Andy Fitzell Interview: Knowing Your Partner's Brain Type, Learning as a Coach, Serve Changes, & More
Summary
ATP Doubles coach Andy Fitzell shares insights into preparing rising stars JJ Tracy and Robert Cash. He delves into match day strategies, the importance of understanding player psychology through "brain typing," and the challenges of refining serve and net play. Fitzell also addresses managing expectations, learning from losses through video analysis, and offers solutions to boost doubles' popularity, advocating for more visibility and better scoring systems.Episode description
Andy Fitzell is the coach of rising US doubles stars JJ Tracy and Robert Cash. I spoke with Andy at Indian Wells to unpack how a pro team actually prepares, competes, and keeps improving when the margins are almost invisible.
We dig into scouting, training plans, partner psychology, and what tennis needs to change for doubles to get the attention it deserves.
- Match-day practice and routines at Indian Wells
- The use of film for both scouting and technical improvement
- Learning doubles through Vic Braden, Steve Smith, and other coaching mentors
- Developing JJ and Robert as individuals and as a team
- Using brain typing to tailor coaching, improve communication, and reduce friction
- Changing serve technique and improving net play with video, rationale, and practice
- Why change feels hard, and how daily reps overwrite old habits
- Managing expectations after breakout results and staying with the process
- Learning from losses by reviewing video and spotting repeatable patterns
- The doubles scoring system and what could make doubles more popular
Andy is a walking encyclopedia of tennis knowledge, so I'm sure I'll have him on again in the future. Be sure to watch JJ Tracy and Robert Cash on Tennis TV and TC Plus this year!
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