Beyond the Swing Podcast

In this episode of Beyond the Swing , Matt sits down with strength and conditioning coach Justin Russ to explore what truly drives performance in tennis. Justin shares his journey from IMG Academy to the University of Virginia and onto the ATP/WTA tours, breaking down how an “outsider’s” perspective shaped his coaching philosophy. He explains why movement principles transcend sport, how he simplif...

Host Matt Kuzdub talks with Dr. Byron Miller, founder of Tendon RX, about understanding and managing tendon pain for athletes. They cover why “tendinopathy” is the correct term, the role of isometrics for in-season relief versus heavy slow resistance (isotonics) for long-term tendon adaptation, and why stretching can actually harm unhealthy tendons. Dr. Miller also shares his simple, single-exerci...

In this revival episode, Matt Kuzdub is joined by Zak Gabor, a strength & conditioning coach and physical therapist, to discuss how sound S&C principles apply to athlete rehab and performance—particularly in tennis. The conversation focuses on common blind spots in rehab and training, including the role of cumulative physical and psychological stress, load management, and why superficial f...

In this episode, I welcome PhD in Sport Science - Jaime Fernandez - one of the top tennis researchers out there. Jaime and I tackle a number of sport science topics including best (and easiest) practices for monitoring on-court training loads, where to fit the serve into the practice schedule and what really matters when it comes to keeping the tennis shoulder healthy. Given that Jaime is from Spa...

In this episode, creator of Hmmr Media - Martin Bingisser - joins me to talk about choosing exercises that are the most 'bang for your buck' in terms of training transfer. As a former hammer throwing athlete (and now coach), Martin has an extensive background in trunk development and describes his approach - using bodyweight, weights and med balls to target this quality. Martin also coaches athlet...

What is coordination? What are the fundamental movements young players need to lay the foundation for future athletic + sporting success? In this episode, my good friend and colleague Howard Green joins the show to tackle all these topics and more. Howard is the creator of 'Supermovers' - a program dedicated to the development of movement skills in under 12 athletes. He works primarily with young...

In this episode, the creator of Jump Science - Daniel Back - joins me to talk strength training for athletic development. Coach Back shares with us why the back squat will improve both explosive + athletic movements like no other weight room exercise and why it's superior to the front squat or unilateral training as the 'primary lift'. That doesn't mean other lifts aren't important - they are. And...

Is it really your strokes that are holding you back from your best tennis? In this episode, Tennis Canada Level 4 coach Wayne Elderton joins the show and dives deep into ‘model’ vs ‘game-based’ coaching - and why a game-based or 'tactical' approach to coaching is more effective & efficient when it comes to learning. Wayne and I also discuss the shot cycle, the various tennis 'situations', scaling...

Coach Pfaff has been a direct mentor of mine for the last 6 years. I've learned more through his apprenticeship than any course, book or research article. With over 40 years of coaching experience, coach Pfaff has been through it all - in the trenches with world-class sprinters, consulting to ATP, WTA, NFL, NHL pro teams and today, he leads the ALTIS elite mentorship program. In this podcast, coac...

We all use jumping in our training programs. But not all types of jumps are plyometric. In this pilot episode, PhD candidate in plyometrics - Matt McInnes Watson - dives into what plyos are and what they aren't. Matt also clarifies the different adaptations that exist between plyos and weight training, how tennis players can benefit from plyos (beyond just being explosive) and why 'plyo push-ups'...