Hey, everyone. On today's episode, we start the 2025 season with Jessica Pagula. Coming off a U.S. Open Finals appearance for the first time in her career, she's primed to have a great 2025 season. just a reminder if you want to watch this episode on youtube the link is in the show notes the youtube videos are a little less edited and slightly longer and then while you're there you can also get some free lessons from me
There's also a bonus episode with Ashley Neves, the tennis mentor, that I posted last week if you're looking for more content from him. On today's episode, we discuss playing tiebreakers, blowing big leads, and what she's learned from her two new coaches. so sit back relax and prepare to become a smarter tennis player all right jess welcome back to the pod
Thanks. I'm so excited to be back. How many years has it been in a row now? Three? This is the fourth. Actually, someone told me, they said, oh, this is becoming a tradition. I'm like, I don't think you understand. Once she turns me down, like the show just ends. It's going to be like goodwill hunting. Like I'm not going to have like a farewell episode when Jesse says, no, it's over. So.
We're filming this right before Christmas. You're about to go to Australia. You just played the event in MSG. Before we get going, what's the health situation? So I had a knee injury in the Middle East at the year-end finals. That wasn't great. It kind of was kind of bothering me through the Asian swing, like after US Open. And then I don't know if it was the surface, the indoors, whatever, just flared up really bad.
So kind of took like three weeks off. So I would say like it feels pretty good, but I'm probably a little behind in my preseason. So I'm not really sure at this moment whether...
like what tournament I'm going to start at. So either Brisbane or Adelaide, I think I'll be fine to like go at either one. It's just kind of... how i'm feeling movement wise um within probably like the next week to be honest is there is united cup happening again this year or no yeah it's happening i turned it down i said no i wish i would have played but
It's so early this year. I think I would have had to leave before Christmas. And I think because the way the calendar works that this year, everything is kind of at the earliest start. with the way that it works like when tournaments start in the week i don't know if that makes sense i think next year it goes back to being almost feeling like a week later with the way the tournaments run in the calendar that's what
I've been told because I'm like, does everything just keep getting earlier and earlier? Well, I saw, I was just talking to Rajiv yesterday and he said the first tournament of next year actually starts in 2024. Oh, does it? Oh, so maybe last year is the earliest. Well, no, I mean, this is like, his first thing is like December 29th or December 30th. He's like, we don't even get to wait till like January 1st to start what we're doing. Like, I don't know, super, super short, but. Yeah.
One thing I remember last year when we spent time together in February was I was so amazed at how disciplined and routine you were before practices. Like you would spend an hour in the gym. doing activation, warmup strength, all that stuff. So how frustrating is it for you when you had like the nagging rib injury and now you have this like little nagging knee, but you're kind of doing everything you can. Like what is the frustration level when that stuff pops up?
Well, as you know, me personally, I definitely can overdo things as well. So even though I'm like preparing myself. And doing all the prep and the rehab and the recovery stuff. I think this year at the same time, I have really looked at managing my load because.
Pretty much both the injuries I've had this year have been like an overload type injury. Not saying it still couldn't have happened if I didn't, but especially the rib like serving way too much with a new serve definitely probably wasn't a good idea. And same thing with the knee. It's kind of like an overload issue. Maybe that one I didn't purposely. I just played a lot through the summer. I think that just kind of happened by accident.
I mean, I would like to think all the prep and stuff I have done though has kept me very, very healthy for the last like three or four years. I think this is the first year where I've really had a couple injuries where I've had to like stop and like take a couple weeks of rest and kind of build back up.
which has been frustrating because you kind of forget how annoying it is to do that. But at the same time, managing my load is kind of something going into next year is like a goal. Doing all the prep and all the stuff you just said is great. But if you still... overdo it on the practice court it it's still going to break down so is it overloading if you hit like 500 serves in a practice session maybe
just a little bit so Mark has gotten both of them have gotten on me like okay this year like this is our goal is to like what did Merklin say he said to under cook it because he says I always overcook it so he's like under cook it i'm like okay that's like my goal for this year which sounds ridiculous coming like from oh you're like top 10 and you probably work so hard and all this stuff but i feel like this year i was just
I was burning out like at times it was like very up and down, very volatile because I wasn't quite, you know, managing it throughout the year as well. And whether that's just because I don't know, I've gotten older. So mentally, I'm more tired. I also feel like the last three or four years has probably kind of like caught up a little bit. So I feel like I got to undercook it this year. So injuries can be frustrating. Another thing that can be frustrating is losing really close matches.
And I'll never forget. I mean, it's definitely worse to watch a close match than to play a close match because you have no control. And this year at Charleston, which is unbelievable, you played three six in the thirds.
And then I watched your results for the rest of the year. You also had like two or three more sticks in the thirds. And a very common question I get is like, what should I do once I get to a breaker or a very important breaker? And obviously nothing gets more pressure filled than a third set breaker.
How do you approach that? Do you do anything differently? Do you keep playing the same way? What is your mindset when you go into a tiebreaker? I mean, it depends. I feel like on the match and how the match is going. Did you have chances before that? Did you not? Do you still feel like you're lucky to be in it? I feel like I have had both of those.
It honestly just depends. It's something that you can't really prepare for besides getting in those reps. But I mean, I always just kind of like to think of it as... like especially in a tiebreak like okay hold your like focus on your service games and then try to steal one off of the return that way it kind of just turns into like almost like a little game with yourself and I feel like it kind of
can help you focus on something else than like all the pressure in that moment but also realizing the other person's probably feeling the same way so you know being smart playing towards you know, their weaknesses and the strategy that has kind of gotten you that far. You kind of hope in those pressure moments that maybe it would break down a little bit.
Maybe that you'll get a free point if you play to their weakness or play smart, you know, stuff like that. But it's tough. Like, I don't know how much you can really prepare for. those types of moments. I mean, I've had tiebreakers where I played where I feel like, great, like I know I'm going to win them. And then I have some where I'm like choking hard. And you just kind of have to deal with whatever. kind of temperament that you're in in that moment the best you can.
Again, it sounds corny, but like just focusing point by point. And tiebreakers, the good thing and the bad thing is they can swing pretty often. So even if you feel like you're down, I feel like it's easy for it to swing back in your favor. And I think it works, you know, vice versa. Do you think the ones where you feel like you're choking or you feel uncomfortable, do you think that's like directly correlated to how the rest of the set went? Like, let's say you were up 5-2 serving 30 love.
And now you're in a breaker. It's like you feel more pressure. But if you were down, it's almost like, hey, this is a bonus. Like, yeah. That's what I was saying. It depends on the situation before. I mean, if you've had so many chances to close it the entire match, your temperament going into there could be... And for whatever reason, I feel like sometimes that just happens. There's those matches where you're always up.
4-1 and you don't close it out. 5-2, you don't close it out. 6-5, you had set points, you don't close it out. Now you're 6-all and you're like, how am I still in this? Like, how is this still happening? And then you have some where you're like, I can't believe it's even 6-all.
Like I should, it was the opposite. I was down 1-4 and 2-5 and I kept coming back and then they got kind of tight and you're kind of sitting there wondering how you're even still in the match. So those moments definitely can dictate how you're feeling, especially emotionally going.
to a tie break. This might seem like a random question, but I'll tie it in. When you watch the Bills play and they enter the fourth quarter up like four points, do you just stop watching? No, because I mean, after the whole like 13 second. playoff thing like I can't
I'm like, it's not over. It's never over. Like, so ever since it was a 13 seconds, I think, whatever that was when we lost the chiefs in the playoffs, I mean, that moment sticks in my head forever. So no, I'm still nervous. Like no matter. the score right so because tennis doesn't have a clock i think people think when they have a lead that it's like i'm supposed to win
But in any other sport, like if the bills were up by less than one score in the fourth quarter, everyone's glued to the TV because they're like, wow, this thing's not even close to over. And so I feel like people put a lot of pressure on themselves and it's like, well, I had that chance.
And I didn't close it out and you can't get saved by a clock. And so if you don't close out the 4-1 or the 5-2, you think something's wrong. But I'm like, at least the way I view it is I'm like, that's sports. That's very normal. And it doesn't necessarily mean that you messed up. Yeah, no, I feel like non-tennis people do that all the time. Like I'll be watching or they'll be talking about a match and they'll be like, oh, they totally choked and they were serving for a 5-4. And I'm like...
That's not really a joke. People assume, like you're saying, because the score was going this way, that there should be... That equals... I always say sometimes I feel like my dad does this because he thinks very like mathematically, like an engineer, like this plus this should equal that outcome. And it's like, that does not happen at all. Like that's why sports is so.
interesting and entertaining is that you have no idea what's going to happen so yeah like oh just because you're you broke at 5-4 and you're serving or just because you're serving at 5-2 does not mean at all that you're going to win the match like that's not It's not supposed to happen either. That's why it's sports. You held, I think, 72% of your game. If you were serving for the match at 5-4, I'm like, oh, 72 out of 100 times, we close this out. In 28.
weirdness happens. The opponent played great. You randomly have a bad game. You get unlucky. Like you're nervous. It could be all of that stuff. And so, yeah, I think people need to give themselves more grace. Do you ever. Do you ever try to, they said if you were in a breaker, if you were up 5-0, you'd feel like being in a tiebreaker is awful. And if you were the one down 5-0, you'd be like, this is sick. I can't believe I'm still alive. Do you ever just play games with yourself when you've-
have had a lead and blown it, or you're in a situation that you wouldn't have liked. I think it was as a rank of this year, you were up on her at one point. It was like three, one, maybe triple break point. And then like five minutes later, it's three, three, and you're down. And it's like, okay. This seems like a crummy situation, but the reality is 3-3 is not a bad spot. It seems bad compared to 3-1. Do you ever play games with yourself to make yourself feel better about the current situation?
I would say sometimes in, maybe like with the score, the score line, like kind of like what I was saying in the tie break, we were like, okay, I just need to like win this game on my serve. And then.
if I can win this first point in this game or the second point in this game or stay, you know, I'm down low 40, but I'll kind of tell myself, well, like, okay, she could double fault and then she can make an error and then I could play one good point and then it's due. So I try to... like make it seem better than it is and kind of trick myself in those situations and
that's really kind of playing point by point because you really don't know what's going to happen. Like I, again, someone could, you could seem like it's, I don't know, a set in two, three, one and someone's serving and it's 40 love and you're feeling like crap, but then. There's also still a chance that you could win that game. And it just takes one point, like someone hitting a double fall, a let court going over the net. It's not as far away, I don't think, as sometimes the scoreline seems.
Again, it depends too mentally like how things are going. And I feel like too, people don't realize the other side of it. Like I could be... playing some girl and you don't realize that they're all so mad and then they're pissed and then they're just swinging free and the next thing you know
they're hitting winner, winner, winner. And you're like, oh my gosh, I just got broken. And now they're serving, they're up 30 love and it can switch so fast. So I think to that aspect too, you know, you always think of the one side or who was winning. And who kind of blew the lead, but like, there's another person over there that you're playing and that dictates 50% of the match basically. Like, so I don't know. It's a weird dynamic.
Do you ever consider like in a tiebreaker? I think Djokovic has won like 25 of his last 27 in a slam. Do you ever think of just going like, it's absolutely absurd. Do you ever think about just going Djokovic mode where it looks like he just picks the biggest fricking targets. He goes cross and he's just like.
Hey, guess what? I'm probably going to miss twice at most. And if you want to beat me, you're going to have to hit five winners. Do you ever consider just kind of locking it down like that? Yeah, definitely. I think that's like what you probably should do is.
Play bigger targets. Don't try to go for anything crazy unless you're really feeling it, I guess. But I would definitely stick to bigger targets, especially someone like him who moves so well. He can cover the court. He's not really going to be worried.
And he's the way he plays. He's going to make you want to go. He's going to make you want to beat him and hoping that the opponent's going to get frustrated and go for too much or have to go to go for a shot that he's uncomfortable making, especially at six all on a tie break.
maybe in a grand slam quarter semifinal final to be, you know, the greatest player of all time. Yeah. I feel like there's a lot of things stacked against that when you're playing go back, but I would, yeah, I would definitely go for big targets. I think.
big targets on the returns. I feel like first ball errors are like massive and tie breaks because again, people are kind of nervous. It's short. It goes quick. So like getting first serves in, even if you're not hitting massive serves, I would think.
getting a high percentage of first serves in and a tie break is huge. And then making returns as well, like putting pressure on them, not giving them, you know, like a free miss return, a free point in a seven point tie break or a 10 point tie break. Right. What is your balance where if you aim big targets, let's say you go super solid. So you're making 80% of your first serves in the breaker. You're aiming middle in the return, like putting pressure, showing up point after point.
But like you said, there's someone else on the other side, like Sabalenka is going to take a freaking cut. So how much does that influence you in your desire to be solid? And then like, how do you balance? well, Hey, I need to take a risk now because I've been solid for four points and it's not bothering her. Like what does that balance for you look like?
Yeah, I mean, I feel like that's the hardest part when you play someone that can kind of just hit winners from anywhere and kind of rip you off the court. I mean, that's like the tough part of playing any girls that play like that is that you know you can be solid and you can feel when they start to kind of overplay. But then at the same time, you give them any chances and you also know that the opposite could.
happen. So I mean, that's just picking and choosing, I feel like in a point where you feel like you can do stuff. So I mean, if you're solid, solid, solid, and you get a ball that's kind of a little bit short, maybe not. super short because they're hitting the ball hard or maybe it has a lot of pace on it, whatever it is, I think you still have to look to be aggressive. Like your mentality and I feel like your footwork have to still be aggressive.
in a way where they still feel pressured, but maybe you're not going for an outright winner or you're going for some crazy shot. I think you just always want to feel like maybe your pace, you know, the way you're taking the ball early is still there. And you're not just totally letting them kind of just have the ball on their racket. I don't know if that makes sense, but kind of like what like a Novak kind of does is he's just like hugging the baseline pressure.
middle corner, middle corner. And then if he gets that kind of short ball, still being aggressive and maybe coming in or putting pressure on the opponent. I mean, that's just having to be really, really good at that. And sometimes... it works and sometimes it doesn't. But that's, I mean, that's the tricky part with playing someone that's such a big hitter. They can kind of swing both ways really quickly.
One of the things I love about you is I feel like you're always learning. Like if I've found something online, I might mention it to you, text it to you, and you're like, oh yeah, like I saw that. Or you're very interested in growth and you've had two new coaches. I want to talk about Merklin first. Is there anything that he...
has said to you a tip, an advice besides undercooking your practice sessions. Is there anything from this year where you're like, oh, I learned something new or like that's, he helped me see a situation a different way. What have you learned from Merck this year? yeah i would say mark i spend a lot of like my training weeks with him specifically because we both live in the same area in florida so i feel like with him i just think i always appreciate that he's willing to
try different shots that maybe I don't have. And he's always like, no, like, I think you can hit this. Like whether it's an overhead or we've been working on this like flip backhand volley because we were laughing in the U.S. Open.
I think a couple of the girls hit it against me and I was like, it looks like the most ridiculous shot ever. And I'm like, I need that shot. Like, what is the shot? Like, no one hits the shot, like not in women's tennis, but like now I feel like I need it. And so his ability to kind of be like, oh yeah, you can. do that so let's just work on it a little bit and i i think that i've always always appreciated but especially with him he's definitely not afraid to kind of try to work in
a crazy shot that maybe doesn't happen often, but still happens maybe a couple times a match. And you, of course, you always remember when it happens on like the biggest point. So I think that part with him has been kind of fun and just working on. little shots and things that I don't think people work on but for me it's just fun and it's something to do and like
Hopefully one day in a big match, I can hit it. And I'll be like, yes, that was worth it. Like we did it. We got it. We got that one shot. That'll happen like once every six matches. But yeah, he's great with that stuff. I saw you were just hanging out with Erin Routliff and her coach, Bruce. He said something on his episode, which I love, which he said, if you were going to write like an incredible novel and I gave you 10 letters in the alphabet.
to write the novel with, he's like, you could probably complete sentences, but like, sometimes you're going to need a Q and sometimes you're going to need a Z. And he's like, when you're practicing, it's the same thing. Like the high backhand overhead flick might be like a Z. Yeah. Sometimes you need a word that involves me if you want to write a beautiful masterpiece. And so like, you can't just practice ground strokes, cross court all the time. Like you need.
some emergency shots yeah and you see that with like those points come out i mean massive especially you watch like someone like carlos alcaraz who has all those shots and like he hits them and you're like oh my god like they come up more often than you think, I think is the thing. Like you, you don't think that they're going to happen and then they happen. And it's like a big point because usually it's.
a pressure moment and you're not comfortable hitting something and that like it's always the awkward shots that you don't practice so if you don't practice them then like how do you expect to pull them out in a match so yeah and then obviously then it goes into when you're supposed to hit them so I think that stuff we've always kind of worked on and
I mean, I think you kind of know, too, just even like being more like athletic around the court, like tapping into that. I think he like we communicate the same way with that stuff where sometimes in the past someone might be like. Oh, well, like you don't need to work on that. Like you're never going to hit that. And I'd be like.
that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Like, what are you talking about? Like, I want to, I want to learn how to slide on hard court. I want to learn how to hit the backhand flick volley. Like they're not something that needs to be my priority, but little by little.
those things can really, you know, I think help your confidence as well in matches and on the court and make it more fun. So I think him and I have like a good understanding and communication of that and helping me be more athletic in some situations. as well as movement. He's big on the movement as well. So Knowles is also part of the team and I could see advantages and disadvantages of having two coaches, but it's probably a really good thing to have.
different points of view. Sometimes there's probably disagreement. Sometimes they probably see things the same way, but you get a bunch of different angles. So you kind of have a total picture. What is something that you've learned or that you enjoyed from Knowles this year?
Yeah, Knowles is great because I feel like he's a lot more direct, whereas Merklin will kind of like... bounce around like the topic for a while which I think is so like great because it's more of like okay let's try and problem solve this like you feel like this okay well maybe you should try it like that and let's do this and whatever and then NOLS is great with just being
like super direct and to the point because I think one, you can go too much, you know, either way. So I love that they're very both laid back, great guys, but at the same time, they definitely have like a different approach to how.
either they played or how they talked to me about things, but still with the same baseline philosophy, game plan, strategy, mindset. So, I mean, that's not... easy to find so i'm glad that that's worked out so well um he's definitely just super to the point super competitive and like not afraid to say it which i love and i think sometimes
He'll be more stern with me, especially like I've noticed during matches that kind of like if I'm being a little too whiny, you know, he's just like figure it out. And I'm like, okay, like. You know, you can get kind of too caught up and like, this feels bad and this feels bad and blah, blah, blah. And you can kind of ramble. And sometimes you need someone to just like cut you off and be like, no, like just figure it out. Like shut up, stop complaining and stuff like that. So I think to.
that side of things, that's helped a lot because, I don't know, I feel like my attitude the last year and a half or so has been kind of like hit or miss sometimes. I think maybe a little burnt out, like I was saying. And I'll just get too kind of down into the negative or what's not feeling well that day. And he's kind of nice because he snaps me out of it. Super optimistic as well.
I think it's kind of channeled in like what my goals are and what I want to accomplish and prioritizing, like what's the plan for that to happen, which before I think I was just kind of playing, playing, playing, playing. And he's.
been really like the first one to kind of like sit me down and be like okay what do you want to do you want to win a grand slam okay well how do we make that happen like what do you need to do to feel good what do you need to do to move well what do you need to do to serve well and you kind of
put a plan I think together and like I said like managing my load okay well we don't want you to be burnt out by the second week of a slam so what can we do to fix that and I think that's he's the first person I think in a while that is really kind of locked me in on that and which i i needed for sure because i think i was overplaying playing too many matches and you know all that stuff
Not surprisingly, you got a ton of Instagram questions. So I want to make sure I get to most of them, if not all. One person wanted to know, what did you learn about yourself, about tennis, about the game during your US Open run? that you're going to take with you into 2025? Kind of like what we said, every point matters because there was definitely multiple times throughout that tournament. where matches definitely could have swung a different way. And I've always known that. It's just...
It just prioritizes again, like how important your like mentality and your mindset is when you go out there. I remember playing Kennen and I think I was down. like 15 40 and i remember like two specific points for me to save to hold that game and end up winning the match like six and three or something but if that would have swung i think i was going to be down three five the first set
And like, I have no idea what was going to happen. Like, I don't know if I was going to come back. It might have been three sets. I could have lost in three sets. I mean, and that was like second round or third or something. So it's just.
I think it's just another reminder that no matter what tournament you're playing, you're always going to come across those moments. And the better mindset and mentality that you have throughout the match to deal with that can make the difference of making a slam. final and not. This person, you kind of mentioned a little bit with the knee and like you're behind, but this person wanted to know what you've been working on in the off season.
Off season, well, health, like getting my movement back just because the knee kind of hindered that a little bit. And I would say always serve. Always, which I think has improved the last half of the year, is definitely trending in the right way. And the other thing I would say, probably almost kind of like footwork, just reinforcing taking the ball. early and what i'm doing when i'm playing really well i like that
Full disclosure, this question comes from someone I work with remotely who has this issue. And it's such a great question for you to answer. I can't wait to see how you answer it. He wanted to know what you do when your serve goes off in a match. Okay, one, we like all have this problem. Like literally everybody has this problem all the time. What do I do? Initially, my thought would be to take some off. Are you talking about first serve or just in general?
Like, yeah, he comes in, like, he might serve well in practice and then goes in the match and it's like, it just doesn't feel good, right? It's not going in the first serve, probably not double faulting, but it just doesn't feel the same. You're missing too many. You don't feel comfortable. Like, what do you do when you're...
three service games in, you're like, oh my God, I'm serving 45% and there's not a whole lot on it. Like what do you do when you don't feel good? Yeah. I would say initially just try and get my percentage up. Cause I feel like that's. to just get some confidence back and not i mean it's the worst feeling in the world when someone's just pummeling your second serve so my initial i mean even if they aren't it's still not a great feeling relying on one serve
So my initial reaction would be to get my percentage up and that might be taking a little off and kind of aiming in the middle of the box. And I always feel like that kind of automatically, like getting a few of those in. When I go to hit a bigger serve that I want to hit, I feel like it always automatically corrects it. Because also your perception of where you're hitting the ball is just better. Like, okay, I aimed middle of the box 10 times in a row.
I feel like it's like a fail safe. Like whenever you go for that T-Serve, it's always going to feel better. In my opinion, I always feel like it's because your margin for error is just better. And you're not so keen on like. hitting like this one specific spot. So that would be my first go-to and maybe find a serve that's also just working. Maybe that's your wide serve is feeling good that day. Then maybe just like stick to that and then come back to the other serves that aren't working.
If you kind of focus, hyper focus on like one specific serve, we all know like that doesn't go well. It's just probably going to get worse, especially if you're not feeling it. And then go back to maybe some of the cues that help you, whether that's your toss.
um staying up keeping your left arm up whatever the cues are you practice use in practice i would just say try and like go through those throughout the match and see which one works for me sometimes one works the others don't so you just kind of have to like trial and error do you feel like a body's sam query was like really passionate that the body serves the dumbest thing in the world but do you like when you serve body in a match
Do you feel like you're disadvantaged? Like, oh, I'm just serving it right in their pocket. Or are you like, oh, sometimes I jam them. It's not that big a deal. And you end up finding your rhythm. Like, what do you think about the body serve? I mean, that's really funny.
Well, I think women, men's and women's tennis different and the level is different. So like, yeah, if you're playing a guy and he's standing like 50 feet back, like the body serve probably isn't going to do anything. But if you're playing girls who stand like pretty close to the baseline or. I think are almost like better returners than guys, but it's really just, it's different, right? We're not serving 140 and they're really good at hugging the baseline and taking time away.
then like yeah the body serve is great like i guarantee you if i was playing sam query and i was like i'm gonna stand on the baseline like You should just be able to hit me in the face with 140 mile an hour body serve. You know what I mean? But if I'm standing way back, yeah, like a slow wide serve is probably going to kill me every single time. So I think it's just a difference of who you're playing.
When I play someone like a Sabalenka or someone that's really tall and like super long reach, I mean, the body service is great because you're jamming them. And I mean, people do that to me as well. Like sometimes it feels better when they hit it hard. and you're on the and you're reaching and it's kind of in the sweet spot but then if someone all of a sudden hits you like a curveball or hard to the body now all of a sudden you're like oh shoot like
I don't know what to do now because you could go wide, you could go at my face. And then it kind of throws off the return timing. So I think it depends on who you're playing. I can see Sam's point a little bit. If you're playing Medvedev, it's like, yeah, why would I hit it to body serve? He's just standing there. I think Sam's exact quote was he would fire his coach if his coach told him to hit body. I was like.
That's pretty dramatic. I was like, he and I would not have gotten along. But I mean, he also had like an unbelievable serve. So like, right. He could hit those spots. Like, yeah, I would probably go for those too, but.
Again, I still feel like if he was playing somebody that was standing like on the baseline, like a girl would, you would hit a body serve. Yeah. Especially if they're not going in. This next question is from, I don't know this person, but I looked up their profile. They're a pro golfer. So they probably like to tinker around a little bit. And this is also, I'm super excited to hear your answer on this one too. He wanted to know in the off season, how much do you play around with racket weight?
String tension, swing balance, because obviously golfers are tinkering with the ball and their clubs. So he wanted to know how much you tinker with your equipment. So I actually... I haven't that much the last few years, but this year I went like a major tanker and I must have tried like 12 different swing weight rackets.
I started with like less than that, but then if I liked something, I'd be like, okay, maybe we should try this combination since I'm leaning towards this weight or this swing weight. I mean, I even took Tommy Paul's racket and just like was like, can I just try your racket? I'm just so intrigued and actually really liked it. So I it's hard. I haven't. I did a lot this year, though. I did a lot because I had a lot more a little more.
downtime and I kind of planned to do that. So I had a bunch of rackets like, you know, made up for me, sent to me and tried a lot. I would say like 10 to 12 different.
total probably and i'm still like have like one more that i'm trying same thing a little bit with string a little bit with tension but i would say this is the first year in like five years where i tried a lot what is what is the current tension at right now standard like 50 pounds 50 so that's up a little bit from last february when i was with you yeah probably yeah probably because it was colder yeah and i was stringing it looser i'm usually around like 51.
I would say like 52 to 48. I feel like I go kind of in between. Right now, like in Florida, 50 is good. Probably looser at that time of year because it's colder. Right. Like any wells. Yeah. So you'll go like. Middle of summer, hot, fast conditions, you might be at 52 and, you know, whatever. 55 degrees, chilly, slow conditions, you might be more like 48. I definitely drop a little bit.
How do you stay fresh, motivated, and energetic when you've basically been playing nonstop the last 20, 25 years? You've accomplished so much. The offseason is like... a month at best. How do you stay fresh and energized and keep trying to learn on a regular basis? Well, I definitely think, like we mentioned before, managing my load keeps my mind fresher. I think to some extent you do want to work on things and work really hard.
But I think what keeps me the freshest, which I'm not saying I always do this, I don't always listen to my own advice, would be... quality over quantity, especially now I think that I'm older and you kind of know what you need to do and you are mature and like smart enough to know what needs to be done. I think the quality over quantity probably keeps my mind fresher.
And kind of prevents that burnout a little bit. And whether that is having more fun in practice, doing things on the road that are more fun. Or even just like when I'm home, kind of shutting off, not obsessing over how practice was that day or how it felt that day. Kind of just... Being able to shut off and enjoy other parts of life. I've always felt like it makes you more excited when you go back out on the court. But if you're living and breathing it.
24 seven, I think it can be good to a certain extent, but it's not sustainable. And I think it always kind of eventually kind of catches up with you. So I would say being able to shut off and. shut off your brain when you're home or when you're at a tournament and you get back to your hotel room and kind of take that time so that when you do go back on the court or you do have a match or a tough training week that you're more
kind of excited for it and not, um, kind of, you know, dreading it under cook it under cook it. Love it. Um, good luck. Have fun traveling over there. Oh, dog update. How are my dogs doing over there? How's Maddie? Maddie's great. She's chilling. She's not happy about the new puppy. So did you meet the new puppy?
Yes, Des was there. Remember, she used the bathroom right outside your guest house that I almost stepped in that one time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. She's crazy. So she's been doing a lot of training. We make a joke. She goes to this place called Full Potential. And so we're always like, she hasn't quite reached her full potential. She's at like half potential right now. She is like really nuts.
And she has so much energy. I mean, she's a puppy, but I feel like she's energetic though. Like her personality, she's just like all over the place. So it's been really funny because she's very quirky. But Maddie, I think, is like... had enough of her so maddie likes her alone time away from does is this always the toughest time you're about to go to australia so it's gonna be what like three or four weeks without him yeah
Yeah, it's always like the longest, it's kind of like the longest stretch because you're, whatever you go, I mean, yeah, you're like three, at least, I mean, more than two weeks for sure. As always, yeah, a tough stint. So Taylor holds it down at home with the dogs. Well, have a safe trip over. Best of luck. Hoping you are healthy and can't wait to watch you play in 2025. Thanks. Thanks for having me again. And can't wait for next year, I guess.
All right, as always, thanks to Jess for joining the show again. She's always so generous with her time, and I know you guys love hearing from her. I personally loved her thoughts on holding leads and how even she gets tight when she plays.
The idea that you're always supposed to close out a lead just adds pressure and it's not even accurate. So next time you find yourself in a pressure situation, remind yourself to stay in the moment and just focus on the process for the point you're about to play and nothing else.
If you enjoyed today's episode and have a free 30 seconds, I'd really appreciate you leaving a rating and review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to the podcast. It helps the show, and I love hearing if the podcast is helping your game. Thanks again for listening. I hope you just improve to tennis without even hitting a ball.