In difficult situations, a famous Galileo Galilei quote is often used: “Behind every problem, there is an opportunity”. The training of tennis instructors and coaches, like all other sectors, had to face many difficulties during the last year due to the restrictions imposed worldwide to stifle the spread of the pandemic. In most cases, these difficulties led to a significant reduction in training activities, with teaching mostly happening remotely and not in the traditional classroom environment. However, having the alternative of online training can be a great opportunity, both for organisers and attendants, eliminating or significantly reducing logistical and economic problems (just think about the organising, travel, food, and lodging expenses) connected to on-site courses. By doing this, training events can be aimed at a much wider audience of participants (also because, after a year of smart-working and distance learning, everybody is more accustomed and willing to attend an online course) and with a richer and more authoritative group of speakers than if they had gathered “physically” in the same place and in the same period.
Therefore, a high-level training opportunity for tennis coaches and instructors materialised. The first edition of the World Tennis Conference (WTC) will be held online from the 25th to the 28th March, organized by the GPTCA (Global Professional Tennis Coach Association, the worldwide association of tennis coaches recognized by the ATP that provides training and education for tennis coaches internationally) and by SI (Segal Institute, an organization that provides consulting and services to tennis players, coaches, clubs and other organizations) with the aim of supporting them in effectively achieving their goals. WTC is an online conference for tennis coaches from around the world that, in four intense days of e-learning training, will provide them the knowledge, skills and competencies that a “High Performance Tennis Coach” should develop, i.e. a coach who is able to support his player in achieving maximum performance.
There will be about sixty speakers – a number that confirms the organization’s commitment to making this first edition an important moment of professional growth for tennis coaches – who will take turns on the WTC virtual stage, sharing their experiences and skills with the objective of highlighting the fundamental aspects to achieve excellence in performance. It is hard to name just a few since there are so many high-profile names among them. The list will include: legendary coaches such as Nick Bollettieri, Alberto Castellani and Toni Nadal; Slam champions such as Boris Becker and Andrès Gomez; former Top 10 players such as Andrei Medvedev, Rainer Schuttler and Janko Tipsarevic; the coaches of some of today’s greatest champions, including former world N.3 Ivan Ljubicic, who now works with the man who many consider to be the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer. Other current top coaches will include Nicolas Massù and Gilles Cervara, who respectively work alongside Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev. Moreover, a representative of Novak Djokovic’s team, the current world’s best player, will also intervene – Marco Panichi, the physical trainer of the Serbian champion.
The WTC flyer, with the names of the 60 speakers creating a stylized tennis ball
In addition to dealing with the technical, tactical, physical and mental areas, all closely contributing to the achievement of a top-notch performance (Cecilia Morini and Federico di Carlo, experts in the field of mental training, are some of the speakers that will feature), the conference also wants to address other issues that a coach should acquire to support their players more effectively on and off the court and to better organize their activities as well as their relationship with the media.
Ubitennis will talk about these topics on the WTC virtual stage: firstly, the website’s CEO Ubaldo Scanagatta will address the issue of how to prepare players to deal with the media in the best way, drawing from his experience as a veteran journalist and tennis reporter who has worked at 160 Slams, but also as a former director of an ATP tournament (Florence, from 1974 to 1979). Ubitennis will furthermore be represented by long-time collaborator Ilvio Vidovich, who will talk about the approach to communication and media relations of tennis associations and organizations, stemming from his role as press officer of ISMCA (International Sport Mental Coach Association) as well.
Craig O’Shannessy, the most famous data analyst on the ATP circuit, will also be taking part in the conference (his presence was announced only a few days ago), and the list of speakers may further expand. The closing speech will be held by ATP President Andrea Gaudenzi, who will talk about the future objectives of ATP, confirming the importance given to coaches training.
The organisers will guarantee access to the recording of the interventions for 30 days after the conclusion of the conference, a further opportunity offered by the e-learning modality to allow participants to get the most out of the event. In addition, as Fernando Segal (founder and CEO of the Segal Institute and director of the World Tennis Conference) told us, work is being finalised to include subtitles in English, Spanish, German and Italian – all the speeches will be given in English.
There will also be the opportunity to enjoy the contents of the conference from a smartphone, through the Tennis ONE app.
To sum up, Galileo was right…
For those who are interested, further information is available on the event website, at https://worldtennisconference.com/
