What the Great Players Don’t Know

Starting in 2012 I was contracted by the ATP Tour and WTA Tours in conjunction with the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) to help veteran and retiring professional tennis players transition into a career of teaching and coaching.

I was thrilled to start this new venture, have the opportunity to be on court with some world class players and be influential in the next chapter of their tennis life. Besides, what could be easier than teaching world ranked players something they should clearly be experts on?

These certification events would be scheduled with ATP and WTA players during the Miami Open event which was then held at the Tennis Center of Crandon Park in Key Biscayne. Each year the group would consist of between 10-20 touring pros, many of whom any avid tennis fan would be able to recognize.

The educational experience was concurrent with the live tournament matches going on around us. Spectators would stroll past us, some even staying to watch and wonder why all of these players were gathered together around a teaching basket and listening to me speak.

Going into my first certification with these players I was nervous. Partially because I knew it was…