The Tennis Files Podcast

On Episode 67 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with Leon Vessels about how he became a practice partner for top ATP and WTA pros. Leon has practiced with Alexander Zverev, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dmitrov, Eugenie Bouchard, Gael Monfils, John Isner, Janko Tipsarevic, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Rajeev Ram, and countless other top ranked players. I noticed Leon playing with these top players at the Citi Open while covering the tournament over the past few years, and was intrigued about his story. What is particularly amazing about Leon is that although he was a top junior, he did not play college tennis or on the pro tour, took several years off the game, and yet still possesses the skills and focus to practice with the top players in the world. On the podcast we get into how Leon became a practice partner at the Citi Open, how others can become practice partners at tournaments, the level required to practice with the pros, tips he's learned from the best in the world, and much more. It was a pleasure speaking

On Episode 66 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with WTA world #164 Jamie Loeb about her rise from the juniors to playing the biggest tournaments in the world. Jamie developed into a top junior, had a championship run at the University of North Carolina, and qualified for the US Open while still in college before turning pro full-time. Jamie is grinding it out on the tour and living the dream of traveling the world as a professional tennis player. I first met Jamie at the Player's Party at the Citi Open last month, along with her former teammate and friend Tessa. I remembered that my former assistant coach and teammate Ale Pedergnana is close friends with Jamie, and after a friendly chat and compliments on her dance moves, Jamie was nice enough to come onto the podcast. We chat about her keys to success on the pro tour, how she overcame the toughest moment in her career, how tough it is to survive financially as a pro, what racquets and strings she uses, tips for pros on how to improve your Instagram

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 traine

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 Hyeo

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

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 Distribut

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

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

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

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

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

On today's show, I had the honor of speaking with James Blake, former ATP world #4, about his new book Ways of Grace: Stories of Activism, Adversity, and How Sports Can Bring Us Together.  James has amassed 10 singles titles, appeared in 24 singles finals, and beaten some of the greatest tennis players in the world, including Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, and Andy Roddick.  I was fortunate enough to connect with James and speak with him while he was in LA commentating on the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters tournament. One of the things that stood out the most about James to me was his class on the court.  When my dad and I used to watch James play in DC at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic (now the Citi Open), he would thank the ballkids every time they gave him tennis balls or fetched him a towel.  James also had one of the biggest forehands on tour, which he used to propel himself up the ranks into the top 5 of the ATP Tour.  James continues to impress off the court as well with his second book, Ways o

On today's show, I spoke with sports performance specialist Allistair McCaw about how we can become Champion Minded.  Allistair was a guest on the podcast on Episode 11 of TFP, when we chatted about developing world class athletes. Allistair recently published his newest book, Champion Minded: An Athlete's Guide to Achieving Excellence in Sports and Life with Jenny W. Robb. Allistair is also the owner of The McCaw Method, a former professional athlete, and trains many world class athletes, including US Open Finalist Kevin Anderson (ranked as high as #10 in the world).  Allistair walks the walk, with multiple top 5 finishes in the World Duathlon Championships, completing 12 marathons in 12 months, and winning South Africa's fittest man competition among his many accomplishments. We speak about the importance of vision, why your morning routine can set up the rest of your day for success, how Kevin Anderson exhibits the traits of being Champion Minded, why you need resilience and grit to achieve your goals, a

On today's episode, Ben Rothenberg, New York Times Writer and host of the No Challenges Remaining Podcast, recapped the 2017 Citi Open with me on championship Sunday. Ben travels the globe to cover tennis tournaments, and he is one of the most knowledgeable journalists in the world about the ATP and WTA tours. One thing I didn't know about Ben is how excellent of a spelling bee contest host he is when it rains at tennis tournaments :) Ben and I discussed the most impressive players of the tournament, the championship matches featuring Alexander Zverev, Kevin Anderson, Ekaterina Makerova and Julia Goerges, controversies at the Citi Open (Jack Sock "worst court on the tour" cough cough), and other interesting factoids about the men's and women's tours. I definitely had a blast hearing the opinions and insights from Ben, and I know you will enjoy the interview, especially if you like hearing the latest about the ATP and WTA. I hope you enjoy my interview with Ben, and let me know what you think in the commen

On today's show, I spoke with ATP Pro Dennis Novikov. As an 18-year old, Dennis gained direct entry to the 2012 US Open singles and doubles main draws by winning both titles at the Boys 18s National Championship at Kalamazoo. Dennis impressively won his first round singles and doubles matches at the US Open, and has been steadily climbing up the ATP Tour ladder ever since, reaching a career high of #119 in the world last year. He also played two years of college tennis at UCLA, a top-ranked school that another podcast guest, Clay Thompson, attended. You'll hear about Dennis's daily routines, how he handles adversity, the type of training he does in the gym, and tips for improving your tennis game on Episode 52 of The Tennis Files Podcast. I first met Dennis after a World Team Tennis match between the Washington Kastles and the Orange County Breakers in D.C. My dad and I chatted briefly with Dennis in the garage elevator, and it is really cool to have him on as a guest on the podcast. I hope you enjoy m

On today's show, I spoke with footwork expert Dave Bailey about how we can improve our movement on the court. Dave is the creator of the Bailey Tennis Footwork Method, used by top professionals all the way down to the amateur level. Dave has worked with over 21 Grand Slam Players, including Monica Seles, Jarmilla Gajdosova, Zang Shaui, Jelena Dokic, Bethanie Mattek, Anne Kethavong, Misaki Doe, Irina Falconi, and Vince Spadea. Dave has spent over 30 years studying and researching the steps and movements of the top tennis professionals. Clearly, he really knows his stuff about footwork. After his intensive study of the best players in the world, Dave created the Bailey Tennis Footwork Method, which is arguably the most advanced and comprehensive tennis footwork training program in the world today. Dave was a real pleasure to speak with, and I hope to someday take him up on his offer of doing scissor kick smashes in the sand dunes of Sydney, Australia. I'll try not to puke though :) Many thanks to Dave f

On today's episode I spoke with Allan Iverson, Babolat's Sales Representative in Southern California and the 2014 Tennis Industry Sales Rep of the Year. Allan and I discussed the history of Babolat, the best approach to choosing racquets and strings, and improvements in tennis technology over the past few decades. In addition to his job with Babolat, Allan is also a USPTA P-1 teaching pro with more than two decades of experience. In 2012, he was Babolat’s National Salesperson of the Year. Allan travels far and wide, including a recent trip to China, to help enrich the tennis industry's knowledge about the latest products that Babolat has to offer. He has become such a wealth of information that one of Allan's bosses recently said “his knowledge of the brand is better than anybody I have worked with.” Allan is no slouch on the court either; he played number one at his high school and all 4 years at Christ College of Irvine. I hope you enjoy my interview with Allan! If you have an interest in racquets

On today's show, I spoke with Yale standout Tyler Lu. Tyler has played #1 at Yale since his freshman year, and was ranked as high as #64 in the country in college. We discussed Tyler's journey from starting tennis at 12 years old to transitioning to the pro tour, and some excellent tips that can help improve your serve and mindset on the court. Tyler, a blue chip recruit, has defeated a bunch of top 40 ranked college tennis players and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the Southern California (SoCal) region as a junior and No. 24 in the nation by the USTA. I am definitely glad that Tyler's brother Austin reached out to me to get this interview set up. Thanks to Tyler for coming onto The Tennis Files Podcast! I really enjoyed speaking with him. Tyler is a very intelligent young man with a bright future ahead of him. I hope you enjoy his very insightful thoughts about tennis and advice on how we can all play better tennis. Time-Stamped Show Notes [1:49] Sports and activities Tyler did as a young kid before p

On today's episode of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with Dominic King, Head of Athlete Development for Everyball Tennis at Halton Tennis Centre in the United Kingdom. Dom is an expert in strength and conditioning for tennis players, and it was a great pleasure speaking with him and learning about many important principles and tips about tennis fitness. Dom has a very accomplished background. He is an iTPA Master Tennis Performance Specialist (MTPS), one of only a small number of people to hold this designation worldwide. Dom is also an Accredited Strength & Conditioning Coach (ASCC) with the UK Strength & Conditioning Association, and an NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES). Dom holds numerous other professional qualifications as well. Dom trains club players anywhere from 8 to 80 + years old and loves helping each player improve and develop as a tennis athlete. We covered several important areas of tennis strength and conditioning, including how players can optimize their workouts, o