aubone tennis online coaching by Jean-Yves Aubone

Welcome to Episode 4 of the College Tennis Series where have Julian Rousseau-Tuan from the University of Oregon Club Tennis Team. Julian discusses why he chose to play club tennis at OU, instead of going to play on a varsity team at any other school, when he had the UTR to do.  Make sure you listen until the end where he also discusses why he chose to stay on the club team, and why that experience has been so valuable to him.

In this episode of The Aubone Tennis Podcast, we dive deep into the most powerful lessons learned from a year of coaching elite tennis players. Discover how mental toughness begins with physical toughness, why building true grit requires tough love, and how embracing nerves can unlock peak performance. Whether you’re a high-performance player or a parent supporting one, these lessons can transform your approach to competitive tennis.

Welcome to Episode 3 of the College Tennis Series where have Ethan Green from Denison University joins us to discuss how he made it to such a high level of tennis, yet started playing at the age of 10!

Welcome to Episode 2 of the College Tennis Series!

Welcome to Episode 1 of the College Tennis Series!

** Special Guest Episode**

Being a junior tennis parent is a tough job. Being a junior tennis parent with a teenage child whose hormones are going all over the place is an even tougher job. You can say the right thing and be wrong. You can do nothing and be wrong. And you can answer their questions and be wrong.

This week I had the honor of joining Lisa Stone on the Parenting Aces podcast to discuss bad line calls in junior tennis. They're are an unfortunate but common occurrence. Whether they were intentional or an honest mistake, dealing with it can be frustrating for players and parents. In this episode, we’ll cover strategies for addressing cheating in a way that fosters personal growth, sportsmanship, a healthier experience, and the important role parents play.

Recovery has become one of the hottest topics in junior tennis talk over the last few years. With the implementation of doubles at so many events, kids are finding themselves consistently playing 3-4 matches a day. That’s a lot of tennis for young kids, especially in the summer. Understandably so, I’ve heard of many players whose level of tennis drops precipitously towards the end of the tournament, right at the most important time to play one’s best tennis. Hopefully this podcast can help players avoid that same fate, and instead play their best tennis when it really counts. Check out www.aubonetennis.com for more information on how to become a better tennis player during competition! #tennis #tenniscoach #tennisplayer #tennistips #recovery #tennistraining

At the beginner level, tennis is a very technical sport, but at the high performance level, technicals take a bit of a back seat, and movement leads the way.

As he prepares to play in the French Open, Martin Damm Jr. was kind enough to spend some time discussing:

What are you willing to tolerate on your high performance junior tennis journey? Some people can't handle the emotional outbursts, bad line calls, frustrating parents, and the overall emotional roller coaster. They want a nice respectful game, with a nice relaxing atmosphere, and if goals aren't achieved, it's not a problem. Others can tolerate the roller coaster so long as progress is being made and the child is showing continuous signs of happiness.

A tennis player spends approximately 80% of a match WALKING around. Not running and playing. Walking. Yet we spent 99.99% of our practices working on everything else, and we wonder why most kids struggle to be mentally tough.

This is part 2 of a 2-part special guest episode with Christopher Trizzino. In part 1 Chris shared his fearless journey of how he started tennis very late at the age of 13, fell in love with coaching but had no idea how to succeed with it, and now runs one of the best academies in the entire region. This episode is a great reminder that you don't need to plan every step of your journey in order to succeed.

This is part 1 of a 2-part special guest episode with Christopher Trizzino. In part 1 Chris shares his fearless journey of how he started tennis very late at the age of 13, fell in love with coaching but had no idea how to succeed with it, and now runs one of the best academies in the entire region. This episode is a great reminder that you don't need to plan every step of your journey in order to succeed.

One of the least talked about areas parents have to deal with is the time in-between 2nd and 3rd sets. I wonder how many parents were given the heads up that they'd be put in a situation where they'd have to consider putting their coaching hat on. It's an unfair position to be put in. Parents aren't coaches! They're just there to parent, and this is a delicate and important moment in the match. How they handle this time is important! They can either provide more anxiety for their child, or bring calmness and confidence. I hope the few things I mention in the blog provide some help in handling these situations when the coach is not present.

What's more important to a player, the racquet or the string?

A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t” - Jack Dempsey It’s a hard thing to explain to someone if they haven’t gone through something incredibly difficult and challenging, and refused to back down. It can also seem like an unfair thing to explain to a young athlete. When talking to a child, a psychologist probably wouldn’t be too happy with a coach saying physical effort is not enough, and that deep inside that child has an extra gear, a 6th or 7th gear they need to tap into to take their game to the next level. I’ve had to do that before. It’s tough and I need to be careful with my words, but I’m not in the happiness business. I’m in the high performance business. I’m in the growth business. I’m in the “I’ll be happy when I’m improving as a tennis player while trying to achieve my goals” type of business.  It’s not for everyone. I say it all the time. There’s multiple ways to enjoy tennis. Choosing the right path is important because that’s where you’ll find true happiness. Neither one is wrong. But if being the best tennis player you can possibly be during competition is the tennis journey that’s for you, then you need to know the difference between a good attitude and a champions attitude, and embrace it. Check out www.aubonetennis.com for more! #tennis #tenniscoach #lifecoach #athlete #champion #tennis player

We have another special guest episode with Jonathan Stokke (full bio below) from the Baseline Intelligence podcast. If you haven't listened to the Baseline Intelligence podcast, and you're a tennis coach, parent, or player, you need to! Stokke has an incredible wealth of knowledge, from his experience as a junior and collegiate player, playing in the US Open, coaching in college tennis, and now a private coach with an amazing podcast. He's interviewed many incredible people like Paul Annacone, Brad Stine, Jessica Pegula, Gil Reyes, Lindsay Davenport, and more, but this time it was his turn to speak. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to get his perspective on things like managing a competitive attitude with good sportsmanship, thoughts for college recruits, and having a better mindset while competing. Enjoy the podcast!

Answering this question is straight forward, but finding that type of environment is difficult.

One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is to take some time to reflect. Days can quickly turn into months, and just like that, the year is over. It’s hard to stop, slow down, and evaluate things, yet it’s something I try to do as much as possible. It’s during these moments that we can fine tune our process, and redirect our coaching energies to the most important places.

This week we have a special episode! It's the first time we have a guest joining us. Marcelo Ferreira, Windy Hill High Performance Tennis Manager joined us to discuss the incredible program he's built in Atlanta, GA.

When we think of the word weapon in tennis, we’ve been trained to think of a powerful weapon. A big forehand. A monster serve. The ability to finish points at the net. Something that can overpower your opponent, and take the racket out of their hand.

This podcast crossed my mind as I put myself in the shoes of many parents, and wondered what type of training setup I would look for if my son decided to pursue high performance tennis. I tried to be reasonable. Of course I’d want everything on site right ? Nutritionist. Mental coach. Physical therapist. Restaurant. Indoor courts. Classroom. Locker rooms. Etc. Etc.. The list could go on forever.

Twice in my life I've made improvements to my nutrition, and they were so impactful that I can never go back to my old ways. The foods and liquids we consume, how we consume them, and when we consume them have a direct affect not only our energy, but our mood. If we have low energy, we’ll be more at risk of being in a bad mood, having a negative mindset throughout the match, and we’ll struggle to make proper decisions.

There are days where we wake up and for some reason, our favorite forehand is no where to be found. Our fitness levels feel depleted. Our legs feel like cement. And our serve feels like we forgot how to hit it.

Everybody has moments where they lose focus or get tight. It happened to both players in this match. They’re the #1 and #2 players in the world, yet it still happens to them. But look at how they each handled it in the 2nd and 3rd set! Incredible. A lot to learn for juniors.

Ah! The grand ol question I’ve received more times than I care to remember. Not only from juniors, but from adults as well! Players across all levels struggle against pushers. I get it. They’re terribly boring to play against. They give you no rhythm. They make for long and exhausting matches that test not only your physical fitness, but your mental fitness as well.

One of the most common questions I get from junior tennis parents is should my child home school? Is it the only way they can develop into a division 1 collegiate athlete?

This can probably be said for most individual sports as well.

Junior tennis ranking systems for people to be obsessed with have existed for decades. UTR is just another system with its own advantages and disadvantages. What’s changed is how academies, parents, and players have easy access to seeing the “ratings” thus exposing how much they actually look at them.

Ohhhhh I've been wanting to write this one for a while. Innocent well-intentioned actions can do more harm than we think. We overlook the consequences of actions that WE think don't mean anything. But it's not what we think. It's what is.

Tennis is far behind when it comes to using video technology in their coaching methods. All major sports are using them and it's time for tennis to catch up! In this episode I discuss the benefits of using video technology, and how it can help in the development of a player.

We have a tendency to spend too much time talking about bad calls after a match. Even if they happened at big moments in the match, how did you lose all the other points? How did you get down 5-4 40-30 match point in the third set anyway? How did you lose a set prior to that?

Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” Simon Sinek

Juniors in the United States talk about the pressure to win. The pressure to get their UTR up and get into college division. The pressure to win because success in tennis is unfortunately how they define their self-worth.

"Five minutes before entering the central office, I suddenly felt really bad, extremely nervous. I started to cry. I even had to go throw up a bit.” Stan Wawrinka discussing his emotions before walking on the court for the 2016 US Open final. He won the match and the title.

I prefer to work on a few things at a time for a long time. If a player works on too many things at once, they’ll be mediocre at everything, great at nothing. It’s better to master the most important things first, then start adding in everything else later.

Strictly coaching the tennis aspect of the game can be easy. High percentage is cross court. On the run is open stance. Contact point in front. Follow through. Weight forward. All that and more.

When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them. And if abilities can be expanded-if change and growth are possible-then there are still many paths to success.” - Carol Dweck “Mindset”

If you're a competitive tennis player like I was, you need match play skills! And these skills are different than technical skills. They include:

“Does my child need to homeschool to make it to division 1 collegiate tennis?” - Junior Tennis Parent

If someone’s tournament schedule isn’t handled appropriately, they won’t be prepared to play well. And if they don’t know what constitutes an appropriate tournament schedule, they’ll incorrectly have high expectations going into an event. They’ll be all excited as they’re playing their first tournament in a while. They’ve practiced a lot. They think they’re ready to compete!