My Tennis Journey

What does it take to make the journey from a talented junior to being a rising star on the pro tennis tour? There’s many variables and if there was a set recipe I’m sure thousands of parents and coaches would cook it up for their little proteges! But I firmly believe lessons can be learned from those who have made the journey. Today, I’m really excited to talk to one such stakeholder. Shane Deacon...

Dear Tennis Parents, I totted up recently and our three children have played around 800 matches at tournaments. I know what attending tournaments with your child/children can be like. I know it can be rewarding, inspiring and joyful. I also know it can be stressful, challenging and frustrating. Today’s episode is with a leading sports psychologist who can help us tennis parents with our journeys!...

Hello everyone, as anyone who knows me knows…I love Church Broughton Tennis Club. I love the role we play in the Community and seeing so many players of all ages enjoying our brilliant game(s). Today, I’m announcing that I’m going to be stepping down as Head Coach at Church Broughton at the end of Dec. And I want to explain why… MUSIC CREDITS Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden...

Andrew Jarrett has had an amazing tennis journey from the early years in Derbyshire, to playing Davis Cup for GB, Coaching GB at The Olympics - and then going on to Wimbledon as The Championships Referee from 2006-2019. Andy has talked all about this and a whole lot more in his book Championship Points which has gone to the top of the Amazon charts! In this episode, we talk about a subject which i...

Ben Bartram may only be 17, but as you’ll hear he’s already had a series of amazing adventures in the wheelchair tennis world! He’s won the Junior US Open, risen inside the top 20 men’s rankings and recently returned from being a member of the winning GB World Cup team alongside Alfie and Gordon. Ben’s passion for the journey shines bright, but just don’t ask him to play FIFA - you’ll hear why! En...

I truly believe that listening to Sandi Procter’s tennis journey is worth an hour of your time! The LTA President has an incredibly compelling back story within our sport! Ever wondered how the red, orange and green balls came about? Wonder no more! Been impressed with the LTA’s Tennis Leaders programme? Find out how Sandi made it happen! Having listened to Sandi’s journey, I'm confident she'll ma...

You might not be aware but we are currently in the midst of the LTA Junior Nationals. These are singles and doubles competitions for 16U and 18U girls and boys. You might not be aware but I think you should be aware and I think your tennis playing children or pupils should be aware to! Today’s guest is Richard Joyner, the Tournament Director of the LTA Junior Nationals and together we’d like to pu...

I'm writing this on my 50th birthday! Having successfully navigated through to my half century, I figured that it would be a good time to tell My Tennis Journey. My good friend and LTA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Keith Reynolds kindly offered to do the honours of interviewing me. I loved chatting to Keith about my early tennis years, my time working in beer and football and meeting some of t...

'What affects my tennis and training the most?' Today's guest Mylène Petitpas posed this question and explained the answer is nutrition because food affects every part of our body from head to toe! As a tennis parent, I find what foods to give the children before, during and after tennis tournaments puzzling. I try my best when it comes to providing decent nutrition options - but if truth be told...

Abbie Lench (LTA Head of Clubs, Parks, Counties and Volunteering) and Simon Spalter (Tennis Volunteer Community Facebook Group) join me to look at the amazing contribution volunteers make to the clubs and counties of British Tennis. We cover a range of topics which will hopefully help existing volunteers and inspire new volunteers. As a Coach and tennis parent, I am aware of just how much wor...

Exciting news! A friend Hugo and I have launched a new Community Interest Company called We Say Play. A Community Interest Company is - in the words of Wikipedia - ‘designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good.’ And that’s exactly what we want to do! I’d love it if you’d have a listen to this short little podcast to hear about our We Say Play missio...

What if you could put on a Virtual Reality headset and be transported to a tennis court when you can train like you do on a court in the real world? Not a game, but a fully immersive, impressively real training environment. That’s what Sense Arena have made happen!  Find out all about Sense Arena from their Tennis VP, Yannick Yoshizawa and World renowned Coach Claudio Pistolesi who has worked...

When I was researching today’s guest, I came across an article on the LTA website with a headline that said: ‘How Tennis Saved My Life.’ As I read the article, I immersed into the World of a man who has faced some incredible challenges, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2012 and who has had some dark days. Yet through the challenges and the dark days, tennis has always been a beacon shini...

October is the LTA’s Parents in Tennis month so it was a perfect time to speak to Kay Gilbert in the latest of our series of My Five Top Tips For Tennis Parents. Kay is one of the driving forces behind the Tennis Parents Community Facebook Group - which I highly recommend - and as you’ll hear has some brilliant tips for tennis parents! If you are a tennis (or sporting) parent please do take a list...

This episode shows what a wonderful adventure sport can bring you both on the court and off it! Thaddea Lock is the UK’s no.1 pickleball player and is enjoying a fantastic chapter in what is America’s fastest growing sport. I’d heard how pickleball is taking America by storm in the way The Beatles did in the 1960s. I knew from a work point of view that the ace TopspinPro pickleball version has rec...

I’m a tennis coach and a tennis player but I spend a lot of time in another tennis role - a tennis parent! This podcast shares the things that I’ve learnt from going along to a whole lot of tennis tournaments, plus the tips that experts such as Lisa Stone and Mark Tennant have shared. I also did the excellent LTA ‘Supporting Parents of Competitive Juniors’ course just the other day and felt there...

The Laver Cup is coming to London and what an event it is set to be! In this edition of My Tennis Journey, Laver Cup CEO, Steve Zacks talks about his passion for tennis, the origins of the Laver Cup and the ever so ace story of how Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray ended up joining Team Europe. Hopefully this episode will whet your appetite for the excitement of the forth...

What a journey Derbyshire’s Andy Wood has had from promising badminton star, to becoming a GB Olympic Head Coach and co-founder of Derbyshire Institute of Sport. Along the way, he’s inspired huge numbers to play sport and from a badminton perspective coached Simon Archer and Joanne Goode to GB’s first ever Olympic medal for Great Britain (Bronze) in Sydney 2000 as well as coaching Nathan Robertson...

It was fascinating to talk to Michael Gradon, the CEO of Game4Padel - one of the fastest growing companies in one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. Padel was described recently as the biggest fitness trend of the Summer by GQ magazine. Jurgen Klopp loves it, Pep Guardiola loves it, Annabel Croft loves it, Zlatan loves it, my Mum loves it and so does my wife and my children.  Michael ha...

Tennis is a game for life and today’s interview proves it! Professional tennis players may retire on average at 27, but for amateur players your tennis career can run and run up to and beyond your 80th birthday. Seniors Tennis GB are passionate about inspiring players who are over 35 to get involved in the game from giving it a go, to playing competitions and even having a chance of representing G...

Fantastic news! John of Rolleston Primary School where I coach has been named the LTA School of the Year for the Midlands! This follows on from the school being named LTA School of the Year for Staffordshire. The recipe that has led to this Award has featured six main ingredients that when mixed together produces an ever so ace tennis programme. Find out what the ingredients are in this short epis...

Tom Murray has had an amazing journey from teaching English to a future World No.1 at a Spanish Academy as a young tennis hopeful to heading up one of the World’s fastest growing sports at the LTA. Hear how Tom has helped drive the growth of the game in the UK, what the future holds for padel players and coaches and which World Cup winning footballer he played padel against… My club Church Brought...

He’s so excited and he just can’t hide it, Paul from online retailer PDHSport is a massive fan of padel and he thinks you’ll like it…  Find out why in this introduction to padel as we discuss why Paul is enjoying the sport so much at the brand new court at Church Broughton Tennis Club where I coach.  As you’ll hear, Paul has a number of reasons why he thinks padel is a fun sport for the...

Ellen Taylor is a Coach at Church Broughton Tennis Club. Ellen has put a tremendous effort into organising a She Rallies Fun Day at the club on Sat 2 April between 2-4pm. Everyone is welcome at the day, but the aim is to get as many women and girls playing tennis as possible. It was brilliant to hear from Ellen about why she is so passionate about the She Rallies initiative which is brought to us...

Tips for tennis parents really is the specialist subject of today’s guest. Lisa Stone is a tennis parent, a tennis broadcaster and the person behind the ever so ace podcast called ParentingAces whose slogan is For Tennis Parents by A Tennis Parent. So who better to deliver our next Top Five Tips For Tennis Parents? As you’ll hear, Lisa has some fantastic advice for all of us tennis parents! To fin...