On Episode 222 of The Tennis Files Podcast, Tennis Express playtester and content writer Sam Jones reveals the best racquets for your game in 2021. Sam has always been fascinated by new racquet and string technologies and how they can help players improve their games and avoid injury. This passion led him to a position at one of the largest online tennis retailers in the world, Tennis Express, as a content writer and playtester. This is Sam’s second appearance on the podcast, as I previously interviewed him on Episode 103 about the life of a playtester. Sam was also certified as a Master Racquet Technician in 2011. He was a 4 year member of The Southwestern University Men’s Tennis Team (2001-2005), and served as a team captain during his junior and senior seasons. Sam achieved All-SCAC (southern collegiate athletic conference) status his senior year, and then began a 10+ year coaching career.  On the show, you’ll learn how to choose the best racquet for your game, the top beginner, intermediate, and advanced racquets, the best spin and control racquets, how to properly demo racquets, how strings affect a racquet and the best combinations for different players, how to modify racquets with lead tape and other tools, how to make a racquet feel more comfortable, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with Sam! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Tennis Express Demo Program Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tennis Files Podcast

TFP 222: The Best Racquets For Your Game in 2021 with Sam Jones

On Episode 221 of The Tennis Files Podcast, David Ramos, a performance analytics expert, reveals how you can analyze and improve your game through video. David is a USPTA/PTR, P1 Professional with over 20 years of diverse professional experience. He is currently the Director of Coaching Education and Performance Analytics at USTA’s National Campus in Orlando, Florida. In his role, David’s primary responsibilities include implementing strategic initiatives of USTA’s Player Development including projects for the departments of Coaching Education, Sport Science and Talent Development. David is a Dartfish Certified Technician and Performance Analyst, and works closely with the USTA National Coaches and Training Center students to provide training and video analysis for technique and tactics. On the show, you’ll learn exactly how David analyzes ATP and WTA Tour matches, the strategies he’s given top US pros to help them beat their opponents before matches, how you can use video analysis to take your game to the next level, the best apps and tools to help you examine your match play statistics, proven strategies that David has learned through watching thousands of hours of video that you can implement in your game for better results, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with David! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Dartfish.com Swing Vision ProTracker Tennis App  Dartfish Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 221: How to Analyze Your Game Through Video with David Ramos

On Episode 220 of The Tennis Files Podcast, Peter Freeman from Crunch Time Coaching reveals the top 5 lessons from Tennis Con 5, a free online tennis conference featuring 40+ top experts starting on October 18, 2021! On the show, Pete will walk us through his favorite pieces of advice on how to defeat pushers, poaching tactics, training more efficiently, tennis specific fitness, Novak's zone court, and much more that he has learned from the awesome lessons coming up at Tennis Con 5 from top coaches and experts including Gigi Fernandez, Dr. Mark Kovacs, Jorge Capestany, Jeff Salzenstein, Will Hamilton, Ian Westermann, Brett Habden, myself, and many more!  Tennis Con 5 starts on October 18, 2021! You should definitely get your free ticket at tennisfiles.com/tenniscon5 asap to learn how to play bigger and better tennis! I hope you enjoy my interview with Pete! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! Tennis Con 5 - Get Your Free Ticket Here! Crunch Time Coaching on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 220: Peter Freeman — The Top 5 Lessons from Tennis Con 5

On Episode 219 of The Tennis Files Podcast, you’ll hear part two of my conversation with strength and conditioning coach Dean Hollingworth about the five biggest tennis fitness training mistakes that amateur players make. Dean has over twenty-five years of experience as a strength and conditioning coach. He has established himself as a highly regarded author, speaker, and fitness and performance consultant. Dean published the Baselinepower video series, which addresses all aspects of fitness training for tennis players. Dean’s work with world-class athletes has given him a deep understanding of the requirements and balance for high performance, helping the athletes he works with develop all facets of athleticism. Dean is currently the Director of fitness and sports performance at Club Sportif Cote-de-Liesse in Montréal, where he works primarily with high performance tennis players.  On the show, you’ll learn how to train your on-court movement, why you should avoid wasting your time with non tennis-specific exercises (even if they look cool), the best exercises for balance and power generation, why trying to create power on an unstable surface is counterproductive, why you should try doing the dynamic warm-up without shoes, the most important elements of recovery, tools to help you recover faster for your next match or practice, and much more! Dean offers tennis specific fitness classes on Tuesday and Thursday at 12 noon Eastern time. And they are online so you can participate from anywhere in the world! To join, contact Dean on Instagram or his website (see contact info/links below). I hope you enjoy my interview with Dean! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Deanhollingworth.com Dean’s Instagram Baselinepower.com ITPA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 219: Tennis Specific Movement Training and Recovery with Dean Hollingworth

On Episode 218 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with strength and conditioning coach Dean Hollingworth about how to warm up and strength training efficiently and effectively for maximum tennis performance. Dean has over twenty-five years of experience as a strength and conditioning coach. He has established himself as a highly regarded author, speaker, and fitness and performance consultant. Dean published the Baselinepower video series, which addresses all aspects of fitness training for tennis players. Dean’s work with world-class athletes has given him a deep understanding of the requirements and balance for high performance, helping the athletes he works with develop all facets of athleticism. Dean is currently the Director of fitness and sports performance at Club Sportif Cote-de-Liesse in Montréal, where he works primarily with high performance tennis players.  On the show, you’ll learn the best warm up exercises before playing, when and how long you should warm up, Dean's top strength training exercises for tennis players, how to structure your weekly strength training sessions, the biggest mistakes tennis players make in the gym, common myths about warming up and lifting weights, and much more! Dean offers tennis specific fitness classes on Tuesday and Thursday at 12 noon Eastern time. And they are online so you can participate from anywhere in the world! To join, contact Dean on Instagram or his website (see contact info/links below). I hope you enjoy my interview with Dean! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! LINKS: Deanhollingworth.com Dean’s Instagram Baselinepower.com ITPA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 218: How to Warm Up and Strength Train for Tennis with Dean Hollingworth

On Episode 217 of The Tennis Files Podcast, performance coach and yoga certified instructor Cheri Cope reveals how yoga can positively impact your tennis game by strengthening your mind and body. Cheri is a performance and motivational consultant at Cheri Cope, LLC. She received a post-master’s certification in Sports Psychology and a RYT 500hr Yoga Teaching Certification. Her coaching services include helping individual athletes, teams and businesses in the areas of motivation and performance achievement, and those who are in career and life transitions. She has previously worked with Essential Tennis to create yoga instructional content. On the show, you’ll learn how yoga can supercharge your mind and body for better tennis results, the best yoga exercises to perform for tennis players, how much (or little) time you need to commit to yoga to make an impact on your game, how yoga unites the mind and body, the biggest mistakes beginner yoga practitioners make, adjustments that inflexible people should make when practicing yoga, how Cheri has helped her students excel through yoga, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with Cheri! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! LINKS chericope.com Subscribe to Cheri’s Newsletter Cheri’s YouTube Channel Cheri’s Instagram Page Light on Yoga The Yoga Bible Eastern Body - Western Mind, Psychology and the Chakra System Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 217: How Yoga Strengthens Your Mind and Body with Cheri Cope

On Episode 216 of The Tennis Files Podcast, coach Vesa Ponkka will reveal how to find your ideal contact point for more powerful and consistent ball striking. Coach Vesa Ponnka is Senior Director of Tennis at the Junior Tennis Champions Center, home to Frances Tiafoe, Denis Kudla, and numerous other elite players. He was selected as the 2011 USOC National Developmental Coach of the Year and has trained top junior players in the United States and Europe for national, NCAA, ITF and professional competition. Vesa’s students have won numerous professional and national titles, achieved the #1 ITF Junior World Ranking, several #1 USTA National Rankings, and NCAA All-American honors. He also received several certifications including USPTA, PTR, and USTA High Performance. On the show, you’ll learn the benefits of having a good contact point, the different factors that determine your ideal contact point, how a good contact point will help you hit a more powerful and heavier ball, why using your eyes and your brain are the most critical skills for making good contact with the ball, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with Vesa! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! LINKS: Junior Tennis Champions Center Get A Grip Podcast The Tennis Files Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 216: Why the Contact Point Determines Your Success in Tennis with Vesa Ponkka

On Episode 215 of The Tennis Files Podcast, you’ll learn how to reduce mishits, strike the ball cleaner, and anticipate where your opponent’s shot is going. There are three phases you need to learn when the ball is in play: (1) tracking (2) zooming and (3) scanning. A lot of players end up tracking the ball when they should be scanning the opponent instead or vice versa, and many don’t zoom on the ball long enough. These terms may sound confusing, which is why on this episode I’ll walk you through each phase, drills you can do to improve them, how to analyze your opponent using the 4 Ps, and much more! I really hope you enjoy this episode! If you found it helpful, let me know in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Tennis Summit 2021 The Tennis Files Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 215: How to Watch The Ball and Scan Your Opponent

On Episode 214 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with coach Steve Smith about how to develop a great base of tennis fundamentals. Coach Steve Smith spent many years learning and coaching under tennis legends Vic Braden and Welby Van Horn. He founded the Great Base tennis player development system, which comprises a complete system of player development that emphasizes character, learning, and self-discipline. With over 48+ years of tennis coaching experience, Steve is also willing to share his knowledge through The Great Base Tennis Podcast with Andy Fitzell. On the show, you’ll learn how to transform your strokes, the best advice Steve has learned from tennis legends Vic Braden and Welby Van Horn, how to improve your toss and serve technique, why we have weaker backhands, how to win club level doubles matches, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with Steve! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Great Base Tennis The Great Base Tennis Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 214: How to Develop a Great Base of Tennis Fundamentals with Steve Smith

On Episode 213 of The Tennis Files Podcast, I spoke with New York Times correspondent and author Christopher Clarey about his new book: “The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer.” Chris is a top international sportswriter and has been a New York Times correspondent for over 25 years. He has covered Roger Federer since the beginning of the Swiss Maestro’s professional career and has interviewed him exclusively more than any other journalist since Federer’s rise to prominence. Chris has just published a new book, “The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer,” this week. It focuses on the pivotal people, places, and moments in Federer's long and rich career and features hundreds of perspectives from him and the many people he played, trained, and interacted with since his early days in tennis. I was fortunate enough to read an advanced copy of Chris’s book and have thoroughly enjoyed its detailed insights, entertaining stories, unique humor, and the many teachable principles that we can all integrate into our tennis games and our lives. As a result, I very highly recommend that you pick up a copy of “The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer” here.  On the show, you’ll learn the critical decisions that Federer made from a young age which shaped his legendary career, the influence of coaches Peter Carter and fitness trainer Pierre Paganini on Federer’s game and fitness, how working with a sports psychology took his results to the next level, how he manages to live in the present, funny stories about Federer’s mischievous other half, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with Chris! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! LINKS The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer Chris’s Twitter Page Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 213: Christopher Clarey - The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer

On Episode 212 of The Tennis Files Podcast, you’ll learn how to develop a consistent second serve, how to anticipate where your opponent’s shot is going, my favorite pressure drills, and more on this Q&A edition of the show! I receive tons of questions from the Tennis Files audience on technique, strategy, fitness, and the mental game. On today’s episode, I’ll answer nine of them based on what I’ve learned from decades of playing and from the top pros and experts I’ve interviewed on my podcast and summits. Big thanks to the Tennis Files community and to everyone who has sent me questions! I really hope you enjoy the show! If there is a particularly useful piece of advice that you discovered from it, let me know in the comments below. And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox. LINKS: TFP 210: Serve Technique Masterclass with James Ludlow Topspin Pro Movement Triangle Video Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 212: Q&A Mailbag — Second Serve Consistency, Doubles Movement, and Pressure Drills

On Episode 211 of The Tennis Files Podcast, former WTA pro Vania King discusses the ups and downs of a professional tennis career and her latest project Serving Up Hope. Vania reached career high rankings of #3 in the world in doubles and #50 in the world in singles on the WTA Tour. She also won two Grand Slams, winning the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open Doubles Championships with partner Yaroslava Shvedova. Vania currently works as the Community Development Ambassador for WTA Charities, the philanthropic arm of the WTA, and is a Director At Large on the USTA’s Board of Directors. Vania co-founded Serving Up Hope with former Chilean #1 ranked tennis player Hans Podlipnik to help give more human beings access to health, happiness, and equal opportunity through tennis. On the show, you’ll learn how to improve your mental health, the most impactful technical changes Vania has made to her game, how to navigate the ups and downs of the pro tour, winning doubles strategies, how to avoid injuries through tennis fitness training, the importance of routines, Vania’s inspiration for co-founding Serving Up Hope and how you can help, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with Vania! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Servinguphope.org Serving Up Hope Facebook Serving Up Hope Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 211: Vania King — Mental Health, Technical Changes, and the Spirit of Giving

On Episode 210 of The Tennis Files Podcast, coach James Ludlow and Mehrban take a deep dive into the toughest shot to master with the greatest rewards: the serve. James is a Certified Tennis Instructor at Online Tennis Instruction (OTI). In 2021, James  attended a tennis clinic with the Head Coach and Founder of OTI, Florian Meier. Since then, he has developed a huge passion for the technical side of tennis and had spent thousands of hours studying and testing what works and what doesn’t when it comes to stroke biomechanics. James analyzes OTI students’ strokes and creates instructional videos for OTI’s Youtube channel. On the show, you’ll learn how to improve your throwing motion, how to develop a consistent toss, whether to use the platform or pinpoint stance, the key to having a great kick serve, how to avoid overrotation, what part of the serve tennis players struggle with most and how to fix it, and much more! I hope you enjoy my interview with James! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Online Tennis Instruction YouTube Channel Serve Slow Motion Video - Right to Left Movement Facebook OTI Page James' LinkedIn Page Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 210: Serve Technique Masterclass with James Ludlow

On Episode 209 of The Tennis Files Podcast, you’ll learn the 5 keys to mastering an explosive forehand. On the show, you’ll learn how to execute a proper unit turn, how to uncoil your body efficiently, the most common forehand power killers, how the contact point varies for different grips, drills to develop powerful acceleration, and much more! I really hope you enjoy this episode! If you found it helpful, let me know in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! FH Power Challenge mehrban@tennisfiles.com The Tennis Files Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 209: 5 Keys to an Explosive Forehand

On Episode 208 of The Tennis Files Podcast, pro tennis coach Claudio Pistolesi reveals his top insights from over four decades of playing and coaching on the ATP/WTA Tour that will help you reach your fullest tennis potential. Claudio is the Director of the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) Bolles in Jacksonville, Florida. He was ranked as high as #71 on the ATP Tour and defeated many top ATP Tour pros, including Mats Wilander, Sergi Bruguera, David Wheaton, and Aaron Krickstein. Claudio has trained and coached numerous top ATP/WTA Tour pros, including Monica Seles, Robin Soderling, Simone Bollelli, Daniela Hantuchova, Takao Suzuki and Ai Sugiyama. He is also a volunteer coach for the University of North Florida Tennis Team. On the show, you’ll learn why Italy has so many top #100 ranked tennis players, how the sound of an Italian cannon helped develop a world class serve, how Claudio got in the zone and defeated world #1 Mats Wilander, how he brought Simone Bolelli from world #248 to #36 in less than three years, why empathy is the key to success in coaching, and much more!  I hope you enjoy my interview with Claudio! Let us know what you think about this episode in the comments below! And be sure to subscribe to Tennis Files to receive the latest tennis content to improve your game straight to your inbox! Global Professional Tennis Coach Association JTCC.org  Claudio Pistolesi Enterprise Claudio’s Instagram Page Claudio’s Facebook Page Range; Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World The Inner Game of Tennis Match Play and the Spin of the Ball Emotional Intelligence Email Claudio at cpistolesi@jtcc.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TFP 208: Claudio Pistolesi — Pro Tour Secrets to Unlock Your Tennis Career

Advice from the top minds in tennis to help you improve your game.

hubhopper

The Tennis Files Podcast

hubhopper