Control the Controllables

Matt Little is one of the world´s most renowned S&C Coaches.

He´s worked with Andy Murray for the past 14 years, through the highs and lows of 3 Grand Slam titles, 2 Olympic gold medals, a Davis Cup win and career-threatening injuries. 

Matt was by Murray´s side through two hip surgeries, his gruelling recovery and inspiring return to tennis.

He´s just released a new book, The Way of the Tortoise: Why You Have to Take the Slow Lane to Get Ahead.

In today´s episode, Matt chats to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about working with Andy, his career in S&C, and gives some fascinating insight into :-

• His journey from young tennis player to coaching a World Number 1.
• How he prepares himself to watch Murray´s matches.
• How his role in Andy Murray´s team has developed through the years.
• What working with Murray in 2016 was really like!
• The impact Murray´s hip injuries had on the team, and how rewarding his return to tennis has been.
• The importance of soft skills in coaching.
• Why he recommends young tennis & S&C coaches find their own niche in tennis.
• The inspiration for his new book The Way of the Tortoise.
• What´s next for S&C in tennis.
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Episode ShowNotes

Control the Controllables on Instagram: @ctc.podcast

SotoTennis Academy on Instagram: @sototennis

Ryan Jones is a British Coach who has been working on the ATP/ITF tour for the past 10 years.

Ryan has taken Borna Coric and Kyle Edmund into the ATP top 100 and is well on the way to the same result with young British hope Jack Draper. 

You may have seen Jack take the first set off World Number one Novak Djokovic in his Wimbledon debut this summer.

Ryan comes from a strong tennis pedigree, as the son of Alan Jones. Alan famously coached Jo Durie to the top 5 in the world back in the 1980´s. All three now work together at Junior Elite Tennis academy in the UK.

Ryan is clearly passionate about tennis and, like his dad, has discipline at the heart of his coaching philosophy. He gives us raw insight into how he works and what he believes.

He also chats to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about:-

• The impact his father Alan Jones has had on his playing and coaching career.
• The traits he looks for in a player.
• Are Coaches in the UK too soft on players?
• The sacrifices needed to be a tennis coach.
• His journey so far with Jack Draper.
• If becoming a Father will change his coaching style.
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A great listen!

Links Mentioned in this Episode:-

Episode 103: Borna Coric - Ownership

Episode 131: Facundo Lugones - Find a Way

Don´t miss an episode of Control the Controllables! 

Check out our website, and subscribe to the podcast here!

You can also follow @ctc.podcast on Instagram!

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

Up until the 2021 US Open, Alastair Filmer was known as one of Great Britain´s leading performance coaches. 

He´s now more commonly referred to as Emma Raducanu´s former coach. The 18-year-old has been in the spotlight since she stormed to the women´s title as a qualifier earlier this month.

Alistair coached Emma between the ages of 11 - 14, guiding her to her first ITF title at 13, and 3rd place at the U14 Orange Bowl. He was Head of Performance at Bromley Tennis Centre for 7 years, before moving to Dukes Meadows as Head of the Regional Performance Centre.

In this episode, Alastair talks to Control the Controllables about:-

• How he felt watching Emma Raducanu win her first Grand Slam.
• He gives us an insight into her training schedule at age 11 - 14.
• Did he think she was going to be a superstar at this age?
• The challenges that come with coaching high-level players.
• He discusses self-worth and judgment linked to the player you work with, rather than the job you do.
• Setting the culture and building character first. 
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A fascinating listen!

Let us know your thoughts on this episode! 

Leave a rating and review or you can email us directly at [email protected]

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In this bonus episode, we speak to Alexa Guarachi who is currently World Number 12 in Womens´doubles.

Alexa has just reached the Semi-Final of the Women´s Doubles at the US Open with partner Desirae Krawczyk. The pair previously reached the final at Roland Garros in 2020.

The daughter of an American mother and a Chilean Father, the 30-year-old has represented Chile since 2015. She has  5 WTA and 20 ITF Doubles titles to her name and is currently coached by GB´s Craig Veal.

Listen to Alexa speak to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about:-

• How she´s been able to rise up the rankings each year.
• The impact her tennis-playing parents have had on her career.
• Her time at the University of Alabama, where she broke the record for the most wins in one season.
• Coming back from tearing her ACL and how it changed her mindset on her tennis.
• Her decision to focus on Doubles.
• How her positive attitude has helped her tennis career.
• What she believes makes a good doubles partner.
• The number 1 thing she looks for in a coach.
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 Enjoy!

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Follow Alexa on Instagram: @aguarachi

Follow Alexa on Twitter: @aguarachi

Episode 129: Wimbledon Review

Episode 103: Craig Veal - Step by Step

Find out more about SotoTennis Academy and keep up with all the latest at the Academy over on Instagram.

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 not been a bad few weeks for GB´s Joe Salisbury. In fact, it´s not been a bad year!

The 29-year-old completed a US Open double at the weekend, winning the Men´s Doubles with partner Rajeev Ram on Friday, followed by the Mixed Doubles title with Desirae Krawczyk the next day.

Joe has now reached 5 Grand Slam doubles finals in 2021, winning 3 of them. He´s now world number 4 and a 4-time Grand Slam Champion.

In this episode, Joe talks to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about his amazing fortnight at Flushing Meadows and the incredible run to the women´s title by fellow Brit Emma Raducanu.

He also discusses:-

• Why 2021 has been such a successful year for him.
• The benefits of his consistent partnership with Rajeev Ram.
• The impact of coaches Justin Sherring, Louis Cayer & Rob Morgan on his career.
• Playing his first Olympics this summer with Andy Murray.
• He confirms if he and Desirae Krawczyk will go for their 3rd Grand Slam together at the Aussie Open.
• His goals for his tennis career and after. 
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Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Episode 129: Wimbledon Review

Episode 102: Louis Cayer - The Guru!

Follow Joe Salisbury on Twitter: @joesalisbury92

Follow Joe Salisbury on Instagram: @joesalisbury92

Facundo Lugones has been Cameron Norrie´s coach since 2017. 

The pair played together on the Mens Tennis Team at Texas Christian University for 12 months, before Facu became a Graduate Coach for the team. 

The 28-year-old Argentinian has guided Norrie to 3 ATP Challenger Tour titles, and 2 ATP Tour Doubles Titles. In June, Norrie reached the final at Queens, before winning his first ATP title in July in Los Cabos, breaking into the top 30 for the first time.

In this episode, CTC Host Dan Kiernan chats to Facu about:-

• Why he thinks Norrie has had such a successful 2021 so far.
• Growing up playing in Argentina with Diego Schwartzman & Nicolás Kicker
• Why he thinks Argentina is producing so many players
• Why he doesn´t think money is an obstacle for players to be successful
• HIs time at US College and how he moved from playing into coaching.
• His advice to young coaches.
• 
  
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Links Mentioned in this Episode

Episode 55: Cameron Norrie - College Stud to Pro Life

Episode 96: David Walsh - Pursuit of the Truth

Follow Facu Lugones on Twitter: @faculugones

Follow Control the Controllables on Instagram: @ctc.podcast

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

If you watched any of the 2021 Australian Open in January, you wouldn´t have missed Craig Tiley.

The Director of the Aussie Open was on our screens throughout the tournament as he dealt with tennis players and officials in hotel quarantine for 14 days, and a local lockdown in Melbourne.

In this episode, Craig talks to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about the difficulties of running a Grand Slam during the pandemic, and shares all the latest of what the 2022 Australian Open will look like. 

Craig also looks back on his career in tennis which started in is native South Africa and includes being South Africa´s Davis Cup Captain for 3 years. He also spent 11 years in the USA as Head Coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. There he led the mens team to 2 National Team Indoor Championships, as well a 32–0 record and an NCAA Championship in 2003.

Now, as well as running the Australian Open, Craig is also the CEO of Tennis Australia.

Craig´s passion for tennis and love of helping others shines through in this episode. Enjoy!

Enjoyed the episode? 

We´d love to hear from you! Leave us a rating and review here!

You can also head over to our website or follow us on Instagram for all the latest on Control the Controllables!

Follow Craig Tiley on Twitter

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

We´ve kept you waiting for this episode, but it´s worth the wait! 

Listen to our review of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships with this year´s Mixed Doubles Champions Neal Skupski & Desirae Krawczyk. 

Neil has recently reached a career high of 14 in the world in doubles. The Brit teamed up with Desirae for the first time at Wimbledon, fresh off the back of her French Open Mixed doubles title with GB´s Joe Salisbury. 

Also joining the review is Desirae´s coach Craig Veal. They chat to CTC host Dan Kiernan about the highs and lows at SW19 this year, their experience on Centre Court and run to the Mixed doubles title. They also chat about Neils experience representing GB at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Desirae also answers the burning question....who will she be playing with in the Mixed at next month´s US Open, Joe or Neil?! 

Enjoy! 

Connect with us! 

For all the latest on the Control the Controllables podcast, head to our website www.controlthecontrollables.co.uk 

You can also follow us on Instagram at @ctc.podcast We´d love to hear from you! 

If you´re feeling extra generous, you can leave us a rating and review over on Apple Podcasts.

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

Maik Burlage is a former professional tennis player, and now the founder and CEO of Wingfield. 

The 30-year-old German played professionally for nearly 3 years, before moving into Coaching and then tech innovation. He set up Wingfield with the aim to bring affordable smart match and performance analysis to the wider tennis community.

Wingfield´s technology gives players the opportunity to receive instant video and data from their practise session or match at their local club. 

The data, like your first serve percentage, is delivered on the court or through a smart phone app.

Listen to Maik talk to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about:-

• His tennis career
• How he moved from player to coach to entrepreneur.
• Where his love of data came from.
• How he used the skills he acquired as a tennis player to set up his own company.
• How he would use data analysis as a coach.
• The future of data in the sport of tennis.
• 
  

Links Mentioned in this Episode:-

Find out more about Wingfield

Episode 123: Luke Jensen - Choose Confidence

A fan of Data Analysis? You might also like these episodes:-

Episode 116: Mike James - A Numbers Game

Episode 23: Craig O’Shannessy - Money ball of tennis!

Don´t miss an episode! 

Hit Subscribe on Apple Podcasts. You can also Rate and Review the podcast and let us know what you think. 

Or head over to @ctc.podcast on Instagram and hit follow. We´d love to hear from 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

Dr Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist.

He´s worked with hundreds of top athletes including Olympic Gold medalists and tennis players Jim Courier, Monica Seles & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.

During his career he´s also worked with military Special Forces, Hostage Rescue teams, surgeons and Fortune 500 CEOs to achieve sustained high performance.

Listen to Dr Loehr talk to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about:-

• How he started working with his first tennis player, Tom Gullikson
• His time working with Jimmy Connors & Nick Bollettieri´s Tennis Academy (now IMG Academy)
• Why he thinks more players aren´t travelling with sports psychologists…yet.
• How to train mentally and emotionally.
• Tips to help build your confidence.
• His belief that character strength can be built in the same way that muscle strength is built, through energy investment.
• The Hidden Scorecard – the importance of having different success measures.
• His time working with Olympic gold medal speed skater Dan Jansen.
• Advice to parents, players and coaches who don´t have access to a sports psychologist.
• 
  

An incredibly informative episode, get your notepads and pens at the ready!

Links Mentioned in this Episode

Website: www.jim-loehr.com

Check our Dr Jim Loehrs books here

Watch Dan Jansens´s Story - Never Give Up

Listen to our episode with Tom Gullikson 

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