Control the Controllables

Today we´re talking doubles, after the debate over whether it should continue at the professional level reared its ugly head again. American tennis player Reilly Opelka this week suggested tennis should ‘get rid of doubles’ in a post on instagram.

CTC Host Dan Kiernan is currently at the Miami Open for the "Sunshine Double" and sat down with a few people who´ve experienced both doubles and singles on the tour over the past 20 years:-

• Former World Number 1 doubles player and 7 time Grand Slam champion Jamie Murray
• Former ATP singles player Noah Rubin
• ATP Doubles Coach Calvin Betton

Are doubles players failed singles players? Do singles players deserve more than the current 80% distribution of wages? Where is the value in having doubles a part of the Tour, was Reilly correct? Does doubles have a problem, or is it a marketing problem? The panel discuss all this and more.

Dan also shares some of his experience from the last few weeks at the Indian Wells and Miami ATP/WTA 1000 events, and the differences and similarities between these tournaments and the ITF Pro Circuit Events. Not an episode to be missed!

Control the Controllables Shortlisted for Best Tennis Podcast!

We´re very excited to have been nominated for ´Best Tennis Podcast´ by the Sports Podcast Awards for the second year in a row! 🎧

You won´t find many people with more experience in tennis and passion for the sport than Ireland´s Dave Miley. 

Dave is a former pro tennis player, coach and author who worked at the ITF for 25 years.

During that time he helped bring in the mini tennis ball rule change for 10U competition adopted by the ITF and was responsible for the introduction of the combined ranking in Junior Tennis in 2005.

Dave is the current Tennis Director of the Kazakhstan Federation and chats to Dan about all of this and more. Enjoy!

The 2023 Australian Open saw Aryna Sabalenka winning her first Grand Slam, and Novak Djokovic equalling Rafael Nadal´s record of 22 Grand Slam titles.

But it will be hard to look back on this year´s event without thinking of Sir Andy Murray´s incredible run in Week 1.

Our panel of experts are back to chat to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about all the action in Melbourne...

WTA player Tamara Zidansek jumped onto our screens during the 2021 French Open, when as an unseeded player she made it through to the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Since then, the Slovenian has reached a career high of 22 WTA and this week lost in a 3 set battle to World Number 2 Ons Jabeur at the Australian Open.

CTC host Dan Kiernan caught up with Tamara just before she started pre-season training last month to chat about her tennis career so far including..

• How she thinks she deals with losses too well. 
• Dealing with the emotions of playing in a Grand Slam compared to other tournaments.
• How she didn´t play on a hard court until she was 15-years-old.
• The impact periods have on womens tennis and her thoughts on Wimbledon allowing women to wear dark underwear from 2023.

And so much more. Another episode not to be missed!

We´re just a few hours away now from the first Grand Slam of the year! We´ve been studying the draws and have brought our panel back together for today´s episode to preview the 2023 Australian Open.

Joining Control the Controllables host Dan Kiernan to discuss the "popcorn-ready" match-ups, the dark horses to look out for and their picks for the titles are:-

12 months ago, GB´s Henry Patten and Julian Cash were two of many pro players travelling the world on a shoe-string budget, dreaming of competing at the big events. With rankings outside of the worlds top 600, Grand Slams seemed a long way away.

Fast forward to December 2022, and Patten & Cash had the most successful year on the ATP Challenger Tour.. ever! And they only played their first event together in June.

With a winning streak that saw the pair win 14 trophies including 10 ATP Challenger titles, they have moved into the top 70 in the mens doubles rankings. It means the pair start 2023 with their first direct entry into a Grand Slam in Melbourne next week.

In today´s episode, Henry and Julian talk through their amazing year. How did they do it? 

They also chat about:-

• The trials and tribulations of being a tennis player
• The feeling of going from event to event winning!
• Being away from home for 4 months without friends, family or coaches.
• What´s next for the pair?

A must-listen to hear a real life Roy of the Rovers tennis story.

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If you watch a lot of tennis, then you´ll be familiar with the voice of today´s guest. You may have even caught one of his legendary one-liners!

Robbie Koenig is a former tennis player from South Africa who is now one of the leading commentators in the sport. 

Robbie won 5 doubles titles during his pro career, before turning his hand to coaching, then broadcasting. 

It´s not often we get to hear the views of someone with such experience in so many roles within the sport. Robbie comes from the angle of former player, coach, tennis parent and top level commentary. This unique blend gives us rare insights that you do not want to miss! Enjoy!

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It´s been quite the year for Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliövaara.

The GB/Finnish pair began 2022 playing the Challenger circuit, and ended it at the ATP Finals in Turin as the 5th best men´s doubles team in the world.

Since January, they´ve won an ATP Title in Hamburg, reached another 6 ATP Finals, and 2 Grand Slam Quarter-finals. It´s seen Lloyd and Harri hit career high rankings of 12 and 11 in the world respectively.

We speak to them fresh off the back of their run to the semi-finals of the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy to find out more about their breakthrough year, and why they work together so well.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

In today´s episode we´re talking tennis and football with journalist Henry Winter.

Henry is currently the Chief Football Writer for the Times. He´s written several books during his career and makes regular appearances as a pundit on TV and radio.

Henry chats to us about equality in sport, and the coverage of women´s sports in the media. He gives us his thoughts on the impact of social media on journalism over the past 15 years and why he thinks sport teaches us about life. 

There´s also some great stories from his 35 years of writing about football, including seeing the competitive side of Tim Henman in a friendly match!

Links Mentioned in this Episode:-

In today´s episode we speak to the tennis queen of tik tok, Daria Saville!

Daria is currently recovering from surgery after tearing her ACL during a match against Naomi Osaka at the Pan Pacific Open last month. A former world junior number 1, Daria won the US Open Girls title in 2010, before reaching a career high of 20 in the WTA rankings in 2017.

This is her third major injury in the last few years, and in today´s episode Daria opens up about how she stays positive during months of rehab. She also talks to CTC host Dan Kiernan about being diagnosed with ADHD in her 20´s.

Originally from Russia, Daria chats about her move to Australia, the pressure she puts on herself at Grand Slams and what inspires her tik tok posts that now have almost 40 million likes!

Refreshingly open and entertaining, if you want to hear an honest account of what life is really like on the WTA Tour, this episode is for you!

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Eric Butorac is the Director Professional of of tennis operations and player relations at the USTA.

A former American top 20 doubles player, Eric won 18 ATP doubles titles during his career and reached the final of the Australian Open in 2014. He was half of the famous Stretch and Booty doubles partnership with Jamie Murray. 

Since retiring from pro tennis, Butorac has also served as assistant tournament director of the combined ATP and WTA 1000-level US Open Series event.

In today´s episode he chats to Control the Controllables host Dan Kiernan about his US College and pro tennis career, life after tennis, and much more...

Episode Highlights:-

• What it was like to be part of Serena´s final US Open.
• Eric describes the influence a Control the Controllables mindset has had on his tennis career.
• Why he decided to leave a Division 1 US college team to go to a Division III college.
• His belief in a multi-sport approach to developing athletes.
• Why we need to encourage children to develop a love for the game rather than focusing on winning.

This is a great episode for parents of young tennis players, enjoy!

Links Mentioned in Episode:-

In today´s episode we speak to GB´s Ryan Peniston.

Ryan has had his breakthrough year on the ATP Tour reaching a career high of 123, with wins over top 50 players Casper Rudd, Holger Rune and Francisco Cerundolo. He had an amazing run during the grass court season reaching the quarter-finals at Nottingham, Queen's and Eastbourne, and the 2nd round of Wimbledon on his debut at SW19.

Ryan was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 1, spending months in hospital undergoing surgery and chemotherapy. He tells us about how this has shaped the person he is today, and talks us through his career and goals for the next year. 

Ryan´s story is a great example of perseverance and hard work, a great listen for young players!

Today is also International Podcast Day and we want to take this opportunity to thank you for listening to the show. We love making this podcast and we hope you´re enjoying it and learning as much from it as we are! 

Roger Federer will play the final match of his incredible career today at the Laver Cup in London.

The 20 time Grand Slam Champion and former World number 1 will team up with his greatest rival Rafael Nadal in the doubles, as Europe take on the rest of the word at the 02 arena.

To mark his final farewell to tennis, we´ve brought together these brilliant guests to share their tributes and stories and let us know what Roger is really like behind the scenes...

🎾 Former Belgian Pro Player Xavier Malisse

🎾 WTA Coach and STA Performance Director Carl Maes

🎾 British Pro Player Liam Broady

🎾  Pakistani Pro Player Aisam Qureshi

🎾  Journalist Neil Harman

🎾 GB Coach and Roger Federer super fan, Mark Hayden

🎾 Ukraine´s Sergiy Stakhovsky who beat Federer in the 2nd Round of Wimbledon in 2013.

Our guests take a trip down memory lane and delve into the spectacular career of Roger Federer, discussing how he has been an inspiration to millions of fans all across the world 🌍 and how he will go down as one of the greatest of all time! 🐐

Packed full of stories about Roger from on and off the court, this is an episode you don't want to miss!

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What an amazing two weeks at Flushing Meadows for the 2022 US Open!

We have two new US Open Champions, a new world number 1, and we said good bye to the GOAT of the women´s game, Serena Williams. So much to discuss with our panelists, from the old to the new and story lines aplenty in between.

What an exciting US Open it´s been! As it draws to an end, we´ve taken the chance to speak to former England cricketer Monty Panesar about the trials and tribulations of professional sport. 

As you´ll hear, there´s many similarities between professional cricket and tennis. 

Monty tells us about his own mental health battles during his career, and the importance of sport specific fitness training. He shares stories from Ashes winning moments and what it felt like bowling out some of the greats. He also talks about his life after cricket.... will he be the next Graham Norton?

Enjoy the episode and look out for our US Open Review coming next week!

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Ken Skupski is one of GB´s most successful doubles players. 

After a career spanning 3 decades, he recently retired from pro tennis playing his last match in the Mens Doubles at Wimbledon. 

In today´s episode, Ken talks through his career in numbers and in words. From his success in Juniors, to his US College days at Louisiana State University, through to his 18 years on the pro tour,  he shares his honest learnings, his memories and the challenges of the past 20+ years including:- 

• GB´s Davis Cup Final win in 2015, including that winning moment.
• Reaching a career high doubles ranking of ATP 44, three times!
• The challenge of choosing the right doubles partner and when to move on.
• The pride he felt living out a family ambition as he partnered brother Neal to many successes.
• Life after pro tennis, including the Skupski Doubles Academy.

In today´s episode we speak to ATP Coach and former pro player Neville Godwin.

Neville reached a career high of 90 in the world in singles and 57 in doubles during his career, and won the US Open Boys Doubles as a junior in 1993.

After retiring he became a coach, helping fellow South African Kevin Anderson to a world top 10 ranking and the US Open final in 2017. Neville won ATP Coach of the Year that same year.

After he split with Anderson, he worked with Hyeon Chung who became the first South Korean player to reach the semis of a Grand Slam in Melbourne in 2018. Neville has mostly recently worked with Reilly Opelka.

A great listen!

Episode Highlights:-

• Neville reflects on his playing career and what has changed/is still the same on the tour.
• Why he thinks going to US College could have given his career more longevity.
• He gives us an insight into Reilly Opelka´s training and why he thinks he will definitely be a top 10 player.
• Why he thinks the new ATP/WTA Coaching rule will be huge for Coaches.
• If you´re a lefty, you might want to listen out for his rule change suggestion in the Quick Fire Round!

Wimbledon 2022 was another fantastic event, full of stories and stand out performances. After all the pre-event hype around the ban of Russian and Belarusian players and no ATP/WTA points, the tennis did the talking at SW19.

In today´s episode we are joined by some of the players behind those stories, as well as two of our regular Grand Slam panelists:-

• Mixed Doubles Champions Desirae Krawczyk from the USA and GB´s Neal Skupski tell us about winning their 2nd Wimbledon title in a row together. Find out if they plan to team up again next year!
• GB´s Lissey Barnett made the mixed doubles QF with Jonny O´Mara, beating Venus Williams and Jamie Murray in arguably the most dramatic tie-break of the Championships! Lissey shares her reflections of the match with us.
• Kieron Vorster, the current fitness coach of Liam Broady who had a breakthrough move to the 3rd round with a win over Diego Schwartzmann, and former Wimbledon mens doubles champion Freddie Nielsen complete our panel!

Listen out for our special guest, Paul Jubb who also jumps on to share his thoughts on playing the enigmatic Nick Kygrios in round 1. Jubb came close to beating the eventual finalist, losing 7-5 in the 5th set.

An episode full of laughs, surprises, exclusives and a shared love of our beautiful game at the greatest event on the planet!

Ross Hutchins is a former top 30 doubles player and the Chief Player Officer at the ATP. 

He comes from a strong British tennis stock, as the son of Paul Hutchins, former GB Davis Cup captain and British tennis great.

Ross won 5 ATP doubles titles during his pro career, reaching 13 ATP Tour doubles finals, and representing Great Britain several times in the Davis Cup.

He was ranked 28 in the world in doubles in 2012 when he made the shock announcement that he´d been diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma.  He made a full recovery before returning to pro tennis for a short time in 2014.

After retiring from the game, Ross served as Tournament Director for the Aegon Championships at The Queen´s Club, before moving to work at the ATP.

In today´s episode Ross talks to Control the Controllables about his junior and pro career, how Andy Murray supported him through his battle with cancer, his work at the ATP and more!

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It´s our favourite time of the year, and Wimbledon 2022 has kicked off with a bang! 9 Brits are already through to Round 2, the most since 1997.

This year there are more than 60 former and current US College players in the main draw at SW19! In today´s episode we are getting to know 5 GB players who are making their Wimbledon debuts after successful US/UK university careers.

Joining CTC Host Dan Kiernan on this years Wimbledon Preview Panel are:-

Jack Draper is one of Great Britain´s hottest up and coming prospects.

At 20-years-old he broke into the world´s top 100 ATP rankings last week. It came on the same day that he picked up his first win over a top 20 player, beating Taylor Fritz in the first round at Queens. 

Jack sat down with CTC Host Dan Kiernan for the first time, as he prepared for the ATP grass court event in Eastbourne. 

Listen to him talk about his career so far, including reaching the final of Junior Wimbledon at aged 16. An inspiring listen for any upcoming young players!

The 2022 French Open was an historic event. Rafael Nadal won his 14th Roland Garros and 22nd Grand Slam, as he beat Casper Ruud in the final. 

Iga Swiatek moved to 35 match wins in a row, and her 2nd French Open title in 3 years as she swept past 18-year-old Coco Gauff in the womens final.

More records were broken as Jean Julien Rojer became the oldest male play to win a Grand Slam in the Open era, as he partnered the first ever player from Central America to win a Grand Slam, Marcelo Arvevalo in the Mens Doubles. 

After a week of training at SotoTennis Academy and travelling with our coach Bruno Argudo, Gordon Reid and his partner Alfie Hewitt won their 10th Grand Slam in a row by defending the men´s wheelchair doubles title. 

So much for our panel of experts to unpack in today´s episode! 

2012 Wimbledon Doubles Champion Freddie Nielsen and Kieron Vorster (Current fitness coach to Liam Broady and former fitness coach to Dan Evans, Tim Henman, Wayne Ferreira to name a few) return to the show to see how their picks faired from our French Open Preview!

They also dig into the amazing acheivements and matches we witnessed throughout the fortnight.

Listen out for a little bonus Wimbledon 2022 preview, as they pick their winners for this years event at SW19.

Another must listen full of insight, inside knowledge, fun and a few belly laughs as well!

Links Mentioned in this Episode:-

We first spoke to Cameron Norrie on the Control the Controllables podcast back in August 2020. He was at the US Open and sat at 76 in the ATP rankings. 

Since then, Cameron has won 4 ATP titles including the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and broke into the top 10 in the world in April. 

Today he joins us with his coach Facu Lugones to catch up on Cameron´s amazing run of form since he was last on the show, and what he´s done differently to be able to move up the rankings.

The second Grand Slam of the season is underway!

Can Iga Swiatek build on her 30-match winning streak to win the French Open for a second time? Will it be Djokovic, Nadal or man of the moment Carlos Alcaraz making it through the top half of the mens draw? Or, will we have a surprise finalist? Joining CTC host Dan Kiernan to give their expert opinions on all these questions and more are:-

Mark ¨Beef¨ Taylor is the Head S&C Coach at Tennis Australia based out of Brisbane. He is better known as fitness coach to former WTA world number 1 Ash Barty, before she shocked the tennis world by quitting the game aged 25 in March.

Mark also spent many years working at the LTA (British Tennis Federation) working with players such as Jo Konta and Dan Evans.

In this episode, he chats to Dan about life as an S&C coach to some of the top tennis players in the world. He also looks back on his time working with Ash Barty, and his thoughts on her going from Australian Open Champion to retirement within 2 months.

Episode Highlights:-

• The real Ash Barty, is she who we see on TV?
• The demands of working with a world number one…or not?
• How working for free helped kickstart his career.
• Mark tells us where is nickname “Beef” came from!
• Are S&C Coaches preparing players for matchplay?
• Listen to his advice for aspiring S&C coaches, including understanding that they are a support service for the player and coach.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

Dalma Gálfi is a former World junior number 1 and Junior Grand Slam champion.

Dalma had a strong start to her Pro career, quickly rising up the WTA rankings to 136 in the world aged just 19.

After a challenging 4 years, the 23-year-old from Hungary has just broken into the top 100 for the first time.

In this episode, Dalma tells us about the pressures and expectations she faced moving into the pro game after her success as a Junior, and why she wouldn´t change a thing.

Episode Highlights:-

• Dalma describes her feelings of relief at becoming a top 100 player.
• Why quick success at a young age isn´t always beneficial.
• How the COVID-19 pandemic helped give her perspective on her tennis career.
• The differences she sees between Hungarian and British tennis cultures.
• Dealing with the media pressures and expectations that comes with being world junior number 1.
• Her advice for up and coming players moving into the pro game.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

Jofre Porta is one of a handful of tennis coaches who can say they´ve worked with two world number 1 players from a young age.

The Spanish coach helped guide Carlos Moya from juniors to top of the ATP rankings, and also worked with Rafael Nadal as a junior.

Jofre has previously worked for the Spanish Tennis Federation, he´s been a tennis commentator and is currently the Director of Global Tennis Team Academy in Mallorca.

In this episode, he talks to Dan about coaching Moya and Nadal, why Spain produces so many players, his thoughts on the up and coming Carlos Alcaraz and much more!

Episode Highlights:-

• Hear about Jofre´s time with Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal.
• The similarities and differences between Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz at 18.
• The special relationship between Moya and Nadal.
• Why he believes effort is not a sacrifice.
• How he uses technology to help develop resistance.

At 14, Josh Sapwell was tipped to be the next Andy Murray.

Having won National and European events as a junior, he became the U14 Junior World Champion in 2010, winning the prestigious Orange Bowl event in Miami. Josh was only the 3rd British player to win the boys event.

He went on to be a Quarter-Finalist at Junior Wimbledon, but a catalogue of events led to him quitting the sport at the tender age of 20.

In today´s episode Josh speaks about his journey and why he stopped playing for the first time. A powerful listen.

In today´s episode we´re unpacking the biomechanics of the serve with Dr Mark Kovacs.

This episode aims to shine a light on a very different area of tennis: betting and gambling.

Tennis is one of the most popular sports to bet on, but match fixing is also an ongoing issue.

Dave Pilgrim has over 20 years of experience in the betting industry, and is currently a betting and data expert at Sky Bet.

Dave applies that expertise to tennis and has a close lens on how the tennis governing bodies and the betting companies are working together to create a safe and controlled environment for all involved.

This is a polarising topic and an episode that will get you thinking about the relationship between the sport and the gambling industry as a whole.

Episode Highlights:-

• How common is Matchfixing in tennis?
• Courtsiding and how the betting industry is trying to combat it.
• Why Dave thinks tennis and the betting industry have a mutually beneficial relationship.
• Where does the money that goes into tennis from the betting industry come from?
• What the gaming industry does to support the life threatening challenges of gambling addicts.

In today´s episode we speak to Australian tennis player Matt Reid.

Matt has partnered some of the biggest names in Australian tennis during his career, including Nick Kyrgios, Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic. He has a career high ranking of number 60 in Doubles and 183 in singles.

Matt has consistently been part of Australia´s Davis Cup squad as a hitting partner and unofficial mentor to the team. He also coached Nick Kyrgios for two years, whilst playing doubles together.

Matt gives us a fascinating insight into his time on the tour, and some great stories! A brilliant listen!

“It feels like he´s got the momentum right now¨

“There´s been a big shift in momentum in this set¨

“Everything seems to be going against her¨

We hear phrases like these a lot when we watch tennis, and we can feel them when we play. But what really is momentum?

In today´s episode we speak to Alistair Higham who is an international expert on matchplay and momentum in sport.

Alistair has written online courses and two best-selling books on Momentum, and regularly speaks at conferences around the world.

A former player and GB National Coach, Alistair was also Head of Coach Education at the LTA. He is currently GB Team Manager for World Student Games and heads up the GB University Programme for the LTA.

Listen to Dan quiz Alistair about match flow and momentum and why it´s so important.

This is a long episode but jam-packed full of learnings for coaches and tennis parents.

Today is International Women´s Day and what better way to mark it than hearing from one of the most recognisable faces and voices in tennis.

Barbara Schett-Eagle reached a career high of number 7 in the world in singles and 8 in doubles, making her the highest ranked Austrian female tennis player of all time.

She retired from tennis at the 2005 Australian Open, moving straight into presenting and commentating for Eurosport at Roland Garros that same year.

Barbara is probably most well known for Game, Set Mats, the daily live show that she hosts with Mats Wilander at all four Grand Slams.

In today´s episode, Barbara chats to Dan about her tennis career, her smooth transition into broadcasting, and marrying her former Wimbledon mixed doubles partner!

Episode Highlights:-

• How working with a sports psychologist to cope with negative thoughts helped her break into the top 10 in the world.
• What it was like being on the end of Steffi Graf´s slice!
• How her physical and mental preparation for reporting on Grand Slams is similar to when she was playing at them.
• The importance of goal setting and how she still sets herself targets now.
• Her memories of winning the Wimbledon Invitational with Jana Novotna.

Just a few weeks ago, Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky was playing the final match of his career at the Australian Open.

After nearly 20 years on the tour, the 36-year-old announced his retirement in January, ready to spend more time with his wife and three children.

Instead, and despite no military experience, Sergiy has enlisted in the Ukrainian military reserves to defend his country against its invasion by Russia.

We caught up with Sergiy from his home city of Kyiv, to talk about his decision and what life is like there currently. 

A sobering, but important listen. 

#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦

In today´s episode we speak to Piotr Sierzputowski, the former coach of top 5 WTA player Iga Swiatek.

Piotr was Iga´s coach from age 15 to 20, guiding her from top junior to a career high of 4 in the WTA rankings.  

Iga became the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam title at the 2020 French Open, when she lifted the trophy at just 19-years-old. That same year Piotr was named the WTA Coach of the Year.

They recently parted ways, and in his chat with Dan, Piotr reflects on their split, and 5 years working together.

He also gives amazing insight into his coaching philosophy, how he brought together Iga´s team and why he wasn´t afraid to hire people who had more skills than him.

Episode Highlights:-

• How Piotr first started working with Iga despite being a young, inexperienced Coach.
• He talks through Iga´s win at Roland Garros in 2020.
• Why it´s so important for Coaches to put their ego´s aside and listen to their players.
• Why you shouldn´t change the team around a player, if everything is working well.
• Why he thinks the team around Iga was so crucial to her early success.
• How he uses data analysis as a development tool for players, and to help keep training fresh.

Dan Smethurst is a British tennis coach and former player who most recently worked with top WTA player Johanna Konta. 

A talented youngster, Dan was world junior number 29 before playing on the ITF and ATP Challenger Tour, reaching a career high ranking of 234 in 2014.

After quitting tennis he moved into coaching, working with Team Bath Tennis high performance players. Dan was Konta´s assistant coach and hitting partner for 2 years before her retirement in 2021, including her run to the French Open semi-final in 2019. He´s currently working with GB´s Aidan McHugh.

In this episode, Dan chats to Control the Controllables about:-

• His journey from a top junior into the pro tour, including why he nearly stopped playing tennis at 13.
• How he uses his playing experience as a coach to help players in tough moments. 
• What he learned from working with Johanna Konta. 
• The advice he would give to his younger self, and what he wished he´d learned as a player....and much more!

It´s our 150th episode of Control the Controllables!

And for a special episode, we have a special guest as we speak to former US number 1 and current Davis Cup Captain Mardy Fish.

Mardy won 14 singles and doubles titles and reached number 7 in the world, before an anxiety disorder threatened his career.

After suffering with anxiety and panic attacks, he was forced to withdraw from the 2012 US Open at the peak of his game, not returning to professional tennis until 2015.

He recently told his story in the must-watch Netflix documentary, Untold:Breaking Point.

In this episode, Mardy talks to us about his career and mental health battles, and why he wants us to stop thinking of mental health as separate to physical health. A powerful episode!

We won´t be forgetting the 2022 Australian Open for a while!

It´s been one for the history books, with Rafael Nadal winning his 21st Grand Slam thanks to an epic five-set victory over Daniil Medvedev. 

Ash Barty became the first Australian to win in Melbourne in 44 years. And let´s not forget the all-Aussie mens doubles final, won by wildcards and this years crowd entertainers Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis!

Brits Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewitt won their 9th consecutive Grand Slam wheelchair men´s doubles title, while Australian Dylan Alcott bid an emotional farewell to the crowds on the Rod Laver Arena.

And then there was the small cat. 😳

We´ve brought our panel together to chat through all of this and more from an incredible fortnight in Melbourne! 

Joining CTC host Dan Kiernan are:-

Stanford Evans Boster is a South African who has made USA his home, and American Tennis is lucky to have him.

He is the current coach to Junior World Number 4, Victor Lilov who made the final of the Boys Singles at Junior Wimbledon 2021. 

Stanford is no stranger to working with World Class Juniors. He coached Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish in their formative Junior days and was working for the USTA at the time when Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Stefan Kozlov and co were coming through. So developing world class juniors into pros is in his blood. 

In today´s episode, Stanford tells his journey from the South African who entered America with $250 in his pocket, to the coach who was developing a future world number 1 and multiple Grand Slam winner.

Episode highlights include:-

• His non-negotiables to be a top pro player.
• Why developing a top 100 ATP player ´ísn´t difficult´.
• Stories from Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish´s junior days.
• Why he was fired from the Evert Tennis Academy, and the player they told him to take with him!
• What one thing he sees parents getting wrong.

An episode full of rich learnings and insightful, fun stories! 

Links & Resources

With the first Grand Slam of 2022 underway, we´ve brought our panel of former pros back together to preview the Australian Open. 

What a few weeks it’s been, tennis has been global news with the Novak Djokovic visa saga, and we are ready to start focusing on the tennis over the next 2 weeks in Melbourne.  

Listen to Dan discuss all the latest from Melbourne with our Aussie Open Preview panellists:- 

In this week´s episode we get to know up-and-coming British player Sonay Kartal.

Sonay, 20, has had an impressive 2021. After coming back from injury earlier in the year, she won the UK Pro League Masters event. 

She also won her first two ITF Pro Circuit titles, breaking into the top 900 for the first time. 

You may have seen Sonay recently in a clip that went viral on social media.  The video is an epic point against US Open Champion Emma Raducanu in an orange ball match when they were both just 9-year-olds. Sonay talks about this and more in a fascinating episode. 

Episode Highlights include:-

• How the UK Pro League has helped Sonay.
• Why she doesn´t pay attention to rankings.
• How having to take ownership of her tennis from a young age has helped her.
• Why she chose against the US College route.
• Why she believes losing is important.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna has achieved so much in his playing career. A Grand Slam champion, he has also reached multiple Grand Slam finals, and reached number 3 in the world in doubles.

On top of this, he is already looking ahead to help the next generation of Indian tennis players through the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy in Bangalore.

Keith Reynolds is a tennis coach who has experienced the sport at all levels. 

He is the co-owner and founder of The Watchorn Tennis Club in Derbyshire which has produced 29 National Champions. He´s also coached many top international and national players, including GB Davis Cup player Jamie Baker.  

A strong sportsman himself, Keith played tennis to international level as a junior and reached a career high ITF ranking of 491. He was also the +35 GB National Champion. 

Francesca Jones is a British tennis player who is currently ranked 153 in the world.

Originally from Bradford, the 21-year-old moved to Spain at age 10 to train at the Sanchez Casal Tennis Academy. She reached number 31 in the junior world rankings, before qualifying for her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.

Francesca was born with Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia (EED) syndrome, which is a rare genetic condition that has required her to have more than 10 surgeries. She is missing a finger on each hand and 3 toes, something which doctors told her parents would prevent her from playing tennis. Instead, she has risen up the rankings and played at all 4 Grand Slams this year.

In today´s episode, CTC Host Dan Kiernan chats to Francesca about:

• Her unusual introduction to tennis.
• Her reflections on her achievements in 2021.
• How her physical differences affect her training and how she´s overcome them.
• The influence training at Spanish Academies has had on her tennis game. 
• The expectations she put on herself after qualifying for the 2021 Australian Open.
• Why she took the decision to end her season in September.

Lucie Ahl is a former British number 1 and WTA 161 singles player. She competed numerous times at Grand Slams and has a 100% record at the Fed Cup representing Great Britain.

Life after playing tennis professionally has taken Lucie into coaching, as a travelling coach with Laura Robson, Jodie Burrage and many more. She has had a successful coaching career working with top British juniors and senior players, both male and female. 

She´s also now a member of the LTA Coach Education Team, helping develop the next generation of GB coaches. 

Lucie´s voice can be frequently heard on TV and Radio as a commentator for Amazon Prime, Tennis TV, Eurosport and Wimbledon Radio.

In today´s episode, listen to Lucie Ahl chat to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about:-

• Her journey from average junior to British number one.
• Her reflections on the highs and lows of her pro career.
• The challenges of being a female coach in a male dominant industry.
• The challenges she set herself away from the court, including Ironman targets.
• British Tennis Coaches and the shortage of career pathways.
• Her favourite tennis moments she has commentated on.

Links Mentioned in this episode:-

Jimmy Arias is a former world number 5.

At the age of 15, he became the youngest person to achieve a world ranking, and went onto win 5 ATP singles titles and the 1981 French Open Mixed Doubles.

During his career he has had wins over Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Mats Wilander, Pat Cash and Goran Ivanisevic. 

Jimmy Arias´name is synonymous with the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, now known as the IMG Academy. He was one of the original students at the academy in 1978, and in 2018 he became Director of Tennis. 

He has been a commentator for ESPN and the Tennis Channel, and as you will find out in this episode, he is a great storyteller!

Episode Highlights include:-

• How his relationship with his father shaped his tennis career.
• How the famous Arias forehand came about.
• Why he made the decision to work with Nick Bollettieri
• His time as an ¨original¨ at the IMG Academy.
• His inner belief from a young age.
• How he changed his game after being diagnosed with Mono.
• Find out which tennis legends he found the most difficult to play!
• What frustrates him about the current game, and what has changed since his era.

An entertaining episode, enjoy!

Connect with Jimmy Arias:-

Fernando Segal is a world-leading coach, tennis development expert and an influential figure in the tennis world.

From Argentina, Fernando has more than 40 years experience in coaching. During that time he´s written 11 books, and directed development programs for National Tennis Federations in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, and others.

From these, junior players have been developed who have won 16 Junior Grand Slams, Top 10 ATP / WTA and multiple Top 100 players including  David Nalbandian, Paula Ormaechea, Guillermo Coria and Cara Black.

His goal is to professionalise the tennis industry and between 27th-30th October 2021 his organisation Segal Institute, is hosting the first international virtual tennis event.