Interview with Brad Stine

Editor’s note: For more than 35 years, Brad Stine has coached at the very highest levels of the game. Back in the early ‘90s, he coached four-time Grand Slam singles champion Jim Courier. To a great degree, how Brad worked with Courier has greatly defined his approach. Just ask Jim: “Brad is all protein.” Over the years, Brad has coached many other notables, including Taylor Dent, Kevin Anderson, and, most recently, top 20 pro Tommy Paul. Over the course of a lengthy conversation that in large part began years ago at various pro stops all over the world, Brad offered tremendous insights into how a coach navigates the competitive journey with his player — including thoughts on his current methods with Paul.  

When it comes to gearing up for a match, what’s your big picture view about what the coach should be doing?

Brad Stine: Tennis coaching is primarily a job of preparation. That’s what we’re doing: preparing our players. You identify skills to develop and put in time during the off-season and throughout the year to build and refine.  And then, a couple of days or the night before the match, you try to apply your player’s skills…