Functional Tennis Podcast

Today is the 4th part of our 5-part Asics mini-series which I recorded while at the Asics house in Paris. And I chat to Borna Coric. Borna has recently had shoulder injuries but he is now back stronger than ever and looking extremely fit. I ask him about a characteristic that defines him, his non-negotiables, advice for parents and his advice on ho…

Today is the 3rd part of our 5 part Asics mini-series which I recorded while at the Asics house in Paris and I talk to Olympic champion Belinda Bencic. Belinda chats about her characteristic on the court, aiming for perfection but not expecting it, how to be 1% better every day and some advice for tennis parents. Hope you enjoy Fabio Have you seen …

Today I chat with 25-year-old Slovak Alex Molcan. Alex is currently ranked in the top 80 and has a career-high of 36. He’s coached by Novak Djokovic’s former coach Marion Vadja (listen to Marian In episode 90). Alex tells us his main characteristic on the court, the importance of focus and intensity on the practice court as well as the need to chil…

Today I chat with an Asics athlete Rohan Bopanna. Rohan was one of our first-ever guests on the podcast 4 years ago, he’s one of the nicest guys, on the tour (that I’ve met) and this year at 43 years of age he has re-entered the top 10 with some great wins throughout the year with his partner Matt Ebden. Rohan tells me has no cartilage in his knees…

This week I caught up with Rene Zandbergen. Rene has worked with our podcast sponsor Asics for 22 years helping develop shoes and working alongside the world's best athletes to help continually improve the Asics range of shoes. We talk about: His 22 years at Asics so far Working with Novak to develop his latest shoes, the Court FF3 The differences …

This week on the podcast, I meet parent and coach Cinzia Giovinco. I met Cinzia during my week at the IMG Future Stars event in Athens, Greece. Cinzia is the parent to 11-year-old Tyson who was competing at the event. She is also the mother to US Billie Jean Cup player Tyra Grant. In our conversation, Cinzia explains how she manages to balance the …

This week is a bit different to our usual weekly interviews. Recently I was away at the IMG Future Stars which features some of the best under 12's in the world. With an idea from a previous guest I decided to document what I find makes these great tennis kids so good. I was there for a full week and it wasn't a usual tournament where the players a…

This week on the podcast, I speak to top tour coach Mark Gellard. In our conversation, Mark explains why players need to coach themselves during the game as well as give a strong defence for on-the-court coaching. We also chat about Mark’s work with Magda Linette and I ask him what the difference is between a top 100 player and a top twenty player.…

This week on the podcast, I meet Amanda Jane Napier Owens - a leading sports and performance psychologist. In our conversation, we talk about how early we should introduce pressure into the training of tennis juniors, and how we go about doing this. I ask Amanda how to get players fired up before a big game and if this really improves performance. …

This week on Functional Tennis, I meet coach and former player Gianluigi Quinzi. In our conversation, Gianluigi describes how mentally challenges, the media attention and pressure impacted the early part of his career. We also talk about Gianluigi’s work in the Piatti Tennis Center and I ask Gianluigi how difficult the transition from junior to pro…

This week on the podcast, I speak to Tallon Griekspoor. Tallon is a Dutch pro tennis player who has just reached a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 36. In our conversation, Tallon explains why the competitiveness he had with his brothers helped develop him into the player he is today. I also ask Tallon about his challenger performances …

This week on the podcast, I meet Human Movement & Sport Performance Specialist - Andrea Bracaglia. In our conversation, we talk about Andrea’s involvement in football and how he moved into the world of tennis. We chat about how andrea worls with his athletes, and Andrea explains why player development should come before short term success & results…

This week on the podcast, I meet one of the top juniors from 2022 who has just recently turned pro - Jakub Mensik. In our conversation, Jakub tells us all about his famous 2022 Australian Open boys' singles final and what is was like to train with Novak Djokovic. I also ask Jakub about how he’s dealing with all the media attention and what the jump…

This week on Functional Tennis, I meet Dr. Dario Novak. In our conversation, Dario details what Donna Vekić and Borna Coric were like as juniors. I ask Dario about his work with Stan Wawrinka and Elena Rybakina. We also speak extensively about Dario’s research into what makes a tennis great. Hope you enjoy it, Fabio Have you seen the Functional Ten…

This week on the podcast, I meet Belgian coach Olivier Grignard. In our conversation, Olivier tells me how his tennis story began. Olivier also tells me about his coaching role in china, we discuss some of the cultural differences between juniors in Europe and juniors in Asia, and much much more. Hope you enjoy it Fabio Carlos Rodriguez episode: ht…

This week on the podcast, I meet the current Lead National Coach with USTA Player Development - Johnny Parkes. In our conversation, Johnny explains why playing a young Nikoloz Basilashvili was a bit of a reality check. We also talk about Johnny’s role in the US setup, and what his biggest challenge was in his early coaching days. Hope you enjoy it …

This week on Functional Tennis, I meet former Northern Ireland player and now coach - Peter Bothwell. Peter was the first man from Northern Ireland to have an ATP world ranking in singles or doubles. He played in the Irish Davis Cup and he also won the Irish Open in 2018. In our conversation, Peter tells me about how his journey in tennis began, he…

This week on Functional Tennis, I meet legendary coach - Rick Macci for a fantastic chat. In our conversation, Rick details his experience training Venus and Serena Williams when they were kids. Rick also shares the moment he was told they were making the film about the Williams sisters and their father King Richard - and what he felt like being po…

This week on Functional Tennis, I meet the former world no.3, Ivan Ljubičić. In our chat, Ivan opens up about the challenging circumstances he experienced growing up and how this lead to his tennis career, Ivan also tells me about the amazing academy he started in Losinj, Croatia, and what its like to coach Roger Federer. Hope you enjoy it Fabio Ha…

On today’s episode, I meet online with Bill Eckstrom - CEO and founder of Ecsell Institute, the parent company of Ecsell Sports. In our chat, we discuss Bill fascinating new TedX Talk: “A New Way To Win: Re-defining the Student-Athlete Experience,” that puts forward the idea that the key to developing elite teams, in both sport & beyond, may be mor…

This week on Functional Tennis, I meet physical therapist and now founder of Tennis Tour Agency - Matteo Tinelli. Matteo was ATP-ranked back in 2017 and has since moved on into becoming a therapist for players and starting the Tennis Tour Agency. The TTA is an organisation that wants to make tennis more financially accessible for young players, and…

On this week’s episode, I meet Michael Logarzo to discuss the art of coaching with Michael Logarzo. Michael is a top tennis coach based in Australia and has worked with a range of players from juniors just beginning their tennis journey - to established tennis professionals like Zoe Hives. In our conversation, Michael explains why one of the keys t…

This week on the Functional Tennis Podcast, I meet three top tennis pros at the ASICS event in Marbella. In the podcast I speak with WTA Top 60 Player Jasmine Paolini, British number 2 and WTA top 100 Harriot Dart, and I also meet 17-year-old Croatian tennis player Petra Marcinko. In my three chats, I ask all of them about the greatest challenge th…

Hi, I'm Fabio and I'm happy to announce new episodes of the Functional Tennis podcast with a slightly new format. I will continue to chat with the biggest hitters in tennis about the game but now I'll also be spotlighting how we all can get 1% better everyday! On the 17th of January, I'm serving you two episodes: An ASICS special recorded in Marbel…

This week I do a deep dive into mental training and virtual reality with a new tool on the market called Sense Arena. We are also giving away a Sense Arena Kit and you can get the details here. I speak to 2 Sense Arena Ambassadors Pavel Vizner (Former ATP doubles no.5) and Beau Treyz (ATP Coach) as well Yannick Yoshizawa. We chat about mental train…

We are back with Irish player Conor Gannon this week in the 3rd part of our mini-series with him while he is on his College Tennis Journey at the University of Memphis. We have a general catchup with a chat about Davis Cup, adjusting to college life, improvements, mental work and the plan for the rest of the year. To listen to our previous episodes…

This week we have our 2022 Functional Tennis Racket of the Year and who better to get on the show than Jonas Eriksson aka The Tennis Nerd. Jonas is the main man for info on rackets and strings. We discuss the lineup of rackets and he gives his thoughts on all the models. Also head over to our Instagram account to get voting and you can see the full…

This week I chat with Fred Gil, the former Portuguese number1 and career-high ATP 61 who recently became the men's 35's worlds singles champ. We chat about his career, challenges along the way, what he is up to now and how he will always be a competitor. Hope you enjoy the episode. Fabio Have you seen the Functional Tennis Saber? Check it out here …

Super chat this week with Franco Herrero, the physical trainer of Tommy Paul and Sofia Kenin. We chat about a wide range of topics His upbringing and interest in Strength & Conditioning Moving from Argentina to work and become director of fitness at Evert Academy at a young age Advice for 8/9 years old as well as teenagers and 40-year-olds! Working…

I've taken 4 excerpts from previous guests that had mentioned Federer in this short episode. We have Paul Annacone Francis Tiafoe Nikolay Davydenko Sven Swinnem If you have any great Federer stories please let me know! Fabio Find us on Social Media: Instagram: Instagram.com/FunctionalTennisPodcast YouTube: Functional Tennis Podcast Twitter: twitter…

This week is the 2nd part of our mini-series with Irish Tennis player Conor Gannon. I plan to catch up with Conor every 4 to 5 weeks during his 2nd year (or sophomore year) at his new University. He spent his first year (aka freshman year) at the University of Tennessee, which at one stage where the No.1 ranked university. Conor felt he needed a ch…

Quick chat today with up-and-coming Swiss player Joanne Zuger. Joanne is currently ranked in the 160s and is on top of 2022 goals. I find out about her career so far, her introduction to grand slam tennis, conscription in the Swiss Army which is not as bad as it sounds and more. I hope you enjoy this episode. Fabio Ps. Have you seen the Functional …

This week I speak to world-renowned coach Riccardo Piatti. Riccardo has been working as a coach for 40 years and has a wealth of experience working at the top of the game from junior to senior level. Riccardo has worked with great players such as Ivan Ljubicic, Maria Sharapova, Milos Raonic, Borna Coric, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Richard G…

I catch up former pro and now coach and commentator Kenneth Carlsen. Kenneth was a Danish number for over 10 years as well as reaching a career-high ATP No.41. We chat a lot about junior development and some of the players he worked with (a young Holger Rune and Clara Tauson) and young juniors he is working with right now. Day-to-day life for Kenne…

This week I have a joyful chat with week with Mexican tennis player Fernanda Contreras Gomez. Fernanda made her Wimbledon debut this year to the joy of her late grandfather who was a former semi-finalist at Wimbledon. She tells us all about her experience there, what it meant to her and we also chat about her college days, how she decided to go pro…

Today I speak to 27-year-old Tamara Korpatsch (ranked WTA 130) who made her first main draw Wimbledon appearance this year. She tells us all about the up and downs of it, from the excitement of being a main draw player to a tense match with Heather Watson and to the disappointment of her doubles partner pulling out an hour before her 1st round doub…

This week is the start of a new mini-series for the next 10 months. It involves following the progress of Conor Gannon, who we had on the show earlier this year. Conor was on a tennis Scholarship at the University of Tennessee, where at one stage last season they were ranked number 1 in the US. Conor had to fight it out for his place on his team. F…

Today I speak to Adam Walton who has made an impactful start to his pro career with 2 future titles followed by a semi-final. Adam is about to finish his master's at the University of Tennessee where he was a 4 time all All-American, number 2 national ranked in singles and NCAA doubles champion. We chat about his decision to go to college, his coll…

Excited to speak to Facundo Lugones this week on episode 157 of the Functional Tennis podcast. Facundo first met Cam at Texas Christian University and has been working with him since 2017. Facundo tells us about his tennis and coaching journey insights into Cam and challenges along the way. Make sure to check out our other episodes with ATP/WTA coa…

After a few weeks' break from the podcast, I am back this week with former guest Dave O'Hare. I haven't done too many in-person chats and really enjoyed sitting down with Dave to catch up. The last time I had Dave on the show pre the covid pandemic breakout he was on waiting on his visa to start a coaching role at the University of Memphis. He tell…

This week I speak to Shane Liyanage from Data Driven Sports Analytics. Shane provides a range of data/analytical services and works with players such as Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Emil Ruusuvouri and Taro Daniel. We chat about How Shane got into the tennis data world Process when working with senior and junior players Shane’s team Pricing for his…

Today I speak to performance coach Lapo Becherini. Lapo is based at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy and works with players such as Holger Rune, Lorenzo Musetti, Alexei Popryin and more. We chat about his early career and the differences between soccer players and tennis players. How the world's best train. How lower-ranked players are fitter than hi…

This week I speak to Ukrainian WTA Top 40 player Anhelina Kalinina. She tells us about how she and her family's life has been since her last visit to Ukraine in February. Anhelina also tells us about her Junior days on the ITF Development squad and what changed in her game from being a top 150 player to a top 50 player I hope you enjoy the episode.…

With Roland Garros currently on, it's great timing to have the youngest ever Roland Garros men's champ in the open era on the show, Michael Chang. I initially saw Michael at the IMG Future Stars event in Greece and asked him to come on the show, it's taken a few weeks but it happened!! We chatted about the famous match with Ivan Lendl in the 4th ro…

This week I chat with Tina Lee, a former player now coach at the USTA National Campus and mother to the boys under 12 winner at the IMG Future Stars, Jordan Lee, who is one of the world's best 12-year-olds. We have a great chat about her journey, her coaching role at the USTA National Campus, balancing the parent/coach relationship with her son Jor…

This week I speak to Felix Mischker who you may know from the extremely popular Tennis Brothers Youtube Channel. Felix is currently documenting his journey to 1 ATP point with very interesting content on his YouTube account. Along with his brother Lucian the Tennis Brothers' presence on social media channels has always been strong with great conten…

This week I speak to Hungarian WTA player Anna Bondar. Anna broke into the top 100 last year 6 years after turning pro. She tells us about her journey of breaking through and what her plans are this year. Main topics: Training in Budapest ACL injury and recovery Anna’s team Nervous last push t break the Top 100 2022 goals Advice for upcoming player…

This week I am out of the office and recording live with IMG super-agent Max Eisenbud at the Tatoi Club in Athens Greece. We are here for the IMG Future Stars event featuring some of the world's best under 12 players in the world. Max tells us about his early IMG days where on his first day at the IMG academy he met an 11-year-old Maria Sharapova. …

This week I speak to Claudio Pistolesi. Claudio is a former player turned coach who has worked with many players over his expansive coaching career. He now looks after a JTCC centre in Jacksonville Florida and consults with pros, one of them being Emil Ruusuvuori. We chat about many of his experiences on the court and off the court. Major topics in…

Welcome to Tie Break 03. Next week's guest is a former player and coach of over 23 years Claudio Pistolesi. Claudio works with many great players and when he slowed down on the travelling he was based in the US and an Italian coach asked him to help get Matteo a US tennis Scholarship. Listen to see how they got it all wrong! Have you seen the Funct…