My Tennis Journey

Hello everyone and welcome to this impromptu podcast episode. I’m delighted to say I’ve won an Award in the Derbyshire Tennis Awards!! Let me take two minutes to tell you all about it… MUSIC CREDITS Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

SwingVision is the tennis app featured in Apple’s TV commercials! If you’re a tennis coach or player with a liking for apps, then I reckon you should find out about SwingVision - and a great place to start is my interview with co-founder and CEO Swupnil Sahai!  SwingVision brings you video highlights, shot speed and placement analysis and even the ability to challenge line calls. It’s easy to...

Prepare to be inspired! Roy Turnham was registered blind from birth but as you’ll hear he has never let his sight hold him back. Indeed, Roy’s made over 100 appearances for the England Blind Football Team, he’s won the National Singles and Doubles championships in the GB National Visually Impaired Tennis Champs and he’s combined it all with a spot of rock and roll - having toured as a drummer with...

Tennis parents know that being a tennis parent can be testing at times! This episode is for all you tennis parents out there. Mark Tennant is a hugely respected tennis coach and coach educator who co-founded inspire2coach (i2c) - the leading coach education provider. Mark is a Level 5 coach, a Coach Education Master Tutor and has a huge amount of tennis experience having worked for the LTA and the...

Matt Allen and Steve Davies from tennis holiday company Active Away went inside the BBC’s Dragons’ Den and ended up receiving investment from Peter Jones who is a big tennis fan. Find out how the appearance came about, the inside story of their Dragons’ Den appearance and what has happened to Active Away since their television adventure including their biggest challenge to date... To find out all...

Psst! I have a new job and it's a load of spin! Let me tell you all about it... To find out more about TopspinPro, please head to my blog post here: https://www.serveandvolley.net/tennis-gadgets-gifts/topspinpro-my-favourite-tennis-innovation MUSIC CREDITS Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

Ned Salmon (who is my 8 and three quarter year old son) made his debut for Derbyshire u9s in 2021. I was recently doing a sound check in preparation for a forthcoming episode and Ned kindly agreed to help. I asked him a few questions about his debut for Derbyshire and the answers were ace - so I thought I’d publish them! I particularly liked how Ned talked up how great LTA County Cup can be for de...

As I write this, we were supposed to be on a plane to the Dominican Republic - but as you’ll hear it wasn’t to be!! This short episode is kind of my end of year reflections with a load of massive thank yous (one of which is for you - yes you!). Do take a listen and if you make it right to the end you’ll hear me doing the Wham Rap! Seriously…

Early on in my journey as a Tennis Coach, I joined the Tennis Coaches’ Support Network - a Facebook Group for tennis coaches. It didn’t take me long to realise that is was going to be a really helpful resource for learning and a fantastic place to meet coaches around the UK. During lockdown the webinars and catch ups were so useful at a time when no tennis was possible. The Group is run by a tenni...

Louise Holtum is Derbyshire Ladies Co-Captain. In this episode, we find out what’s in store for Derbyshire Ladies at the LTA Winter County Cup from 10-12 Dec and we hear about Louise’s journey from the beautiful courts of Bamford to Loughborough University and beyond. A journey accompanied by a passion for County Tennis! If you enjoy listening, please do hit the SUBSCRIBE button so you can find ou...

Coaches can inspire players to start a life long journey with our brilliant sport. Today’s guest is Merlin Van de Braam, the Head of LTA Coach Development. It was great to speak to Merlin and hear how passionate he is about the new Coach Development Plan and how he believes it will help support coaches be the best they can be. As Merlin says: ‘I hope we can reach all coaches out there to let them...

Today’s episode focuses around a really important topic - coaching and mental health. And we’re discussing it with a guest who is making a really positive contribution to a subject that can be tricky at times to talk about. Callum Gowling from Liquid Sport Psychology hosts regular coach catch ups where coaches come together for self and collective reflection. They are brilliant sessions. Callum re...

Today’s episode has an important life lesson as well as many tennis ones and at the heart of it is the importance of BRAVERY in making things happen! Bravery has been a constant theme in Rob Morgan’s rapid ascent from a promising junior to Tour Coach helping Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram win Grand Slam titles. Enjoy listening to Rob's journey… You can find Rob on Instagram here: https://www.instagr...

Could sport be a force for good that unites us in these most challenging of times? That’s the question which today’s guest - the highly respected sports business leader - Matt Rogan looks to answer in his ace new book ‘All To Play For: How Sport Can Reboot Our Future’. The answer - of course - is that it most certainly can! Speaking to Matt and reading his book have really got me fired up to do al...

David Haggerty made a commitment to tennis aged five and many years later he is still delivering on it! His adventures as a player, an exec at Prince, Slazenger / Dunlop and Head, the Chair, CEO and President of the USTA and now ITF President form a compelling story. A story with a passion for tennis at its heart…

In today’s episode Keith Carder, the LTA’s Head of Competition, tells us all we need to know about the new ITF World Tennis Number. We get to the heart of this exciting new ITF system which is being adopted by the LTA and tennis federations around the World. As you’ll hear, the World Tennis Number is kind of similar to the golf handicap system. It aims to be at the heart of a new global tennis com...

To celebrate becoming a member of the coaching team that delivers County Training in Derbyshire, I’ve put a short little six min episode together on why I love County Tennis and why it can be a constant positive companion as tennis players make their way through life…

Derbyshire’s Millie Devey Smith had a glittering junior tennis career and after attending Repton School decided to head to the University of Bath rather than go on a US tennis scholarship. Find out why it’s a decision she’s glad she made as well as what it’s like to play Emma Raducanu and how she has ended up working at Nottingham Forest FC…

Abbie Breakwell may only be 18, but she’s already had a remarkable journey into the world of Wheelchair Tennis which has seen her rise to no.3 in the girls world rankings! Abbie is from Long Eaton in Derbyshire and also has a strong affinity to Nottingham. I loved our chat because Abbie is great fun and as you’ll hear destiny really did come calling to start her on court adventures. Adventures whi...

In this short podcard, Lee Taylor explains why tennis coaches and players from 10 upwards should be wearing sunglasses on court to protect their eyes from the sun! As the Moorfield Eye Hospital website says: ‘Excessive sun exposure can cause irreversible damage to your eyesight.’  You use suncream to protect your skin so surely you should use sunglasses to protect your eyes when playing tenni...

I’m such a fan of what County Tennis can bring to you as a tennis player but also the amazing adventures and friendships it can bring to your life! Today’s podcard is from a man whose passion for County Tennis and Derbyshire Tennis absolutely shines through. Andy is now Head of Tennis at The Caesarean Tennis Club in Jersey and as you’ll hear he is as passionate now about County Tennis as he was wh...

Chris McPherson has had a remarkable sporting journey from the courts of Derbyshire to representing Brazil in hockey at the Olympic Games! Find out how it happened… Please do check out my website if you’d like to get in touch: www.serveandvolley.net

What a County Week it was for Derbyshire Men! The team played five and won five to win Division 3. In this episode, Derbyshire Men’s Captain James Rushby takes a look back at what was a memorable week in Ilkley…

Over the Summer Term I have LOVED teaching tennis in two schools near where I live - John of Rolleston and Outwoods. In this short episode, I look at why teaching tennis has been so rewarding for me and why I believe sport can make such a positive contribution to the education and lives of pupils as well as being a whole lot of fun…

County Week is back and as James Rushby, Captain of Derbyshire Men says: ‘We are buzzing for it, we can’t wait!’ Listen to James’ preview of the action and hear which Grand Slam winners he’s managed to defeat in his time on LTA County Cup… Please do hit SUBSCRIBE if you enjoy the podcast!