unique podcast episode format! On this episode, you will hear answers from the following ATP and WTA tour professionals: Alexander Dolgopolov (#58 ATP) Alexander Peya (#25 ATP) Alla Kudryatseva (#155 WTA) Borna Coric (#40 ATP) Camila Giorgi (#66) Edouard Roger-Vasselin (#13 ATP) Ivo Karlovic (#23 ATP) James Duckworth (#199 ATP) Jessica Pegula (#139 WTA) Jordan Thompson (#92 ATP) Lauren Davis (#105 WTA) Mackenzie "Mackie" McDonald (#412) Malek Jaziri (#53 ATP) Yen-Hsun "Rendy" Lu (#72) Yuichi Sugita (#83) I hope you like this episode! Let me know what you think about it in the comments section below! I appreciate your feedback! If you enjoyed listening, share this episode using the social buttons above or below this post! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today my guest is Dave Mullins, former head coach of the Oklahoma Women’s Tennis Team. Dave has had an extremely successful coaching career. His accomplishments include five NCAA tournament appearances, five ITA regional championships. three seasons with at least 17 victories, and ITA Central Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2014. Dave retired from college coaching this past […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I spoke with Jeff Salzenstein, a former top 100 ATP Pro and one of the most well-respected tennis coaches in the game. Jeff has battled against many of the best tennis players in the world throughout his career. He has combined that experience, along with his desire to learn all he could about playing optimal tennis, to create many of the most popular online tennis courses in the world. The very first online tennis course that I ever purchased was from Jeff! Jeff has recently moved his popular online tennis instruction site (jeffsalzensteintennis.com) to Tennis Evolution. There, he continues to create the highest-quality tennis instructional videos possible. I can speak from experience, having purchased both a fitness course and a tennis serve course from Jeff. Both these courses surprised me with the number of videos and how much value each one provided. My interview with Jeff was one of the best episodes I've had so far on The Tennis Files Podcast. Jeff answered each question with amazing insight, and I learned so much from speaking with him. I definitely encourage everyone to check out Tennis Evolution. Jeff also has a ton (and I mean a ton!) of free instructional videos on Youtube that will provide a ton of value and help with your game. If you aren't familiar with Jeff's work, watch some of his videos on Youtube and you will understand why he is one of the best instructors out there today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode I had the pleasure of speaking with three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Ram. Andy won the 2006 Wimbledon mixed doubles championship, the 2007 mixed French Open title, and the 2008 Australian Open men's doubles championship. He retired in 2014 after Israel's Davis Cup match in September, and soon after became an entrepreneur in the tennis world. Andy is the co-founder and CEO of Pulse Play, a wearable technology and app for amateur tennis players around the world. Pulse Play has come out with a tennis smart watch that helps players keep score, find other players to play with, and ranks players based on a complex mathematical algorithm. The best part of Pulse Play is that Andy created it knowing what tennis players would want in a smartwatch. After all, he made a living playing the game and knows it inside and out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, Mulumba from Tennis Column and I discuss the 2016 Citi Open championship matches and recap our thoughts about the players' performances. This year's tournament brought us a lot of fantastic matches and showcased the talent of many of the best tennis players in the world. We had a blast attending and analyzing the tennis matches this year! We speak about the epic Monfils-Karlovic match, a very tight men's doubles final between two elite teams, and some fantastic tennis from Yanina Wickmayer, who took home two titles this weekend! We discuss match strategy, tactics, how the pros can improve their games to take it to the next level, and we even talk about Federer's big announcement and Nick Kyrgios's obsession with Pokemon Go (gotta catch 'em all, right?)! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices