Alexandar Bajin is a tennis coach from Germany who has been in WTA tour for more then 10 years working with lots of female tennis players: Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, Caroline Wozniacki, Kristina Mladenovic, Dayana Yastremska, Karolina Pliskova.
He was coaching Naomi Osaka to two Grand Slam titles, one at the 2018 US Open and one at the 2019 Australian Open. He won the inaugural WTA Coach of the Year award in 2018 for coaching Osaka to her first two titles, the US Open and the Indian Wells Open.
In this episode he gave answers to these questions:
1. You are more then 15 years on the WTA tour. How much women tennis changed in this period? And how much tennis players changed? Because there are more distractions, social networks, everything is more global, more sponsors and contracts. Probably all this has some kind of influence on tennis players especially for the young ones.
2. What is the difference in training methods and in approach when you coach young tennis player, for example 18, 19, 20 years old and when you coach older one like 29, 30 and older. I know that you have experience with so if you can give us some advice about that.
3. What kind of problems can have young tennis player if she makes big results early and how to deal with that? In the past there were lots of good players who didn't achieve what they were capable of. What are the steps or some guidance for this kind of players?
4. I know that technical and tactical part and also level of fitness have major influence for success in tennis but what about mental part, emotional part? Lately we can see lots of players crack under pressure, crying during tennis matches etc. What you think is the reason and can you propose some solutions?
5. What is the secret why some players keep the some level of game and high level of playing and the other don't have some much consistency. You told me once what happens when some athletes do when they feel the taste of success.
6. How to make good relationship and trust between coach and a player? Is there some secrets that you can share with us?
7. I know that you a gym guy. You go hard in the gym, you have proper nutrition, supplements, everything like a top level athlete. What is the reason for that: pure aesthetic reason or you want to be capable to do hitting with your player? Do you think that every coach on the tour needs to be fit in order to deal with physical and mental stress of coaching?
8. And the last maybe the most important question. What would you suggest to the coaches especially the young coaches who are just starting to work in tennis but they have big ambitions and want to achieve big goals? What to do and what not to do?
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