Cooper Williams returns to the podcast and joins us from the capital of the ITF Futures world - Monastir, Tunisia! We first talked to Cooper in 2021 (episode 67) and have followed his success - #3 Junior ITF, top collegiate player and now winning pro titles. Cooper spent three weeks in Monastir and took home 2 first place trophies. We talk about why going to Monastir makes sense for pro players and how he manages his summer schedule.

James McKie - UTR Sports Director of Player Relations, and former associate HC at Tennessee (2017-24).

James talks about his journey from College tennis player to coach to his current role at UTR.

UTR is helping juniors and college tennis players improve their development with alternate and innovate tennis events.

UTR's Summer Slam:

https://www.utrsports.net/pages/pro-tennis#summer-slam

Tennis Parent, Mark Bowers, share his wisdom and advice on parenting two D1 college tennis players - Ashton (University of Texas) and Tyler (University of Illinois).

Roman Prokes, the premier racket technician in the world (not an exaggeration!), shares his wisdom on racket specifications for junior players. We talk with Roman about the optimal racket and string set up for a variety of junior players. Roman also shares stories of stringing for the US Davis Cup team, working with Andre Agassi to find the right racket for Novak Djokovic to beat Nadal at Roland Garros (it worked!), and much more!

https://rpnytennis.com/

IG: @rpnytennis

Lindsay shares stories about her junior tennis career, being a tennis parent to the #1 ranked US junior player, and what advice she has for tennis parents and players.

Robert & Scott discuss the new ITF rule to allow off-court coaching. In addition, they discuss their experiences of playing ITFs in the US vs Foreign, debate whether WCs should be used for USTA tournaments, and share their experiences of hosting players during professional tournaments.

Kazuki ("Kaz") Matsuno joined Michigan State men's tennis as an assistant coach in 2023, and serves as the Spartans recruiting coordinator. Kaz grew up in Chicago and played for Michigan State from 2020 - 2023.

On the podcast, we discuss what Michigan State looks for in recruits, how they have been able to create a professional environment and what to expect from the Spartans in 2025.

Raheel Manji - founder and CEO or Mission Elite - joins us to discuss how Mission Elite is impacting tennis development. Raheel played college tennis at Indiana, played professionally, and coached at Oklahoma. He saw a need to bring the college model to professional and junior tennis.

Learn more about Mission Elite:

Website

Podcast

Book: 17 Principles of a Mission Elite

The Changeover guys - Jody and Justin - join the podcast!

Jody Maginley and Justin Roberts, former D1 college players and currently playing the pro circuit, launched the Changeover Podcast in 2023. The Changeover is a behind the scenes look at professional tennis at the Futures and Challenger level.

We discuss how they launched their pro careers, what it's like being a doubles specialist, how to deal with setbacks, and some stories from life on the circuit.

IG: @changeoverpodcast

X: @changeoverpcast

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@changeoverpodcast

We follow up our previous conversation with Marcelo and talk about

- how can tennis stay relevant with the rise of pickleball and padel

- what does it take to make a Blue Chip player

- wide-ranging discussion on all things tennis recruiting

Marcelo is the Director of Windy Hill Junior Tennis Academy. Prior to that, Marcelo was the head coach at Pepperdine and associate coach at Texas Tech.

IG: @coahferreiratennis