Tennisnerd - Where we bond over tennis – Details, episodes & analysis

Legendary coach Rick Macci is back on the podcast, and this time, we discuss the US Open 2024, how a player develops a style, the importance of going for your shots, junior tennis development, and lots more.

Global business manager Dennis Fabian and Global product manager, Maximilian Bauer from HEAD join me to discuss the new HEAD Extreme racquets, their upcoming releases, and much more. I hope you enjoy the podcast. There was a lag when recording this remote podcast, I hope it doesn't affect your listening experience too much. Thanks, as always, for listening.

Nikola Aracic from Intuitive Tennis returns to the podcast to talk about the remaining GOATs (Rafa and Novak), why heavy racquets can be bad for you, why underarm serves are disrespectful and much more.

Time stamps

00:00 Intro 00:35 Rafa’s last rumble, Novak’s superpower and the player’s right to  emotions 34:05 Bublik and disrespectful and pointless shots like the underarm serve. Highlights culture on TennisTV. 58:16 The viewability of tennis, bad angles, shadows, lack of options 1:14:00 What is the white racquet? Nikola’s hunt for strings from the 90s and how his racquet preferences affect his game 1:32:19 Heavy racquets are not for everyone, but for some. Strings and more…

My friend and doubles partner, Daniel Rutkowski, who has been on the channel many times, joined me to discuss competitive tennis and the things many players struggle with, such as match tightness, negative self-talk, changing patterns, and dealing with pushers, etc. Daniel was a strong junior player who left tennis for years and now has been back to competitive tennis with success in German league play and several titles on the ITF Masters Tour.

This is a shorter podcast, but we will be back with the longer format next week.

Dennis Fabian is the Global Business Manager at HEAD, where he works on tennis and pickleball. In this episode, he talks about new strings and racquets, gives tips on how to avoid tennis elbow, categorizes the different racquet lines, and much more.

Experienced Davis Cup string and racquet play-tester Henrik Wallensten is back on the podcast to discuss his latest bouts of racquet madness. If you are lost in the racquet jungle, this episode might make you feel less alone...

Craig Shapiro is a bit of a media icon on the tennis scene. He has been around the tour since the 90s when he traveled as Andre Agassi’s personal racquet tech. He runs an excellent podcast. 

He has just returned to New York from the Sunshine Double, so we are going to talk about his experiences there, his career in tennis and much more.

Time stamps

00:00 Intro 01:00 How much tennis do you watch? 03:52 How is tennis doing as a sport? 14:31 The origin story 23:14 The Craig Shapiro Podcast 30:23 Interviewing pro tennis players can be tricky 37:05 Summarizing the Sunshine double and looking forward to the clay 54:38 Rafa’s return and clay rulership 1:01:17 Tennis elbow 1:08:07 The State of Tennis

Cameron Price is an aspiring professional tennis player and a coach at the Delgado & Lee Pro Tennis Academy. After having heart problems in October 2022, he is back to playing tennis, coaching, and competing in tournaments. While away from the sport, he promised himself that when he could play again, he would document his tennis journey and share everything he learned. Now, you can learn about Cameron's pro journey on his YouTube channel.

Cameron has built a Notion template for ambitious tennis players, which you can find at tennisplayeros.com

Time stamps

00:00 Intro 00:28 Documenting the pro journey 04:14 Strengths and weaknesses as a player 07:30 Coaching vs Playing 17:30 Health and tennis 20:16 Being a “Youtuber” 27:33 Racquet and strings 33:05 From gear to mental performance 42:21 Tennis personalities and the story of a match 46:41 Serve bots and the contrasting surfaces 51:23 Heart problems leading to self-reflection 58:40 Screen time and social media

Thomas Alm is a Swedish coach with 25 years of experience coaching professional tennis players. He can be called the David Goggins of tennis, as he is an ultra-marathon runner and is all about going all-in. Professional tennis is all about winning after all.

Time stamps

00:00 Intro 00:27 What’s up in your life? 02:55 The importance of personal chemistry between player and coach 05:51 Tennis coaching culture and finances 11:49 What went wrong with Swedish tennis? 18:42 The money on the pro tour 24:24 Physical vs Mental coaching 32:06 Celebrity coaching and other approaches 43:24 Making technical changes as a pro 47:24 Dealing with losses 53:24 The importance of data in tennis 1:01:10 Are people softer today? 1:06:18 Passion for running

Allen is an Australian tennis enthusiast and the creator of the YouTube channel AC Tennis. His channel focuses on in-depth racquet reviews and comparisons. He’s been playing tennis since he was 5 years old and loves everything related to tennis gear.

Time stamps

00:00 Intro 00:45 The Happy Slam 07:25 Allen’s tennis schedule 11:16 How did you improve? 15:43 The racquet review process 19:51 How good is the new Blade V9? 34:23 Match racquets 56:19 Swing weights and quality control 1:05:50 Blade V9 vs the World of 98s 1:13:09 Racquet brands, updates and cosmetics 1:20:42 Tennis ball problems 1:26:43 The weirdness of pro racquets 1:36:24 The one-hander and the future of tennis