Ask me anything about being a professional tennis player

As a parent of a 9.5 yr boy old who recently developed serious interest in the sport, this thread has been a gem. Spent last 2 days soaking up every post on this thread. Since TW has lot of parents with kids aspiring to do something big in tennis, I thought I will get together a few questions that are mostly asked my parents and get varying response on this forum. Getting response from a real pro who went through the process would be awesome.

1. I see that you used Lux Original for a long time. Didnt find a mention of when you moved to full poly and what were you using before that? What made you move to a poly?

2. U mentioned you topped U12 and U14. How many tournaments did you play and at what age did you start playing tournaments. Also were you focused on rankings at U12/U14 level or were tournaments to get real world experience with primary focus being training?

3. At what age did you start physical training especially focused training in the gym and/or using weights?

4. Since you were primarily coached by your father in early days, till what age was he the primary coach and when did you move out?

5. In the early years say till 12 yrs, what was the main focus - consistency, placement, power or technique? I see some people mention consistency first and some say power first while others are totally sold on picture perfect technique.

More to follow later :-)
 
Hi Filip!

I was wondering if you have a take on Nick Kyrgios' recent success. You bested him in the JUSO QFs in a three-setter. Since then, he has won the JAO'13 title and now a Challenger (also in Oz). Does his success give you confidence that you are ready to make some similar headway in the near future?
 
Hey Filip,

was watching the Murray/Donskoy match from IW. Donskoy's game reminds me of yours somewhat. Have you hit with him or know him at all?

Good luck with the rest of the year!
 
urbanati said:
Hi Filip,

this is my son playing here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaErzXIPdEk


Were you as good as him back then?:)
He would like to know, how much did you practice and compete when you were his age? Did you ever play orange or green balls? Were you always the best at your age group in Canada?
He wishes you good luck on the tour and will cheer for you!
Click to expand...

Apologies for getting off topic here but am I the only one who thinks this video is sped up? Either for time purposes, or perhaps other reasons?
 
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allez_mike said:
Apologies for getting off topic here but am I the only one who thinks this video is sped up? Either for time purposes, or perhaps other reasons?
Click to expand...

Seems pretty legit, never doubt kids being this good at their age. My friend's little brother can outhit and rally some college club players without too much problem and he's 12.
 
I'd be more worried about the music - Youtube will delete it if and when it detects copyright infringments. That being said. they have some serious potential!
 
Hi Filip,

This is very encouraging news. My son is now 9 and has been playing tournaments for 6 months now and he has won only 2 matches and countless losses because he plays as you described when you were at that age, not worrying about winning and getting points, only trying to hit winners and trying different shots, basically not match smart. I oringinally had told him to play well and not focused on winning. For a while I had doubts if my advice was the right thing to say and possibly start having him focus more on winning but now I'm convinced we're doing the right thing. I think he like experimenting with his technique and doesn't cry or care if he wins or loses, I'm ok with that. Thanks for a great feedback! Hope to see you in a tournament in my area soon!

fpeliwo said:
First of all I didn't play tournaments until I was about 9, or maybe even 10. He seems like he's played quite a few, so he's definitely ahead of me in that regard. He's also a lot more consistent than I was. I used to go for winners and rush the net a lot so I had a lot of unforced errors. I hit the ball harder than he did, especially off the backhand. He probably would have beaten me at that age.

I don't remember exactly how much I practiced at his age, but I think it was anywhere from 1-5 times a week.

I wasn't always the best in my age group, had trouble winning matches that I "should" have won based on my level, partially due to the lack of match toughness. I didn't have enough tournaments on my schedule back when I was younger. I've won u14, u16, and u18 nationals, and made finals of the 12s, but until I was about 16 there were still guys my age ranked ahead of me sometimes.

I don't remember ever playing with the softer balls. I'm quite sure I've always used regular ones.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Filip,

What is it like playing on fresh new grass and worn out grass? Are they really as different as some people say in terms of bounce, speed and the footwork required?
 
fpeliwo said:
Yeah I like to play table tennis, but I've never played squash or racketball before.
Click to expand...

I love table tennis. Here's a nice shot for you:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/video/2013/feb/22/behind-back-table-tennis-video

Back to tennis, I follow Andy Murray being a Scot and the last thing Scotland is renowned for are tennis players so he is quite a phenomenon here.
What do you think of his style and ability?
Is this a player you would want to emulate and how close do you think he is to catching Djokovic in terms of quality and consistency?
 
was promoting my tech startup at a big audio/video systems trade show downtown and filip had a day off, so we caught up on things and tried out a few headsets. he's a big fan of anything music so it was fun times. as you can see below, in case tennis doesn't work out, he could always moonlight as a road construction working filling potholes around montreal or something

483197_10151399394664821_1907226545_n.jpg


580251_10151399395749821_561068346_n.jpg


600421_10151399394044821_1757487861_n.jpg


10137_10151399403149821_1366679145_n.jpg


Any audiophiles in the house?
 
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It's good you are hear. My question is this? How old were you when you started. Also, did you ever run into players as a junior or see players that started at say 15 or 16? My son it appears is somewhat gifted in that he could at least play college at some point. I say starting I mean he's been toying around with tennis, but he seems to like it now. I'm not one of those parents that's going to force him to go out every day in the summer and hit balls for 4 hours a day. It has to be something that he wants to do. So I was wondering if you ever saw any players that turned out descent after starting later. I'm not looking for my son to join the atp tour but if I can get him to the point where he can play for some college and I don't have to pay for it...then I'm all for it. :) Even if it's a real low end tennis college meaning the education is there but maybe the the tennis program isn't exactly great. :) You get the point though I'm sure. Good luck and I'm sure we all look forward to hearing from you here and we look forward to seeing you in the future.
 
How many junior players got sponsored by Canada tennis like you?

Is it a debt that you need to pay later once you break even?

Have you even hate tennis? If yes, how did you like it back again?
 
thejackal said:
was promoting my tech startup at a big audio/video systems trade show downtown and filip had a day off, so we caught up on things and tried out a few headsets. he's a big fan of anything music so it was fun times. as you can see below, in case tennis doesn't work out, he could always moonlight as a road construction working filling potholes around montreal or something

483197_10151399394664821_1907226545_n.jpg


580251_10151399395749821_561068346_n.jpg


600421_10151399394044821_1757487861_n.jpg


10137_10151399403149821_1366679145_n.jpg


Any audiophiles in the house?
Click to expand...

Remember the Stax SR-Sigmas? http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-amp_morsiani_e.html
 
thejackal said:
some seriously cool stuff at SSI. too bad Im pretty much a noob and coukdnt really appreciate what was there like a pro would
Click to expand...

Yeah it is so easy to get sucked in..lol. I just use some $150 ATechnicas. The more time I spend with a speaker, the more I learn it, and can accurately shape a sound.


Of course, for pure listening pleasure it is very easy to just drop tons of cash on amazing headphones.
 
filip ended up getting some free gear from PSB, and he's enjoying that.

apparently he had 7 eggs, bacon and 3 bagels for breakfast this morning. livin the dream....(I told him it was a lot of food for someone who's riding the bench. He didnt find me so funny hahaha)

got some footage of filip hitting some forehands with tennis canada coach guillaume marx (former ATP pro from France) after the epic doubles win earlier today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=proxt_zbeOQ
 
Do you know of other pro players who go on forums to read about themselves, or even register? No need to go into specifics of who.

We've always wondered and suspected it might be the case. There were some thoughts there were a few in cognito.
 
How loose do you grip the racket when hitting a forehand? Can you describe it? do you hold it as if you were gently holding a bird?
 
I have a question .....

Federer has the most slams ever and clearly is the most succesful player if all time ....but is he the best?

Is Federer a better player than Nadal given the fact that Nadal owns him in head to head ?
 
This guy is already 19, hoping he can make some big strides soon. I enjoyed reviewing his junior majors wins.
 
Filip! It's great to have a pro in the forum, and also cool enough to chat with amateurs.

I wanted to ask you what kind of training you do to stay fit?
Gym? (do you focus on increasing volume?)
Jogging?
Sprint?
Have you ever used the TRX training kit?

I am expecting to see you in TV soon!
 
filip: we are going to watch you at hollyburn, on july 27th - 29.
I hope they put you in the grand stand; i also want to watch bobby reynolds.
 
Rokushio said:
Filip! It's great to have a pro in the forum, and also cool enough to chat with amateurs.

I wanted to ask you what kind of training you do to stay fit?
Gym? (do you focus on increasing volume?)
Jogging?
Sprint?
Have you ever used the TRX training kit?

I am expecting to see you in TV soon!
Click to expand...

fpeliwo said:
Well we generally do a lot more heavy weights during that period to bulk up and prepare for the next year, as well as a couple of things such as road biking for 80k or running an official 15k race (we did that during last year's offseason)

We generally start by doing mostly fitness and not a lot of tennis, and it really includes everything(weights, cardio, speed/agility, core strength/stability, and injury prevention exercises. It varies depending on what each player needs individually, and on what part of the training period we are in, but generally we will have at least one or two 1.5-2.5 hour sessions (more if its an 80k road bike)

As far as other sports, we usually play soccer, maybe once every week or two. Its very intense, as we are all extremely serious about winning these games :)
Click to expand...

fpeliwo said:
I do everything really, just depends what we are focusing on. An average day would be 3-4 hours of training and 1.5-3 hours of fitness, which includes core, weights, or running, or a combination of everything.
Click to expand...

fpeliwo said:
We try to do everything, really. Generally, I would do some sort of running and bike, mixed with either a lower body or upper body and core session. We alternate which muscle groups we work on, usually upper body one day, and lower body then next. The lower and upper body sessions are weight workouts, by the way.
Click to expand...

here are some answers.
 
Did anyone ask and not trying to start a fight.

What level of men's player (high school, college, challenger, etc.) could beat a top 25 or top 10 WTA player?
 
Hello Filip,

Great recent results - I hope you continue the rapid rankings climb. From October 17th to 20th we are holding the 4th Annual South Island Indoor Challenge in Victoria, Canada. As you probably know, it is one of the top prize money tournaments in Canada. The format this year will again be a two-pool round robin and we will be offering free accommodations.

In our three previous years we've had players from Australia, France and South Africa win the tournament. This year we are hoping to feature Canadian players and maybe we'll have a Canadian winner. Our dates are convenient for players wishing to also participate in the two Challenger events in California earlier in October. Please let us know if your schedule permits you to play and if you are interested.

Best of luck at the Canadian Open.

Thanks a lot,

Beacon Hill

(Feel free to PM me if you would like more information.)
 
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