King Carlos did it! At the end of a final where Novak Djokovic had started at full throttle, it wasCarlos Alcaraz who claimed his 7th (already!) Grand Slam title, becoming theyoungest player to complete the Career Grand Slam at 22 years old. In this episode, I break down for you: How to put your opponent under pressure right from the start of the match (Djokovic’s first set) How to take inspiration from Alcaraz to turn a match around after losing the first set: accepting that the storm will pass...
Feb 04, 2026•27 min•Season 2Ep. 2
The Players' Lounge podcast is back! For the first episode of Season 2, we break down the Australian Open women’s final, featuring an incredible comeback from Elena “Ice Queen” Rybakina, who captured her second Grand Slam title against Aryna Sabalenka, who was once again caught up in her old demons at the worst possible moment while trying to close out the match. In this episode, I share: How to start a match strong, even when you’re feeling extremely stressed What tactical patterns to use when ...
Jan 31, 2026•21 min•Season 2Ep. 1
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆He did it. Exactly one year after being kicked out of Australia for refusing to take the vaccine against Covid-19, Novak Djokovic wins on “his turf”, the Rod Laver Arena a 10th Australian Open. Besides winning his 22nd Slam and regaining the number 1 spot, he showed once again how incredible his mental strenght is. In this episode, you will learn: - How to have a strong start in your matches and to put a mental pressure on your opponent : I will share how Djokovic quickly too...
Jan 31, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 33
🏆What a start of 2023 with a great Australian Open final between Aryna Sabalenka who wins her first Grand Slam title and Elena Rybakina who proves that, 6 months after winning Wimbledon, she’s here to stay at the top of the WTA. Here are 5 keys that helped Sabalenka win the Australian Open: - Accept the adversity and to be “boring” : learn the crucial decision Sabalenka took one week before the beginning of the Australian Open that made her win - Respect yourself and believe in your potential: ...
Jan 29, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Roger Federer retired at the Laver Cup a few weeks ago and it was normal to do an episode dedicated to the Swiss giant. In this second part of this episode (the first part in at the end of the description if you have not listened to it yet), we reveal the 5 additional commandments of Roger Federer’s mental toughness: 6)High level of self-awareness and know when to make changes 7) Be decisive and not have regrets 8) Learn from your losses and know when to take a step back 9) Be yourself and build...
Oct 13, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 32
It might take us a while to get over Roger Federer’s retirement and Rafa Nadal’s tears after the Swiss Maestro’s last official tennis match. But instead of plunging into despair, let’s be grateful for the 24 years of highlights that will live on forever on YouTube and the unreal emotions we got from Roger. Federer’s amazing talent is a given but throughout his career, we sometimes forgot how mentally tough and resilient he has been. In this episode, we will discuss the mental construction of Rog...
Oct 09, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 32
The last Slam of the year was an instant classic! After a dull summer, Iga Swiatek won her third slam and has once more shown why she is the dominant force of the WTA. But the biggest event (apart OF COURSE from Serena’s retirement) is without a doubt the crowning of Carlos Alcaraz who not only won his first Grand Slam but became the youngest N1 at only 19 years old. How can we explain the level of maturity and success of these two young players? In this episode, you will learn the common mental...
Sep 16, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 31
🏆The third Grand Slam of the year is over and the least we can say is that Wimbledon 2022 was a special one! Novak Djokovic won his 4th consecutive Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam and Elena Rybakina came back from one set down in the final to win her first Grand Slam against Ons Jabeur. Dans cet épisode, vous apprendrez les leçons que l’on peut tirer du parcours de ces différents champions : Here are the 8 lessons you can learn from Djokovic, Rybakina, Kyrgios and Jabeur's tournaments: Novak Djok...
Jul 16, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 30
🏆 By winning her second French Open and her 35th match in a row, Iga Swiatek has without a doubt shown that she is the undisputed boss of the WTA. Her “tour de force” is even more admirable as she has shown a real psychological domination over her opponents and a real comfort in filling the shoes of the ultra favorite. We haven’t seen this since…Serena… In this episode dedicated to “How to Win When You Are the Favorite”, you will learn: 😎-How to accept stress and built on it 💨-Iga’s mental so...
Jun 10, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Last week, WTA number 1 Ash #Barty shocked the world when she announced that she was retiring at 25 only a few weeks after winning her home slam at the Australian Open. 🏆 Barty is not the first player to retire young and at the top of the game. Players like Bjorn Borg or Justine Henin did it before her. Is it the end of long careers like the ones of the Big 3 or the Williams sisters. Are short-lived careers going to become the norm on the #ATP and #WTA tours? In this episode, you’ll learn: 🙋♀...
Mar 28, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 28
😎After a flawless performance, Ash Barty clinched her 3rd slam "at home" 🏆. What stood out during the Australian Open was her undisputed dominance over her opponents. 👀👀 🎙️In this new episode, you will learn the 4 key biggest strengths of Ash Barty: 1️⃣: Use variety to control your opponent's power : Ash Barty is not the biggest hitter on the WTA tour, hitting the ball early and using smart angles give her an important advantage to control most points. Find out how to use slice to neutraliz...
Feb 02, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 27
🦘The slam "down under" came to an end and we witnessed Rafa Nadal 🏆clinching his 21st Grand Slam after one of the greatest comebacks in a slam final. It really seemed that Daniil Medvedev who had a 2 sets lead was going to once again delay history. 🎙️Here are the 6️⃣ to take away from this incredible battle 🥊-Accepter the fight : Medvedev pulled a "Nadal" on Rafa himself for more than 2 sets by imposing a great physical battle ➕1️⃣- Be ready to play an extra shot in order to mentally break y...
Jan 31, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 26
As we're heading slowly but surely toward the end of the 2021 tennis season (let's not forget about the infamous Davis Cup), one thing we can say is: what a year it was! 👨🏆Sacha Zverev's triumph at the ATP Finals in Torino is a great way to end a great season after a heartbreaking loss in the US Open final last year against Dominic Thiem. 🎙️In this episode, you will learn about the 4 key elements who made Zverev excel this season: Dans cet épisode, on va analyser les 4 éléments qui ont permis...
Nov 23, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The "mental breakdown" of Novak Djokovic was heavily discussed these past couple of days, but little or no credit was given to Medvedev's massive performance . A true mastermind, the Russian player proved why he definitely is the frontrunner of the infamous "Next Gen" In addition to Medvedev's success, it is impossible not to comment on the historical "tour de force" of Emma Raducanu who won her first Grand Slam (and WTA tour) coming from the qualies and winning 10 matches without dropping a set...
Sep 17, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 24
The US Open is over and the least we can say is that it was an emotional one! From the MAJOR performance of Emma Raducanu who grabbed the title coming from the qualies to the incredible run of Leylah Fernadez, what a blast we had watching these two! But what most of us will remember is the shocking victory of Daniil Medvedev over Novak Djokovic preventing from achieving a calendar Grand Slam. In this episode, we will analyze the misfortunes of Osaka, Tsitsipas and Djokovic and what we can learn ...
Sep 16, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Interviewing people whose purpose is to help athletes become the best version of themselves on and off the court is one of the reasons why I started The Players’ Lounge podcast. In today’s episode, I got the privilege to chat with legendary UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field, also known as “Miss Val”. From 1989 to 2019, she won 7 NCAA titles, 22 regional and 18 Pac-12 championships with her teams and was named “Pac 12 Coach of the Century”. What’s more extraordinary in Valorie Kondos Fie...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 23
🎾Wimbledon is over and while Djokovic's 20th slam has put the tennis in a frenzy in a potential calendar Grand Slam, I want to focus on Ash Barty's win and why her victory is an exceptional mental performance. In this episode you will learn: 📄What you can learn from her 24-day recovery plan after her injury at the French Open and why the perfect preparation doesn't exist 🧠The techniques Ash Barty's mindset coach Ben Crowe used to reframe her mindset ❓What are the 2 most important questions yo...
Jul 13, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 22
As a former professional tennis player on the WTA tour, I am very grateful for the valuable lessons that I have learned and the skills that I have acquired on and off the court. As many tennis players train hard in the hopes to step on Center Court at Wimbledon one day, a lot of players and their parents face obstacles they are not prepared to deal with and prevent them from climbing the rankings of the WTA/ATP tour. What does it REALLY take to make it on tour? What do parents/players need to lo...
Jul 09, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In this second part of this episode dedicated to the lessons we can learn from the 2021 French Open (if you did not have a chance to listen to the first part that focused on the mental strategies Krejcikova and Djokovic used to have the edge over their opponents, here is the link ), we will dig into the losses of Rafael Nadal, “King of Clay” for the past 15 years and Stefanos Tsitsipas who was one set away to win his first Grand Slam. The main focus of this episode will be: how to recover from a...
Jun 18, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 20
That’s a wrap Roland Garros! And the least we can say is that the 2021 French Open was a special one! The withdrawals of Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer were definitely a shock in the first week of the slam. In the second week, the legendary semi final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the surprising but very refreshing victory of Barbora Krejcikova and the great comeback of Djokovic to win his 19th slam were wonderful treats to the tennis fans. There are many lessons that we can take from ...
Jun 17, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Coaches play a huge role in the tennis, yet, we don’t often have the opportunity to hear about their experience on tour and how they help players to reach the top. In this episode, I had the pleasure to interview Emma Doyle, world class tennis coach who coached top juniors and many players on tour. Emma is Australian, she’s a high performance tennis coach, a TEDx speaker and Global speaker in tennis. Emma also helps business professionals to unleash their potential. She has just released a cours...
Jun 02, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 19
“He/she knows vs he/she doesn't know how to deal with pressure on big points”. How often do we hear these sentences from commentators while watching matches or from people watching us playing from the sidelines? A lot. But how often do we hear people talk about the reason why players feel pressure and why do most of us hate pressure? Not much. As if dealing with pressure was something you were born with or without. What if pressure was your best friend? To discuss "the elephant in the room", it ...
May 20, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Making a successful transition from juniors to the pros is something a lot of tennis players struggle with. One of the keys to succeed in this transition is to have the right team to help you reach your goals. Vlado Platenik, a former tennis player from Slovakia has been a very successful coach who over the 20 years he spent coaching on tour, he took 4 players from the ITF circuit to top 20 WTA and many more from top 400 to top 50. Some of the players Vlado coached are: Dominika Cibulkova, Daria...
Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 17
How often do we hear stories about the so-called “crazy tennis parents”? A lot. But how often do we discuss the struggles tennis parents encounter or the tips and tools they can use to help their children reach their full potential? Not so much. In this episode of The Players’ Lounge, my guest Hernan Chousa shares his expertise on this topic. Hernan Chousa is an author and public speaker. He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and runs a zinc flake coating business.He is a former top 300 ATP tenni...
Apr 15, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Since the resumption of the ATP WTA circuits, several players have spoken publicly about their difficulties dealing with the new sanitary restrictions on tour due to the covid pandemic. If Benoît Paire stirred a lot of controversy with his recent poor performances on court and controversial statements, it seems that more and more players seem to mentally struggle with navigating the "tennis bubbles", staying motivated, the multiple covid testings and most importantly the difficulty to play in em...
Mar 31, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Alright Australian Open 2021, that's a wrap! Besides the dominant performances of Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic, we saw great matches and multiple reasons to be excited for the rest of the season! Let's see how you can learn from Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic to take your game to the next level! In this episode: -Naomi Osaka: How being a leader outside the court can help you win on the tennis court -Serena Williams: How to Build a Champion mindset and keep you...
Feb 22, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 14
The fear of winning... We have all at least once faced it. On the eve of the Australian Open, first Slam of the year, let's discuss the topic of fear of winning, how it comes unannounced at the worst possible time, and how to face it by analyzing one of the most iconic matches of the tournament: the 2009 semi-final between Verdasco and Nadal. You can watch the highlights or the whole match by typing this on Youtube: Verdasco Nadal Australian Open 2009 The themes of this episode are: -What is the...
Feb 07, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Happy New Year everyone ! In this first 2021 episode of The Players' Lounge, we won't talk about New Years resolutions but will reflect on how 2020 was a big shock to everybody but forced tennis players to rethink how to approach their career. You will learn: -How to deal with mental health struggles when there's still uncertainty; -Why tennis players need to adapt an "entrepreneur mindset" in order to find sustainable ways to fund their careers even if they can't earn money from tournaments Fol...
Jan 20, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 12
"I lost because he/she cheated the whole match..." "He/she called the physio but he/she wasn't injured..." We hear these often and in this episode you will learn: -The NUMBER ONE MISTAKE players make when their "injured" opponent keeps playing -If cheating is a "valid" strategy ? -How to win the game using your physical strenght and body language -What is the "Green light-Red light strategy🚦" and to effectively use it? -How your opponent's cheating ways can become an asset -Bonus: cheaters will...
Sep 05, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Many thanks! You are more and more to follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Google and Apple podcasts and Spotify, and after 10 episodes I want to give you the floor! In order to produce content that is more in tune with your needs in terms of content to improve your mental performance ! That's why I'm organizing from Tuesday 25th until Sunday 30th of August, free coaching sessions to help you improve your mental performance ! Each session will be 45 minutes via Zoom and it is limited to 15 peop...
Aug 23, 2020•15 min
