Control the Controllables

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!

Read full shownotes here.

Episode Highlights:-

• The highs and lows of his career so far
• Why he thinks juniors is such a good route for players.
• How Australia´s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt helped him to decide to focus on doubles.
• His role as unofficial mentor and hitter in the Davis Cup Team.
• What is was like working with Kygios as a coach & doubles partner
• And lots more stories from the tour!
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Connect

• Control the Controllables: Website | Instagram | Email
• Follow Matt Reid on Instagram
• Check out SotoTennis Academy
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Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete

“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.

Read full shownotes here. 

Links Mentioned in this Episode

• Check out the Match Flow & Momentum Online Courses 
• Find out more about tennis in British Universities: www.lta.org.uk/universities
• Episode 143: Keith Reynolds - Are we selling the game of tennis the right way? 
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Connect

• Control the Controllables: Website | Instagram | Email
• Follow Alistair Higham:  Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn    
• Momentum in Sport: Instagram | Twitter
• British University Tennis on Twitter
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Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete

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.
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Read full show notes here.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

• Control the Controllables: Website | Instagram | Email
• Follow Barbara Schett-Eagle: Instagram | Twitter 
• Watch Barbara speak to Elina Svitolina about her fears for Ukraine
• Episode 153: Ukraine´s Sergiy Stakhovsky on fighting for his country
• Donate to Tennis Plays for Peace
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Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete

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 🇺🇦

Read the full shownotes here.

Connect

• Follow Sergiy Stakhovsky on Twitter
• Control the Controllables Website | Instagram | Email
• Listen to Episode 91: Sergiy Stakhovsky - No Holds Barred
• SotoTennis Academy
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We´ve been Nominated for Best Tennis Podcast!

There´s just a few days left to vote for us for us for ´Best Tennis Podcast of the Year´ by the Sports Podcast Awards 🎧🏆

We are so excited to be nominated, and would be so grateful it if you could spare a couple of minutes to register here and vote for Control the Controllables! 

Voting closes on March 6th 2022. Thank you 🙏

Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete

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.
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Read full show notes here. 

Listen to Iga Swiatek´s episode on Control the Controllables

We need your vote!

We´re very excited to have been shortlisted for ´Best Tennis Podcast of the Year´ by the Sports Podcast Awards 🎧🏆

We would massively appreciate it if you could spare just a couple of minutes to register here and vote for Control the Controllables before voting closes on March 6th! Thank you! 

Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete

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!
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See full show notes here. 

150th Episode Giveaway Winner!

In today´s episode we also announce the lucky winner of our 150th Episode Giveaway! Find out who has won a FREE training week at SotoTennis Academy!

We´ve been nominated for Best Tennis Podcast!

We´re very excited to have been shortlisted for ´Best Tennis Podcast of the Year´ by the Sports Podcast Awards 🎧🏆

We would massively appreciate it if you could spare just a couple of minutes to register here and vote for Control the Controllables!

It is also a great chance to discover some other brilliant sport podcasts! Thank you 🙏

Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete

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!

Read full show notes here.

Links & Resources

• Control the Controllables: Website | Instagram | Email
• Mardy Fish on Twitter
• Watch the Netflix documentary Untold: Breaking Point
• Mardy Fish Children´s Foundation
• SotoTennis Academy
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Win a Free Training Week at SotoTennis Academy!

Thank you so much for helping us reach 150 episodes of Control the Controllables! To celebrate, we are giving you/your child the chance to win a free training week at SotoTennis Academy.

Here´s how you can enter:-

1. Follow @ctc.podcast and @sototennis on Instagram
2. Like one of our podcast posts on Instagram
3. Tag 3 friends in the comments underneath
4. Get a Bonus Entry by sharing on your story!
5. 
   

You have until Monday 14th February 8pm CET to get your entry in. Good luck!

If our podcast or an episode inspires you in some way, please consider making a donation to support and say thank you, by buying us a coffee ☕️! This will assist with the time and costs involved in bringing each episode to you, as we continue to improve and grow the podcast. Thank you for your listening to the show and for all your support! ⭐

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:-

• 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion and USTA Coach Stephen Huss
• Former British number 1 turned Coach and TV commentator Lucie Ahl
• Former Belgian number 1 and ATP top 25 player Xavier Malisse 
• Denmark´s Davis Cup Captain and 2012 Wimbledon Doubles Champion Freddie Nielsen
• Kieron Vorster who has been S&C Coach to Tim Henman, Wayne Ferreira and recently Dan Evans.
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Read full shownotes here.

We need your vote! 🙏

We are very excited to have been shortlisted for ´Best Tennis Podcast of the Year´ by the Sports Podcast Awards, powered by Sport Industry 🎧🏆

We would massively appreciate it if you could spare just a couple of minutes to register here and vote for Control the Controllables!

It is also a great chance to discover some other brilliant sport podcasts! Thank you 🙏

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

Links & Resources

• DM us on Instagram
• Control the Controllables website
• Email Control the Controllables
• SotoTennis Academy website
• 
  

Full shownotes are available here.

We´ve been Nominated!

We are very excited to have been shortlisted for ´Best Tennis Podcast of the Year´ by the Sports Podcast Awards, powered by Sport Industry 🎧🏆  

We are up against some fierce competition, so if you listen to and enjoy our podcast, your help would be massively appreciated 😊

It takes just a couple of minutes to register here and vote for Control the Controllables!

It is also a great chance to discover some other brilliant sport podcasts! Thank you 🙏

Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete

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:- 

• Former British player, coach and TV commentator Lucie Ahl Former 
• Belgian number 1 and ATP top 25 player Xavier Malisse 
• GB Coach Mark Hilton and former coach to Dan Evans and Liam Broady
• South African, Kieron Vorster the former S&C Coach to Tim Henman, Wayne Ferreira and recently Dan Evans. 
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Listen to their favourite Aussie Open stories and hear their favourites, as well as their outsiders to watch for both the Women’s and Men’s events. 

We want to hear your picks for the titles this year! Do you think we could see another surprise winner like Emma Raducanu at the the US Open? Head over to our Instagram page or email us at [email protected] and let us know!

Links & Resources:

• DM us on Instagram
• Control the Controllables website
• SotoTennis Academy website
• 
  

Full show notes are available here

Enjoying the Podcast? Follow us on your favourite podcast player, and head over to the Control the Controllables website to choose your next episode!

Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop.

TennisAthlete