It´s not been a bad few weeks for GB´s Joe Salisbury. In fact, it´s not been a bad year! The 29-year-old completed a US Open double at the weekend, winning the Men´s Doubles with partner Rajeev Ram on Friday, followed by the Mixed Doubles title with Desirae Krawczyk the next day. Joe has now reached 5 Grand Slam doubles finals in 2021, winning 3 of them. He´s now world number 4 and a 4-time Grand Slam Champion. In this episode, Joe talks to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about his amazing fortnight at Flu...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 132
Facundo Lugones has been Cameron Norrie´s coach since 2017. The pair played together on the Mens Tennis Team at Texas Christian University for 12 months, before Facu became a Graduate Coach for the team. The 28-year-old Argentinian has guided Norrie to 3 ATP Challenger Tour titles, and 2 ATP Tour Doubles Titles. In June, Norrie reached the final at Queens, before winning his first ATP title in July in Los Cabos, breaking into the top 30 for the first time. In this episode, CTC Host Dan Kiernan c...
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 131
If you watched any of the 2021 Australian Open in January, you wouldn´t have missed Craig Tiley. The Director of the Aussie Open was on our screens throughout the tournament as he dealt with tennis players and officials in hotel quarantine for 14 days, and a local lockdown in Melbourne. In this episode, Craig talks to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about the difficulties of running a Grand Slam during the pandemic, and shares all the latest of what the 2022 Australian Open will look like. Craig also looks...
Aug 29, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 130
We´ve kept you waiting for this episode, but it´s worth the wait! Listen to our review of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships with this year´s Mixed Doubles Champions Neal Skupski & Desirae Krawczyk. Neil has recently reached a career high of 14 in the world in doubles. The Brit teamed up with Desirae for the first time at Wimbledon, fresh off the back of her French Open Mixed doubles title with GB´s Joe Salisbury. Also joining the review is Desirae´s coach Craig Veal. They chat to CTC host Dan...
Aug 12, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 129
Maik Burlage is a former professional tennis player, and now the founder and CEO of Wingfield. The 30-year-old German played professionally for nearly 3 years, before moving into Coaching and then tech innovation. He set up Wingfield with the aim to bring affordable smart match and performance analysis to the wider tennis community. Wingfield´s technology gives players the opportunity to receive instant video and data from their practise session or match at their local club. The data, like your ...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 128
Dr Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist. He´s worked with hundreds of top athletes including Olympic Gold medalists and tennis players Jim Courier, Monica Seles & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. During his career he´s also worked with military Special Forces, Hostage Rescue teams, surgeons and Fortune 500 CEOs to achieve sustained high performance. Listen to Dr Loehr talk to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about:- How he started working with his first tennis player, Tom Gullikson His time wo...
Jul 06, 2021•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 127
In this episode we speak to British youngster Arthur Fery. The 19-year-old came within 1 match of making the main draw at Wimbledon this year, beating former top 40 player Matthew Ebden in the Qualifying at Roehampton. Arthur has recently hit a career high world ranking of 840. He had a successful junior career reaching world junior number 12, and made the semi-finals of the boys doubles at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. He´s now studying at California´s Stanford University, signing wit...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 126
We´ve had to wait two years, but we´re now just a few days away from watching the green grass of Wimbledon on our screens! To celebrate the return of SW19, we´ve brought together a group of 10 former and current British Tennis players to talk about the highs and lows of being a British tennis player during the grass court season! And what a line-up it is... Kyle Edmund Harriet Dart Katie O´Brien Lucie Ahl Chris Wilkinson Danny Sapsford Claire Taylor Lee Childs Luke Milligan Julie Salmon All 10 p...
Jun 25, 2021•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 125
As the grass court season moves into its second week, our Grand Slam panellists are back! Former Belgium number 1 Xavier Mallise, and GB Coach Mark Hilton join host Dan Kiernan to review the French Open and preview Wimbledon. Hear their thoughts on all the action at Roland Garros, and what the short transition from clay to grass is like for the players. Can Roger lift that Wimbledon trophy one more time? Will Serena be able to clinch her 24th Grand Slam? The panellists give their predictions for...
Jun 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 124
If you were a tennis fan in the 80´s and 90´s, you wouldn´t have missed the Jensen Brothers! The original American doubles brothers, Luke & Murphy Jensen were known for their high energy on court, chest bumping and high fives, as well as their long hair and bandanas. Nicknamed the Rock n Roll tennis brothers, they won the mens doubles title at Roland Garros in 1993. Product endorsements poured in and the pair went onto appear on the cover of Rolling Stone and People magazines, increasing glo...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 123
Mike Digby has been a hitting partner to some of the biggest names in tennis. A late-comer to the game, the 23-year-old Brit played tennis to US College level. He´s since travelled to some of the biggest tournaments in the game, practising with and warming up players like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Simona Halep and Coco Gauff. He´s currently a coach at SotoTennis Academy , and has recently returned from hitting with ATP & WTA players at the Madrid Masters. Not an easy job, it´s often rol...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 122
Naomi Osaka´s withdrawal from the French Open this week has called attention to the mental health of professional tennis players. The world number 2 was fined $15,000 for not taking part in a post-match press conference, and threatened with expulsion if she continued to not talk to the media. She pulled out of the tournament on Monday. In this bonus episode we speak to Daria Abramowicz, the sports psychologist of defending French Open Champion Iga Swiatek. A former competitive sailor for Poland,...
Jun 02, 2021•55 min•Ep. 121
Marcus Daniell is not your ordinary professional tennis player. The 31-year-old from New Zealand has reached as high as 34 in the world in Doubles and has 5 ATP doubles titles to his name, but he´s also known for his work off the court. Since 2015 Marcus has donated a percentage of his earnings to charity, and in December 2020 he launched High Impact Athletes . The organisation channels charitable donations to the most effective evidence-based charities in the word, including extreme poverty, ch...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 120
With less that 24 hours to go until Roland Garros gets underway in Paris, we´ve brought our panel of former and current pros back together to preview the French Open. Our panellists are:- GB´s Billy Jean King Cup Captain and former British number 1 Anne Keothavong 2012 Wimbledon mens doubles champion and former Denmark number 1 Freddie Nielsen GB Coach Mark Hilton Hear their picks for the mens and women´s title at this years event, as well as their ‘outsiders to watch’. Defending champion Iga Sw...
May 29, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 119
Alex Ward is a British tennis coach and former player. He reached a career high ATP ranking of 242, winning 14 Futures titles. Alex was part of the 2010 GB Davis Cup squad and played Wimbledon in 2016 & 2017. He came through Qualifying in 2017, losing to fellow Brit Kyle Edmund in the first round. He retired from professional tennis in 2018, moving into coaching, and has most recently been working with Heather Watson. In this episode you´ll hear Alex talk to Dan about:- [06:46] His move to a...
May 25, 2021•56 min•Ep. 118
Paul Annacone is one of the world´s leading coaches. He´s worked with some of the greats including Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Tim Henman. Annacone guided Sampras to nine of his 14 Grand Slam Titles, leading to Sports Illustrated calling him “the court whisperer”. He helped GB´s Tim Henman rise from number 41 in the world to a career high of 4. He also led Roger Federer back to World number 1 and his 7th Wimbledon title in 2012. In between this, Annacone was also Managing Director of the UST...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 117
In this episode, we´re talking all things data with ATP/WTA tennis analyst Mike James. Mike is a former UK tennis coach who moved into the world of tennis data analysis in 2014. Since then he´s worked with many top players and coaches like Stan Wawrinka and Misha Kecmanovic and is now the data analyst for the 2020 French Open Champion Iga Swiatek. He has also set up his own company, Sport Analytics . Mike tells us how he fits into a pro players team, and what information they will ask him for. H...
May 11, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 116
Iga Swiatek is the 2020 French Open Champion and world number 17. At just 19 years of age, she became the lowest-ranked woman to reach the final at Roland Garros since rankings began. She also became the first Polish tennis player ever to win a Grand Slam singles title. Not only that, but Iga didn´t drop a set along the way. Iga talks to Control the Controllables about her incredible journey from a young tennis player to becoming a Grand Slam champion as a teenager. She reveals how she felt at t...
Apr 27, 2021•42 min•Ep. 114
Tennis fans will know Lewis Burton as a former British tennis player who reached the final of the Wimbledon boys doubles in 2010. Non-tennis fans will know Lewis as the boyfriend of TV presenter Caroline Flack when she tragically died in February 2020 at the age of 40. In this episode of Control the Controllables, Lewis looks back on his tennis career which saw him reach a high of 218 in doubles and 626 in singles. He won 26 ITF pro circuit doubles titles and qualified for the Wimbledon Men´s Do...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 113
Dan Evans & Neal Skupski speak to Control the Controllables fresh from their amazing run at the Miami & Monte Carlo ATP 1000 events. Dan made his way to his first ever ATP 1000 semi-final including a stunning victory over world number 1 Novak Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters. Up until last week, Dan had only won 4 career clay court matches. Dan and Neal paired up 2 weeks ago after Neal´s regular partner and brother, Ken Skupski returned home from their ATP 500 victory in Acapulco with...
Apr 19, 2021•24 min•Ep. 112
In this week´s episode we speak to GB´s Jonny O´Mara and his coach Toby Smith. Jonny O´Mara is a doubles specialist from Scotland who has reached a career high ATP doubles ranking of 44. He´s been working with fellow Scot Toby Smith for more than two years. Toby is the former Head Coach of Tennis Scotland, as well as working with many top British Players to the highest level of the Junior Game. He is also the big brother of GB Davis Cup Captain, Leon Smith. They have a wonderful player/coach rel...
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 111
If you´re a fan of McEnroe, Borg, Sampras, Agassi or Courier, this is a must-listen episode! Tom Gullikson reached as high as 34 in the world in singles and 4 in doubles. He is a 2-time Grand Slam finalist, winning the Mixed Doubles at the US Open in 1983. Also known as Gully, Tom was the US Davis Cup Captain between 1994 and 1999, leading the US team of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang to victory in 1995. As Team USA's coach, Tom also helped Agassi win a gold medal at t...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 110
David Mullins is the current Managing Director of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). He spent 12 years as Head Coach at the University of Oklahoma and previously played for Fresno State in California for 4 years, so he really has seen US College from all sides. David is currently leading them through challenging times with 60 colleges across all 5 divisions cancelling their tennis programmes during the global pandemic. David discusses this in great detail as well as his other passion,...
Mar 30, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 109
Holger Rune has been the World Junior Number 1 for the last 3 years and at age 17 he has already started to make his move on the ATP Tour reaching the Quarter Finals last week in Santiago, Chile beating World Number 29 Benoit Paire in straight sets on the way. Holger is full of self belief, confidence and an unwavering focus on the prize ahead. Mentioned in this episode: Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾 For players who don’t always have access t...
Mar 24, 2021•45 min•Ep. 108
John Cavill is an inspiration to us all, as he creates opportunities for coaches and clubs across the UK through bringing remote ‘tennis’ classes to thousands and thousands of school kids in the UK. This is where it all starts in our sport. Not only has the initiative created lots of local media attention but John has recently featured on BBC Breakfast, BBC Look East and ITV Anglia. Tennis Works is now involved in raising funds for Comic Relief through the Red Nose Tennis Challenge and hope that...
Mar 24, 2021•21 min•Ep. 104
Borna Coric is coming to the peak of his career on the ATP Tour with a current ranking of 24 in the world and a career high of 12. He gives us insights that we rarely get into a player ‘in’ their career. Insights into his development and continued growth to his opinions on who is really the GOAT! This is a brilliant listen. Enjoy 😊 Mentioned in this episode: Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾 For players who don’t always have access to in-person ...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 103
We review the Australian Open 2021 with our amazing panellists Anne Keothavong, Naomi Broady, Xavier Malisse and Mark Hilton. A fun, insightful show 😊 Mentioned in this episode: Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾 For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop. TennisAthlete is an online Strength & Conditioning platform, designed specifically for tennis players who want structured, affordable and ...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 101
In 2016, British tennis player Marcus Willis rose to fame with one of the most memorable runs to the 2nd round of Wimbledon in the tournament´s history. In just a few weeks the 25-year-old went from giving up tennis and coaching part-time to ´chancing his arm´ at Wimbledon Pre Qualifying. He was the last man to get into the event at a ranking of 772 ATP. 7 matches later he had won through pre-qualifying, qualifying and his first round Main Draw before finding himself up against Roger Federer on ...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 105
Britain´s Dom Inglot has been as high as 18 ATP Doubles, is a Davis Cup Winner, and Grand Slam Semi-Finalist, but he is much more. He is a smart, articulate man who discusses many topics with Dan including self awareness, US College, dumping partners and so much more. This episode was recorded live from SotoTennis Academy in Spain where Dom is training as he prepares for the Andalucia Open ATP event in Marbella. A great listen for aspiring players, parents and coaches. Enjoy! Twitter: @dominglot...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 107
Craig Veal is the current coach to WTA Doubles 15 in the world Alexa Guarachi. Alexa just last week won the WTA 1000 in Dubai with her partner Darija Jurak. Craig is 30 and has already worked at all levels of the sport. He tells us his story and many great insights and learnings along his coaching journey to date. Enjoy 😊 Twitter: @craigveal90 Linkedin: linkedin/in/craig-veal Mentioned in this episode: Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾 For playe...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 106
