Check out the tennis nutrition tips and information in this ebook from Mylène Petitpas As a tennis parent, I do my best to provide the best tennis nutrition for our three children - but if I’m honest I’ve struggled a little to know what to do. Often the food I provide before, during or after tennis tournaments is either dull, unhealthy or both! In the past, I have searched for good tennis nutrition information but I couldn’t really any find any so I thought I’d do a tennis podcast on the subject. I got in touch with Mylène Petitpas who is passionate about tennis nutrition and Mylène kindly ag ..read more

Providing practical tips for tennis parents is something I’m increasingly passionate about! Being a tennis parent can be a wonderful experience - but as I’m sure most tennis parents would testify, it can also be very challenging at times. I’m passionate about trying to help as a Dad of three young tennis players and as a coach who has been surprised by some of the behaviours I’ve seen from tennis parents at tournaments. Here’s hoping the tips from the experts on this page will help do something about it in a positive way… MARK TENNANT’S FIVE TOP TIPS FOR TENNIS PARENTS Mark Tennant is a hugely ..read more

I recently did an interview with one of Derbyshire's finest tennis players Andrew Jarrett. He has played and coached GB and spent 14 years as the Tournament Referee at Wimbledon working with the biggest players in the World. You can watch it below and I hope you'll enjoy it - it was such fun to do. During the interview there was one passage which really stuck in my mind. A passage that kind of summed up what I feel is a brilliant objective for children taking part in sport but also something that translates to their academic studies. I asked Andy what his advice would be for our young County p ..read more

Our daughter is called Phoebe - she was five when she played her first match - and it was against Andy Murray! We were invited up to Scotland as part of Judy Murray’s outstanding Set4Sport programme which showed how you can start little ones on a pathway to tennis through fun activities. The kind of things she used to set up for Andy and Jamie. Beccy, Phoebe, Stanley (2) and Ned (in his Mum’s tum) were welcomed by Judy Murray and the team and they had set up different stations to try different fun drills on. One of the stations was a game which I love playing to this day - balloon tennis! A b ..read more

There are some brilliant tennis blogs out there and one I’d highly recommend checking out is called Talking Tennis. Talking Tennis is the creation of Lizzie Flint, a writer and level 3 LTA professional tennis coach. Lizzie is an ace tennis player and ace tennis blogger! Lizzie asked if I’d do a Q&A about My Tennis Journey - both my on court adventures and my tennis podcast too!! I was only too happy to oblige…and I dug out some old photos and press cuttings like this one. Loving my haircut back in these days!! Please do head on over to Lizzie’s Talking Tennis Tennis Blog to check out my Q ..read more

Read on and find out why coaches love independent learning… I loved speaking to Merlin Van de Braam, the LTA Head of Coach Development on the My Tennis Journey podcast which I host. On reflection, one of the things that really stood out to me was Merlin’s thoughts on LTA Independent Learning. Largely, because they reflect my experiences of Independent Learning as a coach. Before we get to that though, what is Independent Learning? In the words of the LTA… ‘Independent learning allows coaches to source quality and relevant CPD that is based on their needs and interests, and be awarded CPD cred ..read more

What junior tennis racket should I buy? It’s a question I get asked a lot and it’s a question my friends over at PDHSports.com get asked even more. A little while ago Lisa and Paul from the good ship PDH asked me to help them answer that question by putting a video together. The video covers the two main aspects of buying a junior racket. Which frame size you should go for based on the height of your player. Which material you should go for based on the experience of your player and how much you would like to pay. If after watching the video, you’d like to buy a junior racket, please do head ..read more

As a tennis parent, coach and player, I’m really excited about the launch of the ITF World Tennis Number so I thought I’d put this page together on what it aims to do to, what it is and where you can find out more information. In short, the ITF World Tennis Number is a rating system that will be used by players around the World from the UK to France, America and Australia. It’s aim is to make it easier for tennis players to match up against players who are at a similar level to them. From beginners to professionals, all players who are 10 years old or above can get a World Tennis Number for f ..read more

If you’re a tennis coach or a tennis player spending a lot of time on court, then you should wear sunglasses for tennis. Here’s why… The Moorfields Eye Hospital is a world class centre of excellence in eye care. In an article on their website called Looking After Your Eyes In The Sun, it says: ‘Excessive sun exposure can cause irreversible damage to your eyesight and can even lead to blindness.’  The article goes on to quote  Mr Raja Das-Bhaumik, consultant oculoplastic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital: “It’s extremely important to protect your eyes in the sun to reduce the ri ..read more

Just about everything these days is digital! Dating, shopping, gaming, meetings, conversations - so it does of course make perfect sense that the tennis court should go digital too. And thanks to Wingfield it has! The core component of the system is a smart net post that features two high speed cameras. The cameras track the action on court alongside another camera which is placed on the back fence. Players arriving at the court check in using the Wingfield app at the smart net post so the system knows who is taking part. The Artifical Intelligence within the system has been dubbed as ‘Walter ..read more