Courtside Sessions

This episode of Courtside Sessions features ATP top 200 and Diadem Athlete Oliver Crawford. 

Oliver recounts his training sessions from ages two to twelve and the pivotal moment at age 13 when he chose to focus on tennis full-time. Oliver also explains his decision to attend college, driven by advice to further develop his game mentally and physically.

Oliver elaborates on the challenges of the professional circuit, including traveling alone to various countries and adapting to different cultures and speaks of his mental health challenges and the importance of regular consultations with a mental coach.

He touches on upcoming tournaments, including preparations for Wibledon and the Australian Open.

This episode of Courtside Sessions features Mark Kokavec, a shoe designer renowned for his work on Diadem’s Court Bursts. 

Mark discusses his early career and personal connection to tennis, including his brother’s professional career. Additionally, he shares insights from his collaborations with brands such as Reebok, Converse, and New Balance.

Mark elaborates on his work with prominent athletes such as Venus Williams, Dwayne Wade, and Todd Martin. 

Mark describes how he got involved with Diadem, the vision behind the Court Burst shoe, and the importance of continuous feedback from athletes to improve future shoe designs.

In our chat, Ricardo shares stories from his amazing career. We dive into his unique coaching style and what he looks for in recruits—spoiler: it's more than just stats!

Whether you're a tennis fan or an aspiring athlete this episode is packed with valuable lessons and motivating tales from the world of college tennis.

Don't miss out on this chance to hear from one of the most dedicated and successful coaches around—Ricardo Gonzalez.

In part two of Courtside Sessions with Marcelo Arévalo, we delve deeper into the Salvadoran tennis star's career. Marcelo opens up about his experiences competing in Challenger tournaments and reflects on his best singles performances. He candidly discusses the time when he found out about his herniated disk and had to make serious decisions about the future of his career.

Marcelo elaborates on his doubles career, explaining why it became clear that focusing on doubles was the key to achieving his dreams. Join us for an insightful conversation as Marcelo provides a behind-the-scenes look at the resilience, strategy, and determination required to excel in professional tennis.

In this episode of Courtside Sessions, we sat down with Marcelo Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis star and Grand Slam champion. Marcelo shares his inspiring journey from pursuing tennis in El Salvador to becoming a top player, diving into the unique challenges he faced and the passion that kept him going. He offers great insights on the realities of climbing the tennis ranks, discussing the nerves, the intense hard work, and the ultimate payoff.

Marcelo also chats about the importance of college tennis, working his way up the ranks, and his strategic decision to focus on doubles. He encourages young athletes to trust the process and believe in themselves. 

On our first episode of season 2, we sit down with Christian Singer, a tennis player turned industry expert, to discuss his journey from the courts of South Germany to the world stage. Christian shares anecdotes from his early days playing tennis in junior teams in his hometown just outside Munich, to his college tennis experiences at Georgia Southern University in the US.

We dive into the challenges of adapting to the US tennis culture, the camaraderie of college tennis, and Christian's transition from being an athlete to starting his career in the racket sports industry. With 14 years at Wilson under his belt, Christian shares stories from the industry and his experiences traveling to witness legendary matches and see juniors grow into professionals.

That's a wrap on Season 1 of Courtside Sessions! Sachia Vickery, checks in to discuss life on and off the court, her run at the US Open, and much more! When talking about her run she said, "US Open for any American player is the biggest tournament that we can play in, and the support that I had from the crowd that week, I was able to play my best tennis." You can also get the racket Sachia uses for 30% off this Nova November, check it out in the link below and stay tuned for a full sit down with Sachia in season 2 of Courtside Sessions!  

Tosin Awomewe, a former junior, competitive adult player, with an extensive coaching background, who went on to start his own academy shares his tennis journey and unique philosophy. "My training had an end goal, believe it or not, to always learn something new each time I trained." Check out the full episode to hear all the gems Tosin dropped during this conversation!

Trey Morris, the current Head Men's Tennis Coach at Jacksonville State University, shares his tennis journey with us. A lot of his current coaching philosophy has been honed in through his experience competing across the world. He said, "my father did a phenomenal job of creating a mentality for the way I viewed competition." Tune into the full episode to learn more about that mentality and pick up more tips from coach Morris!

Brian Rosenthal, a former compettive junior and NC State Wolfpack player who has gone on to have a sucessful career working in tennis shares some insight he's learned along the way. When asked if lessons he learned in his playing career impacted him professionally he said, "I think you learn about persevereance and you learn about roadblocks." Check out the full episode to hear everything Brian had to share!