Tennis Lifestyle Podcast

Rick Macci is a very well known name in the tennis world.

He is a legendary coach who owns and operates one of the most famous tennis academies in the world in Boca Raton, Florida (the Rick Macci Tennis Academy).

USPTA Hall of Fame Tennis coach 

USPTA Master Professional

Seven-time USPTA national coach of the year

Trained five number one ranked players: Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams. And coached many other great juniors and top professionals.

Owner of the Rick Macci Tennis Academy, where he currently still coaches 50 hours a week!

Rick was crucial in the development of Venus and Serena Williams. He worked with their father Richard Williams and coached them in the early nineties at his academy in Florida.

Rick is also one of the main characters in the recently released movie "King Richard" which is about the Williams family and their early development with Rick Macci. The movie has already gained great reviews and is an incredible story even for people who do not follow tennis. Richard Williams is played by Will Smith and the movie may be nominated for several Oscars!

Rick Macci is also very well known for his coaching videos, video analysis, zoom virtual lessons etc...His technical instructional videos are a must watch (I highly recommend them!). All videos can be viewed on youtube at Rick Macci Tennis.

This is from his website (www.rickmacci.com):

"Rick’s experience over the past 40 years in molding a player is unmatched by any teacher in the world. As a USPTA Master Professional, Rick trains other tennis pros and coaches how to teach, motivate and communicate with their students to “deliver the goods”. Experts agree that Rick’s insight to explaining and presenting the psychological triggers of an athlete is a gift that very few coaches’ possess and can deliver."

If you want to find out more about Rick Macci and his academy, following are some useful links:

Rick Macci Tennis Academy: 561-445-2747

Clubhouse & Fitness Center: 561-477-9660

NETRICXS AND VIDEO SUPPORT: 772-214-4422

SUPPORT@RICKMACCI.COM

www.rickmacci.com

19760 Striker Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33498, United States

Facebook: @RickMacciTennisAcademy

Instagram: rickmaccitennis

Youtube: Rick Macci Tennis

Twitter: @rickmaccitennis

Enjoy the episode and happy listening!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast 

Ciao,

Gianluca

Amazing chat with Craig Shapiro - tennis influencer, insider and podcaster.

Craig is the creator and host of the Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast which is my favourite tennis podcast.

I started listening to Craigs' podcast a few years ago when it was known as the Under Review Tennis Podcast. It is an excellent listen; Craig has an incredible list of great guests and is very good at interviewing them and asking interesting questions. He is not only very enthusiastic and funny but his chats are also very informative and you end up always learning something new and surprising. I highly suggest following his podcast and listening to the past episodes.

Craig has been involved in the tennis world for many years; he has had many great experiences and met many interesting people along the way.

He was the racquet technician for Andre Agassi for a few years and toured the world with him and Brad Gilbert.

Following his time on the tour, Craig got involved in TV production working on the Inside the NFL, Wimbledon and championship boxing for HBO Sports as well as working on the documentaries for the Tennis Channel.

He has produced and directed some documentaries including one on Andre Agassi which I recommend watching (https://vimeo.com/361542352), and a mini documentary on Patrick Mourotaglou (https://vimeo.com/383801368)

In our chat we talk about his life and work experiences in tennis, Indian Wells 2021, Andre Agassi, TV Broadcasting, his podcast and tennis podcasting, his recently launched Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast Tennis Academy which is mostly happening in his mind and cookies with his face!

Follow Craig Shapiro if you like tennis!

Twitter: @Shaptennispod

Instagram: cshaptennispod

shaptennispod.com

https://shows.acast.com/craigtennispod

Enjoy the episode and happy listening!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast 

Ciao,

Gianluca

Great chat with Enrico Maria Riva.

Enrico is a graphics and stats operator for the ATP and tennis TV channels. He gets to travel all over the world and is the man behind all the graphics and stats shown during matches and tournaments. He also obviously collaborates closely with all the English speaking tennis commentators and feeds them useful info and stats in order to make the broadcast more interesting!

He has a very large twitter following which includes everyone from Novak to Piatti to Wawrinka. I would encourage everyone to follow him also because he mixes great tennis stats with lots of silly comments which are often very funny!

We also discuss the recently finished US Open including the highlights, controversies and many talking points.

You can follow and find out more about Enrico on twitter - @enricomariariva

Enjoy the episode and happy listening!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms. Spread the word and get in contact with me.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast 

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I chat with Marco Panichi. We talk straight after the 2021 Wimbledon final which was won by Novak Djokovic (his 20th grand slam title) who Marco is currently working with as a fitness trainer.

Marco has had an incredible career; he has an enormous amount of experience as a fitness coach and as a life coach to many tennis players and athletes.

Marco Panichi is an Italian professional Coach and Massophysiotherapist, high-level motor preparation trainer, currently working with Novak Djokovic. They worked together in 2018 and in 2019 Marco joined Novak's team again. 

He is a former athlete, 2-time Italian champion in long jump.

Marco has worked with numerous tennis federations, including Italian, Chinese, Israeli and German.

Consultant at leading tennis academies such as Sanchez-Casal and IMG.

Marco also records fitness training videos for TopLevelTennis.com

As a personal trainer he has worked with an incredible amount of famous tennis stars:

Novak Djokovic

Angelique Kerber

Christian Garin

Philipp Kohlschreiber

Ivo Karlovic

Fabio Fognini

Francesca Schiavone

Li Na

and many many more....

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast 

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I have a great chat with Frederic Fontang who is in Paris at the French Open 2021, coaching Felix Auger-Aliassime.

A successful junior, Fontang won the Petits As in 1984 and was the French 16s champion in 1986.

An ATP Professional Player between 1989 and 1998, reached a career-high ranking of World No. 59, and captured the ATP Tour title in Palermo in 1991.

After his playing career, Frederic became coach of Jeremy Chardy and remained with him for 12 years. During this time Chardy won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, won ATP 250 title in Stuttgart and reached the fourth round of the French Open the next year.

Worked with Vasek Pospisil from October 2012 to August 2016. During this time, Pospisil reached an ATP ranking of No. 25 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. 

He also coached Caroline Garcia from march 2011 to June 2012. Final US Open Juniors and semi Final at French open Juniors.

Frederic is the coach for the Canadian Davis Cup team.

We talk about his professional playing career, his coaching career, coaching Felix and collaborating/working with Toni Nadal, who has joined their team in 2021; and much more....

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast 

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I chat to Vanni Gibertini.

Vanni is a tennis correspondent / journalist for Ubitennis.com since 2010; he is also a part time editor.

Italian from Modena, and currently lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Ubitennis.com is a very popular tennis news website founded by Ubaldo Scanagatta, the legendary tennis journalist from Italy.

Vanni is a freelance sports writer but also an experienced airline professional that has a background in aviation having worked for International Air Transport Association (IATA)

He is an on site reporter for all the major tournaments in the world, including Wimbledon and the other Grand Slam tournaments, Masters 1000 in North America, Davis Cup, Fed Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

I have been following Vanni for quite some time now and must admit he is one of the most informed people in the tennis world, always up to date with all the news and often very insightful.

You can follow Vanni on twitter at @vgibertini or on ubitennis.com

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast 

Ciao,

Gianluca

Great chat with John-Laffnie De Jager!

"JL" is a South African former professional tennis player. Had a career high singles of 313, but had great success as a doubles player with a career high of 11 and 7 titles. He also reached 4 grand slam doubles semi finals and 2 mixed doubles finals. JL achieved 4th place in the Sydney Olimpics in 2000 and qualified for the ATP Doubles Championship in 1999.

He is a Grade A star GPTCA level coach, certified by the ATP; and captained the South African Davis Cup team.

JL is involved in several projects and businesses:

Founder: Matchpoint Tennis Foundation

Owner: JL’s Tennis Academy in Pretoria

Motivational speaker and mental conditioning coach for high performance athletes and teams including top rugby teams.

JL was also the head coach of the UAE Royals (tennis team based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates that competed in the International Premier Tennis League) and is the head coach of the Springfield Lasers are a World Team Tennis franchise in the USA.

He also talks about his involvement in the "Match for Africa", which his company organized; and talks about getting Federer, Nadal, Bill Gates and Trevor Noah involved and breaking the world record for attending a tennis match in the Cape Town Stadium!

He also had a very interesting childhood growing up on a farm; and tells us the story of when he was born, his heart stopped and they had to give him an injection to get his heart going. Instead of injecting him in the thigh, they injected him in his butt and basically hit the main nerve going down his right leg, so he only had 10 percent use of his nerve in the right leg. The doctors told his parents that he only had a 12% chance of walking properly and he'd never be able to play any sport. His right leg is an inch-and-a-half shorter than his left leg, and he was in a cast until he was three years old!

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast 

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I interview Boris Sobkin who speaks to me from Moscow. 

He talks about his career, his relationship with Mikhail Youzhny, the current state of Russian tennis and much more...

Boris is a legendary coach and teacher of our sport. He is over 70 years of age and still busy coaching at the highest level. He has an enormous amount of experience and probably can talk about Russian tennis better than most people.

He is currently working with Alexander Bublik and the Kazakhstan tennis federation.

He is GPTCA A star level coach, and Russian President of the Global Professional Tennis Coaching Association

Longtime (25 years) coach of Mikhail Youzhny (career high ranking ATP #8) who captured two Davis Cup titles with Russia, and won 10 ATP Tour singles titles.

Also coached Laslo Djere, Evgeny Donskoy, Andrei Chesnokov, Stakhovsky to name a few...

He has also been involved and worked out of the legendary Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow, which became a pipeline for producing professional tennis players including Andrei Chesnakov, Marat Safin, Dmitri Tursunov, Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Anna Kournikova and Anastasia Myskina just to name a few of the most successful players.

Honorary Coach of the Russian Tennis Federation (since 2002)

Earned a doctorate at the Moscow University, Boris is a professor, doctor of science

Member of the Russian Tennis Hall of Fame

Enjoy the episode!

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Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

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Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

Salvador Navarro is a GPTCA A* Level International Coach from Barcelona, Spain.

His career highlights include:

2013, 2014, 2015: Flavia Pennetta's coach; won Fed Cup 2013 with Italy, reached semis at US Open 2013, won Indian Wells 2014 and US Open 2015

2011, 2012: Coached Tommy Robredo (winner of ATP Santiago de Chile and Casablanca) and Marc López (4 ATP doubles trophies, Davis Cup finalist with Spain in 2012, WTF London doubles champion)

2010: Coached Pablo Andujar, ATP Career High #32 

2008, 2009: Coached Juan Carlos Ferrero, former ATP #1

2006, 2007: Coached Guillermo Garcia Lopez, ATP Career High #23

2005: Coached Santiago Ventura, ATP Career High #65 and Ruben Ramirez, ATP Career High #50

Apart from his incredibly successfull coaching career Salvador was also a professional tennis player for 10 years (best ranking in singles #156, in doubles #137)

He now is the technical director of MASTER TENNIS BARCELONA Academy, which he operates with Óscar Hernandez; MASTER TENNIS BARCELONA is a high-performance center specialized in coaching players of all level and ages. It is an amazing facility which offers 20 tennis courts, with 4 GreenSets and 16 badida clay courts, a large high-performance gym, which includes a stretching, cycling and Pilates room, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, 10 paddle tennis courts, 2 soccer fields, 1 multisport court for fitness training, a bar and a restaurant.

You can get more info on Salvador and his Academy at http://mastertennisbcn.com/

Twitter: @salvanavarro8

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this must listen episode, I speak to Fernando Segal.

Fernando is an Argentinian International development tennis specialist and builder. He is also a master coach.

He is a very influential figure in the tennis world and has over 45 years experience in coaching, producing tennis programs, tennis clinics and camps, coaches’ courses, teams, events and promoting his vision about how to play.

He has written 11 books and has directed national development programs for federations and tennis projects in many countries including Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and USA. Hundreds of coaches are following his thoughts and tennis material. 

He is the GPTCA (Global Professional Tennis Coach Association) President of Argentina, Mexico and Chile.

Owner and operator of Segal Institute.

ATP/WTA players who have developed with his programs include Paula Ormaechea, Victoria Rodriguez, Ana Sofia Sanchez, Lucas Gomez, Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian, Andres Schneiter and Cara Black just to name a few...

Between the 25-28 March his organization, Segal Institute, together with the Global Professional Tennis Coaches Association (GPTCA) Certified by ATP is organizing the 1st World Tennis Conference for high performance tennis coaches and tennis people. 

This is an first - and an amazing virtual conference!

Its purpose is to have intensive and online presentations about fundamental and key aspects of the development of Highly Competitive Worldwide Tennis Players and processes. 

There will be More than 56 main and Official Speakers (many famous names including Toni Nadal, Boris Becker and Nick Bollettieri!) all speaking about successful cases, experiences, keys aspects to recommend, creation of quality development tennis processes, how to master your tennis coach career and much more, all focused on high performance tennis, players and projects!

You can find out more about the conference and about Fernando at:

https://worldtennisconference.com/

https://www.fernandosegal.com/

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I have the privilege to interview legendary Serbian coach Bogdan Obradovic.

It is a must listen!

Bogdan is a really interesting personality, very outspoken and opinionated. He had many interesting things to say on Serbian tennis, Davis Cup success, Novak Djokovic and discussed many other topics including his passion for guitar and Alan Ford comics!

Bogdan is one of the few GPTCA - A star level coaches (global professional tennis coach association); he is also the Serbian President of GPTCA.

He was the head coach of the Serbia Davis Cup team from 2007 to 2017 and led the team to its first ever victory in 2010. 

Obradović has also been a member of the National Assembly of Serbia since 2016.

He has worked with many top ATP Serbian players including Janko Tipsarevic, Novak Djokovic, Boris Pasanski and Nenad Zimonjic.

He was Novak Djokovics coach in his junior years between the critical age of 10 and 20 years old and he was also his mentor.

He has his own tennis academy in Belgrade, Serbia (https://www.bogdanobradovic-tennisacademy.com/)

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I chat to Egon Samaai who I recently ran into during a tournament in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Egon talks to us about his tennis journey and amazing experiences and achievements!

Egon was a top South African junior tennis player from Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. He achieved highest national ranking of #1 in u/16 and u/18 and captained South African National Schools team with tours to England and Scotland. He was a National doubles champion in Matric College.

After high school, Egon received a scholarship to play tennis and study at Liberty University in Virginia (Liberty Flames D1 college), USA.

Egon compiled 74 singles victories in his four-year career at Liberty, which is tied for the most in program history. He also racked up 76 doubles triumphs (No. 3 in Flames' history) and was named to the Big South All-Conference Doubles team in both 2013 and 2014.

As a senior, the Cape Town, South Africa, native served as a team captain and captured a singles crown at the Wake Forest Invitational. During his junior campaign, Samaai was tabbed Big South Player of the Week three times and earned ECAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week honors once.

Egon made an immediate impact during his first two years at Liberty. He was declared a Big South flight winner at the No. 1 doubles position as a freshman and was the Big South No. 1 doubles leader with teammate Dillon Segur as a sophomore.

After his successful playing career for the Flames from 2012-16, Egon served as a volunteer assistant for the team in spring 2017. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management from Liberty in 2016, and pursed a Master of Science degree in Sport Management while coaching the team for a further 2 years.

Currently Egon is coaching at the Cliff Drysdale Tennis Academy in Miami, Florida.

Samaai also interestingly comes from South African tennis royalty. His grandfather, David Samaai, was a SA tennis legend from Paarl. Under the Apartheid regime he was not allowed to enter tournaments in South Africa, like the South African Championships, but he could play tournaments abroad although he had to fund his own trips. He participated in the Wimbledon Championships in 1949, 1951, 1954 and 1960, the first non-white South African to do so. Currently there is an ITF Grade A tournament in Cape Town named after him.

This year will also see the release of "Davy Samaai, The People's Champion", a book on Egons grandfather and written by Michael le Cordeur.

Enjoy the episode!

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Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I chat to Pietie Norval.

Pietie is a former tennis player from South Africa, who turned professional in 1988. The right-hander represented his native country in the doubles competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he partnered Wayne Ferreira. The pair won the silver medal, after losing the final to Boris Becker and Michael Stich from Germany. Norval reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 19 June 1989, when he became the no. 125 of the world in singles.

He was also very successful in doubles winning 14 career titles (Career record 329–300), and obtaining a doubles highest ranking of 16 (16 January 1995). He won the year end championship finals partnering Donald Johnson in 2000; and many other tournaments including 2 ATP Master Series. He also reached the quarter finals of all of the Grand Slams mens doubles and a semi at Wimbledon, and won the French Open mixed doubles in 1999.

In the podcast Pietie talks about his tennis journey, his career in singles and doubles; we also discuss the current state of tennis in South Africa, why South Africa produced so many talented doubles players in the past, the slowing and standardizing of all the court speeds and the difficulties of junior tennis players in South Africa.  Don't miss the mega rapid fire quiz at the end of the podcast!

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this Episode I interview Marcia Grey.

Marcia talks about her ebook "Yoga for Tennis" which she co-wrote with Phillip Kim.

Phillip Kim, also known as "PK" kindly put me in touch with Marcia. He is a USTA Tennis Professional, Tennis Pro at the Langham Huntington Hotel and Director of Tennis, City of Azusa, California. He also has his own Tennis Blog : www.lovesetmatch.net and podcast called TennisPAL Chronicles Podcast.

Marcia, on the other hand, is a Certified Yoga Instructor, ACE Certified Fitness Trainer and an ACE Certified Group Exercise Instructor. She talks about her ebook, her many experiences in the fitness world and specifically all the benefits of Yoga on the body of a tennis player. She plays tennis 4,5 times a week and loves everything to do with excercise, gym and fitness.

Following is an introduction of Marcia Grey which you will find on her ebook "Yoga For Tennis":

I started my physical training career in Hampton Roads (Norfolk/Virginia Beach) which is home to the world's largest Navy base. I became an ACE

CPT (certified personal trainer), ACE GEI (group exercise instructor), and then a US Navy Fitness Trainer. I certified as a TRX Trainer and Pre-Natal

Fitness Trainer, all of which allowed me to better serve the large population of military servicemen and women, their families, retirees, and Dept. of

Defense civilians. I can honestly say I absolutely loved my job!

I have had great opportunities to work with people from all over the world, help military members stay mission ready, and assisted moms on their

pregnancy journeys with fitness programs geared toward their specific needs. I regularly led large ship commands up to 100 people in their

Physical Readiness Test either indoors at the Navy gyms, on the flight deck of US Navy ships, or right on the beach. While at the Navy base, an

opportunity arose to start a yoga program for the Navy community so I jumped at the chance. I completed my 200 hour CYT (certified yoga

teacher) and taught initially on base for three years then branched out to the surrounding community where I teach now at a yoga studio in Virginia

Beach.

I love how yoga is such a beneficial addition to any fitness routine. I specifically like to work on improving the shoulder girdle and hip rotation

with my students. It is beneficial for everyone but particularly for tennis players who use shoulder and hip turns in their strokes. It is also beneficial

for mobility, for serve, and for open hips in footwork. I invite my students to explore their body's movement while leading them in a fun and creative

class.

In my spare time, you will find me on the tennis court. My fave surface is a hard court in the scorching high East Coast summer humidity. I like to

play indoors. My French Bulldog Louie is a tennis fan and loves to retrieve the balls for me while running around on the court.

If you would like to get in touch with Marcia or PK and order their ebook or just find out more and ask any questions, following are their contact details:

Marcia Gray

seattlemgray@gmail.com

Instagram : @seattlemgray

Phillip Kim

aces@lovesetmatch.net

Social Media : @lovesetmatch

Tennis Blog : www.lovesetmatch.net

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this Episode I chat again with Jens Barthelmes!

Jens gives us a few updates on the world of tennis strings; he also talks and gives advice on what string type and set up is better for players with certain game styles. He talks about strings, string companies, trends in the stringing world and also about his exciting new project which he will launch in 2021, and much more!

Jens is the founder of stringforum.net. He has extensive knowledge in the field of tennis strings, stringing machines and racquets

Stringforum.net is a platform for tennis players who string their own racquets and want to share their experiences with other stringers. Besides the popular discussion board; the high amount of tennis string ratings and stringing machine reviews are the central aspects of this website. In addition, Stringforum.net offers extensive information about tennis strings, stringing machines and racquet stringing. Interviews, user polls and reports complete this site and make it a valuable place for tennis players to visit.

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode, I have the honor to chat with Jofre Porta, a true legend in the tennis world.

Jofre is the owner and operator of Global Tennis Team, an international tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain. It is considered one of the best tennis schools in the world and I have had the privilege to experience it twice with my family! You will be greeted with the words: "welcome to hell". It is a small but highly professional set up run by Jofre and his amazing wife Afiza. Here he has developed and puts into practice his coaching system called GlobalSystem which is quite unconventional but very effective.

Coach, educator, and philosopher, Porta is low key but as highly respected as other Spanish legends such as Toni Nadal, Lluis Bruguera or Pato Alvarez.

He is a key figure in Spanish tennis.

Porta has coached and toured with two #1 players in the world: Carlos Moyá, whom he was with just over ten years (from a small kid to #1 Atp) and Rafal Nadal whom (together with Toni Nadal) he trained for eight years. He has also coached several other top players and many top juniors.

Other interesting work/experiences that Jofre has been involved in include:

Worked for the Spanish Tennis Federation

Nike adviser for two years

Master's degree of Tennis at the International University of Valencia

Worked as a sports commentator

Collaborated and advised many companies, organizations

Done many talks, presentations and conferences around the world

You can find out more about Jofre and follow him and his academy at:

www.globaltennisteam.com

Instagram: globaltennisteam

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow / subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

In this episode I speak to Sebastian Gamba who is the producer of "Guillermo Vilas: Settling the Score", a 2020 Netflix documentary/movie.

Sebastián Gamba is a producer, known for Francisco, El Jesuita (2015), El Representante de Dios (2011) and ¿De quién es el portaligas? (2007).

We talk about his new documentary which focuses on Guillermo Vilas, the great Argentine tennis champion and Eduardo Puppo, an Argentine journalist who strives to prove that his countryman, Guillermo Villas, was wrongly denied the No.1 world ranking in the 1970s.

There is great footage (and interviews) of Vilas, past tournaments, his coach Ion Tiriac and many famous tennis players including Rodger Federer, Nadal, Borg, Laver and so on...

It is an amazing tennis story which also talks about life, passion, and above all friendship. I highly recommend it!

Eᴅᴜᴀʀᴅᴏ Pᴜᴘᴘᴏ:

Twitter: @puppotenis

Instagram: epuppo

GUILLERMO VILAS:

Instagram: vilasguillermook

Enjoy the episode!

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Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

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Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao,

Gianluca

David Sammel is a professional tennis coach, sports consultant and writer.

He is the author of the bestselling book, ‘Locker Room Power: Building An Athlete’ Mind’, and founder of Mindset College.

He is also Head Coach for TeamBath, a former professional tennis player, ex-president of the British Tennis Coaches Association and an accredited ATP Tour coach with over 30 years’ experience coaching international players. David has coached dozens of professional players and international junior champions.

He has been prolific in British tennis, coaching amongst others Jamie Delgado, Arvind Parmar, Andrew Richardson, Martin Lee, Barry Cowan, Miles MacLagan and current players Liam Broady and Samantha Murray. Players from other countries include Wesley Moodie, Chris Haggard and Marius Barnard.

As well as coaching, he regularly writes articles on sports psychology and coaching, also delivers consultancy services, mindset workshops and presentations to high level sports teams including tennis, rugby, football, cricket, athletics and basketball. He has undertaken consultancy work for England Rugby and high level football clubs including Chelsea, Fulham, Hull and Bolton Wanderers.

Mindset College is my brand new online coaching program, that will teach you the skills you need to build a strong mindset, and how to use that mindset to succeed as a professional athlete or coach, as well as in your everyday life.

In the interview we talk about a few of the most important topics in Locker Room Power including competitiveness, enthusiasm and weapons.

We also talk about his tennis journey and do the mega rapid fire quiz as well!

You can purchase David's book on Amazon and you can find out more about him and his services on the following websites and social media accounts:

https://davidsammel.com

https://lockerroompower.com

https://www.mindsetcollege.co.uk

https://premium.chat/MindsetCollege

Instagram: david_sammel; lockerroompower

Twitter: @DaveSammel; @lockerroompower

Enjoy the episode!

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Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

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Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao Gianluca

Lance is a former tennis player from Somerset West, Cape Town, South Africa.

He chats to me about his tennis journey from junior player to playing tournaments in the ITF World Tennis Tour.

We discuss the challenges but also positive lessons of this journey; and the various obstacles that a young player may face in this process.

Lance talks to us very openly and gives great advice on this process especially for our young South African tennis players.

He also answers our mega rapid fire questions towards the end of the interview and tells us of his future projects!

Enjoy the episode!

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Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao Gianluca

Quick chat with my friend Yari Bernardo.

He is at the French Open 2020 in Paris were he is coaching Marcelo Arevalo.

He gives us a feeling and idea of what it is like to be participating in this very unique and unusual Roland Garros!

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao Gianluca

In this Episode I talk to Agostino Piccolo, the director of sales and marketing of the hotel Il San Pietro di Positano.

We talk about the hotel's tennis court which is considered by many to be the most beautiful and scenic court in the world!

It has won many awards and is repeatedly mentioned in articles, magazines and will pop up if you do a simple google search as well!

The hotel is located in Positano, Amalfi Coast, just south of Naples in Italy. 

It is an amazing 5 star hotel and is part of the Relais & Châteaux association.

You can view the hotel and its court on their website: www.ilsanpietro.com or instagram: ilsanpietrodipositano

Their Instagram account is updated regularly and always has some fantastic pictures!

Agostino talks to me about the Hotel, its facilities, the tennis court and stories related to the court.

Enjoy the episode!

Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Ciao Gianluca

I chat to Ettore Zito who is at the Italian Open in Rome coaching Bethanie Mattek-Sands who is playing doubles with Sofia Kenin.

Ettore talks about his tennis journey from being an excellent junior in Sicily playing with Salvatore Caruso and Marco Cecchinato to playing college tennis at Middle Tennessee State University, getting a masters at Grand Canyon University while being the assistant coach to their tennis teams; to currently coaching Bethanie Mattek-Sands, former world #1 doubles, olimpic gold medalist and multiple grand slam winner.

He also talks about the Rome Masters 1000 tournament, the atmosphere and situation with Covid.

You can follow Ettore Zito on Instagram: ettore_zito

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

I discuss the first week of the US Open and try and give a few predictions! 

In Part 2 I have a  comedy segment with "The Coach" (minute 17).

 The Coach is a professional tennis coach from Toronto, Canada. He gives us his opinions on the first week and also talks about the incredible run of the Canadians in the tournament; he also, unfortunately, raps to Shapovalov's new rap single and gives us his totally wrong predictions.

If you enjoy The Coach like me, please follow him on Instagram: thecoach_1968 and he also has a youtube channel: youtu.be/YY54c7VcC8s

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Wayne Montgomery was an exceptional Junior tennis player and US College Division 1 player from South Africa.

He reached an ITF Junior ranking of 7, and played all the big junior tournaments including the Slams. During these junior years he also played against a who's who list of currant top ATP players and played doubles with some very famous names like Nick Kyrgios.

Following his junior career, Wayne joined the Georgia Bulldogs at the University of Georgia in the USA. The Georgia Bulldogs are one of the best and historically an excellent college division 1 team. He played all 4 years in position 1 or 2. During his 4 years he received many awards and honors and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Risk Management & Insurance, Legal Studies.

Wayne's talks about his incredible junior and college tennis journey. I think he gives excellent advice (especially for South Africans) and insights to any junior who is considering playing junior ITFs and/or considering becoming a professional tennis player or joining a College in the USA.

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Great chat with Nick Margiasso.

Nick talks about his tennis journey, starting a new tennis program from scratch at NJCU and much more. He talks about college tennis in the US and gives great advice and insights into the college experience.

Nick also coached Division II University of the Sciences in Philadelphia where he led the Devils' men's and women's tennis programs as head coach. He guided USciences women's program to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference semifinals and an eight-win season in his abbreviated first year and the Devils' No. 1 singles player was ranked No. 17 in the region in Division II. The Devils' produced the most conference wins in school history. Meanwhile, the men's program ended their COVID-19 shortened season by beating the first Division I team in program history, Mount Saint Mary's.

He also was the assistant coach for the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) men's and women's teams during the 2018-19 campaign. In his lone season, the women's team was ranked as high as No. 5 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and reached the quarterfinals of the National Tournament. He coached the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NAIA National Women's Rookie of the Year—Priya Sukkanha—who went undefeated and earned as high as the No. 3 ranking in the country.  The Bees' women's program finished the season with a 12-4 ledger and reached the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship Quarterfinals.

Margiasso also led New York City's prestigious The Nightingale-Bamford School to an undefeated season, culminating with the New York City Championship, in 2017-18.

For six years (2011-17) he owned and operated NM4PR Tennis & Media, handling short coaching stints and media services for pro and junior tennis players, including ATP Tour pros Nick Kyrgios, Ryan Harrison, Chris Eubanks and former No. 1 U.S. Junior player Trent Bryde. He has also handled public relations for the ATP, the BB&T Atlanta Open and USTA and helped with the launching of the KidzTennis teaching franchise.

Nick briefly played professionally on the ITF Pro Circuit in 2009; and he has also coached at the famed IMG Academy and the USTA Regional Training Site in Norcross, Ga.

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Yari is an old classmate from Italy.  He has been involved in tennis all his life. He is currently the coach of Marcelo Arevalo (top ATP doubles player), Davis Cup Captain of El Salvador, and is the owner and founder of Yari Bernardo Tennis School, Milan, Italy. Yari has had some amazing tennis experiences and in this podcast he talks to us about some of them and how they have impacted his life. These are just a few of the highlights of Yari's tennis journey: Collaborating with the legendary coach Nick Bollettieri Coach on the ATP Tour and Junior Circuit Currently coach of Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador) 2008-2013: Travelling coach of former ATP #9 and 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in singles and doubles, Nicolas Massu (Chile), on the ATP Tour European season Former ATP player and Davis Cup player El Salvador Davis Cup team member 1991, 1992: Practice partner of the great Bjorn Borg under the supervision of Nick Bollettieri at his tennis academy in Italy, while Bjorn was making his comeback to professional tennis Ranked top 50 on the ITF junior world ranking.

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

Tomaz Mencinger is a professional tennis coach currently living in Slovenia and offering private lessons to passionate players of all levels. He is also the founder of feeltennis.net; tennismindgame.com and has an amazing Youtube Channel called Feel Tennis Instruction. Loved talking to him, he has a lot of experience and some very interesting views and opinions. Check out the quick fire at the end of the interview!

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

In this episode I Interview Oana Georgeta Simion, #1 Ranked ITF Womens World Tennis Tour.

Oana is currently playing Serie B Womens League tennis in Italy. She talks to us about her tennis path, upbringing in Romania, future plans and practising with Simona Halep. She had an incredible 2019 where she won 4 ITFs and was runner up in several others. We also have my famous quick fire questions in the second part of the interview. Oana comes across as a very friendly person who has a genuine love of tennis and the tour.

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow my podcast, you will find it on most platforms

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

 In this episode, I talk to Emmanuel Damian. Emmanuel  is the founder of thetennisfoodie.com, a website and blog about tennis, food and travel. 

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow and like my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

In this episode I have a great chat with Jens Barthelmes. 

Jens is the founder of stringforum.net. He has extensive knowledge in the field of tennis strings, stringing machines and racquets; we discuss strings and much more and Jens also gives us some useful tips and interesting stories. We also talk about his personal life and include some fun quick fire questions in the second part of this interview.

Stringforum.net is a platform for tennis players who string their own racquets and want to share their experiences with other stringers. Besides the popular discussion board; the high amount of tennis string ratings and stringing machine reviews are the central aspects of this website. In addition, Stringforum.net offers extensive information about tennis strings, stringing machines and racquet stringing. Interviews, user polls and reports complete this site and make it a valuable place for tennis players to visit.

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow and like my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

In this episode I interview Todd Widom. TW Tennis, LLC is owned and operated by Todd Widom and concentrates in private tennis coaching, massage, and bodywork. Todd Widom works privately with junior tennis players who strive to become collegiate or professional tennis players. Todd Widom is based in Broward County, Florida. TW Tennis is South Florida’s top small group/private tennis training geared exclusively for the high performance junior, collegiate or professional tennis player. Todd has some great insight and advice to parents, coaches and juniors, and explains what to focus on in order to take your tennis to the next level.

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow and like my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola

In this episode I interview Lisa Stone. She is the creator and host of the podcast Parenting Aces. The aim of ParentingAces is to help educate junior and college tennis parents (and coaches) as they navigate the murky waters of junior tennis development, competition, and college recruiting. You can also find more information on www.parentingaces.com; and most social media including Youtube, Facebook, Twitter etc...

Ciao Gianluca

Please follow and like my podcast, you will find it on most platforms.

Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola

Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast

Twitter: @GlSola