The Players' Lounge (Tennis Podcast) – Details, episodes & analysis

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆He did it. Exactly one year after being kicked out of Australia for refusing to take the vaccine against Covid-19, Novak Djokovic wins on “his turf”, the Rod Laver Arena a 10th Australian Open. Besides winning his 22nd Slam and regaining the number 1 spot, he showed once again how incredible his mental strenght is.

In this episode, you will learn: 

-How to have a strong start in your matches and to put a mental pressure on your opponent: I will share how Djokovic quickly took control of the match by imposing a high intensity physical and mental battle upon Tsitsipas;

-Destroy your opponent’s strenghts: find out how Djokovic prevented Tsitsipas to play his game and use his best shots throughout the match;

-Take control of the energy of the match and learn how to control your “weak moments”: how Djokovic managed to throw off Tsitsipas from his game by controlling the intensity of the match;

-Create a “negativity-free bubble” around yourself: learn the tools to create handle negativity and create harmony with your team.

-🌟Bonus: learn why it is important to DREAM BIG according to Novak Djokovic

🎙️Here are some old episodes of The Players' Lounge podcast you can listen to:

Novak Djokovic is the GOAT...at 'Shark Empathy': Why Is He A Beast Mentally ?

Ep 33: Australian Open (Part 1): The 5 Reasons Why "Boring" Sabalenka Won Her 1st Slam

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook!

🏆What a start of 2023 with a great Australian Open final between Aryna Sabalenka who wins her first Grand Slam title and Elena Rybakina who proves that, 6 months after winning Wimbledon, she’s here to stay at the top of the WTA. 

Here are 5 keys that helped Sabalenka win the Australian Open:

-Accept the adversity and to be “boring”: learn the crucial decision Sabalenka took one week before the beginning of the Australian Open that made her win

-Respect yourself and believe in your potential: how a radical change of your mindset is the key to reach your goals 

-Why stopping working with her sports psychologist was beneficial to her: the importance of taking responsibility to be successful

-Be open to change: how a biomechanics expert saved her serve

-Being able to make the difference between “overhit/overplay” and play with high intensity: the physical and tactical reaction of Sabalenka after losing the first set

🌟🌟Bonus lessons: 

-How both Sabalenka and Rybakina created their unique tennis DNA

-Why Rybakina has everything to stay at the top of the WTA

⚠️ Don’t miss the part 2 of this Australian Open which will focus on Novak Djokovic’s victory and 22nd Gran Slam title.
 
🎙️In the meantime, here are some old episodes of The Players' Lounge podcast you can listen to:

Ep 30: Wimbledon: the 8 Mental Lessons from Dkojovic, Rybakina, Kyrgios, Jabeur

Ep 23: Interview with Legendary Coach Valorie Kondos Field: How to Coach Champions in Life

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook!

As we're heading slowly but surely toward the end of the 2021 tennis season (let's not forget about the infamous Davis Cup), one thing we can say is: what a year it was!

👨🏆Sacha Zverev's triumph at the ATP Finals in Torino is a great way to end a great season after a heartbreaking loss in the US Open final last year against Dominic Thiem.

🎙️In this episode, you will learn about the 4 key elements who made Zverev excel this season:

Dans cet épisode, on va analyser les 4 éléments qui ont permis à Zverev de s'illustrer cette saison :

✅-Match your actions with your ambitions

✅-Improve the shot(s) that will make a huge difference in your game and allow you to get big results
✅-Understand when you lose a game but with the right strategy Comprendre quand on a perdu un match en ayant la bonne stratégie

✅-Learn when to use a strategy different than your natural game to get the win

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook! 

The "mental breakdown" of Novak Djokovic was heavily discussed these past couple of days, but little or no credit was given to Medvedev's massive performance . A true mastermind, the Russian player proved why he definitely is the frontrunner of the infamous "Next Gen"

In addition to Medvedev's success, it is impossible not to comment on the historical "tour de force" of Emma Raducanu who won her first Grand Slam (and WTA tour) coming from the qualies and winning 10 matches without dropping a set!

In this part 2 of this "US Open episode", you will learn:

-The 3 mental strategies Daniil Medvedev used to beat Djokovic and to win his first grand Slam

-Why Emma Raducanu's winning spirit sets her up perfectly to be at the top of the WTA.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook! 

The US Open is over and the least we can say is that it was an emotional one! From the MAJOR performance of Emma Raducanu who grabbed the title coming from the qualies to the incredible run of Leylah Fernadez, what a blast we had watching these two! But what most of us will remember is the shocking victory of Daniil Medvedev over Novak Djokovic preventing from achieving a calendar Grand Slam.

In this episode, we will analyze the misfortunes of Osaka, Tsitsipas and Djokovic and what we can learn from them:

-Naomi Osaka: what are the roots of her mental struggles and how can she can find herself again?

-Stefanos Tsitsipas: why is the "Greek God" struggling since his loss in the final of the French Open

-Novak Djokovic: what happened in the final and will Djoko recover and come back stronger than ever?

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook! 

Interviewing people whose purpose is to help athletes become the best version of themselves on and off the court is one of the reasons why I started The Players’ Lounge podcast. In today’s episode, I got the privilege to chat with legendary UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field, also known as “Miss Val”. From 1989 to 2019, she won 7 NCAA titles, 22 regional and 18 Pac-12 championships with her teams and was named “Pac 12 Coach of the Century”.

What’s more extraordinary in Valorie Kondos Field’ story is that she never did gymnastics. She is also a Ted Speaker and the author of the book “Life is Short, Don’t Wait to Dance”. In that great conversation, learn how a professional ballet dancer became one of the winningest coaches in history and what valuable lessons she taught hundreds of athletes to become “champions in life”

From 0 to 2’50: Introduction Valorie Kondos Field

From 2’51 to 4’59: Miss Val’s take on professional athletes’ speaking out about their mental struggles

From 5’ to 6’30: Miss Val’s debut as a coach and some of her early mistakes 

From 6’30 to 7’39: How did she change her style of leadership/coaching, how did she redefine coaching:

From 7’40 to 12’09: What were the triggers for Miss Val to change her coaching style? How did she redefine the meaning of success and what she learned from being mentored by legendary basketball Coach John Wooden

From 12’10 to 17’17: How do you teach that to athletes to build a winning mentality and the importance of goals setting: how to set big goals and breaking them into daily goals

From 17’18 to 22’24: Valorie Kondos Field’s transition from being a pro ballet dancer to becoming the head coach of one of the most prominent gymnastics programs in the United States knowing she was never a gymnast. Learn the importance of “making the ask” and using your past experiences to your advantage

From 23’20 to 28’28: how positive parenting and the ability to learn and move on quickly from your mistakes are key ingredients to becoming a successful athlete

From 28’30 to 32’59: tips for athletes so they don’t get affected by negativity

From 33’ to 36’29: what are the actions athletes can take to deal with social media hate

From 36’30 to 40’42: the importance of celebrating “small victories” and how to keep the fun while aiming for big and ambitious goals

From 40’43 to 49’59: Miss Val shares her experience on how to communicate effectively with parents and gives some tips on how to talk to young athletes in an empowering way

From 50’ to 54’54: As a coach, what you can do to build trust and help an athlete who has lost his/her motivation and confidence

From 55’28 to 58’48: Valorie Kondos Field explains the difference between great athletes and champions and why coaches need to become better listeners 

From 58’49 to end:How Miss Val’s book “Life is short, don’t wait to dance” is an encouragement for people to become their authentic best version of themselves, her upcoming project and how life is about choices

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook! 

🎾Wimbledon is over and while Djokovic's 20th slam has put the tennis in a frenzy in a potential calendar Grand Slam, I want to focus on Ash Barty's win and why her victory is an exceptional mental performance. 

In this episode you will learn:

📄What you can learn from her 24-day recovery plan after her injury at the French Open and why the perfect preparation doesn't exist 

🧠The techniques Ash Barty's mindset coach Ben Crowe used to reframe her mindset

❓What are the 2 most important questions you should ask yourself 

💆🏻‍♀️How to focus on the things you can control 

🤝The importance of harmony in your team and how to create common values

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦The importance of a supportive environment 

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook! 

As a former professional tennis player on the WTA tour, I am very grateful for the valuable lessons that I have learned and the skills that I have acquired on and off the court. As many tennis players train hard in the hopes to step on Center Court at Wimbledon one day, a lot of players and their parents face obstacles they are not prepared to deal with and prevent them from climbing the rankings of the WTA/ATP tour.

What does it REALLY take to make it on tour?

What do parents/players need to look for when selecting a coach?

How do parents financially plan the 4-5 years that are usually needed so your kid can make it to the Slams?

What is the best way to schedule your children’s tournaments?

It was my pleasure to co-host this webinar with my two co-hosts:

Hernan Chousa, former top 300 ATP, is a business owner, a public speaker and an author of books on sports parenting such as “My son, the tennis player” and has just released a new book “Parentshift: the skills you need to become a tennis parent”.

Vlado Platenik, who has been on the WTA for over 20 years, and took many player from top 500 to top 20 including former WTA number 12 Dominika Cibulkova, and is current with world number 32 at the WTA Veronika Kudermetova. 

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook! 

In this second part of this episode dedicated to the lessons we can learn from the 2021 French Open (if you did not have a chance to listen to the first part that focused on the mental strategies Krejcikova and Djokovic used to have the edge over their opponents, here is the link), we will dig into the losses of Rafael Nadal, “King of Clay” for the past 15 years and Stefanos Tsitsipas who was one set away to win his first Grand Slam. The main focus of this episode will be: how to recover from a tough loss when we were very close to winning?

Rafa Nadal:

-Why did he come to the French Open with less confidence compared to the previous years? From 3’57 to 9’17

-How did he lose the psychological and physical advantages he had over Djokovic on clay? From 9’18 to 13’18

-Is the end of the “Nadal era” on clay? From 13’19 to 16’57

Stefanos Tsitsipas:

-Why does his French Open run confirm that he will be number one in the future? From 16’58 to 21’06

-What was the missing element(s) for him to win against Djokovic in the final? From 21’07 to 25’35

-What are the 3 things to do when you lose a match that you were very close to win? From 25’36 to 37’06

1. Let out all your emotions
2. Give credit to your opponent and analyze what he/she did better than you
3. Keep in mind your main goal but learn how to change your approach 

That’s a wrap Roland Garros! And the least we can say is that the 2021 French Open was a special one! The withdrawals of Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer were definitely a shock in the first week of the slam. In the second week, the legendary semi final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the surprising but very refreshing victory of Barbora  Krejcikova and the great comeback of Djokovic to win his 19th slam were wonderful treats to the tennis fans. 
There are many lessons that we can take from the 2021 French Open that will help us to improve our mental skills. That’s why this episode will be divided into two parts. In this first part, we will focus on the mental strategies Krejcikova and Djokovic have used in order to take the mental edge over their opponents: 

Barbora Krejcikova’s mental strategies:

-The “outsider power”: what is it and how can you apply it to your game? From 3’21 to 7’31

-How to use your stress in order to become stronger and win: from 7’32 to 12’42

-The importance of having a clear game plan in high-pressure situations and how to take responsibility regardless of what’s happening on court: from 12’43 to 18’04

Novak Djokovic’s Djokovic’s mental strategies:

-Why is it crucial to plan ahead and trust your plan to achieve your goal: from 18’05 to 23’42

-Learn how to not panic when losing and how to stay calm: from 23’43 to 32’17

-Be comfortable with having high ambitions: from 32’18 to 36’05

Don't forget to subscribe and follow The Players' Lounge podcast on Instagram @theplayersloungepodcast and Facebook!