New here?

Let me put myself in your shoes and answer your potential questions.

Why take online classes in addition to classes with a local coach

A priori, one might wonder whether there is not a risk of conflict or contradiction of advice and method.

My experience is that a good local coach shows at least interest in the process as well as in the opinion of the online coach.

I am also not obliged to share the advice received from the online coach with my local coach. I can just start by trying to apply them with my regular partners. In general, we see very quickly whether a piece of advice provides something or not.

My impression is that my local coaches are preparing my training more seriously since I started online tennis coaching. A good local coach will consider another good online coach as a chance to improve further instead of a threat.

The quality of courses from local coaches

The qualification criteria for becoming a tennis coach in Switzerland appears to be quite easy.

Most local coaches stand in the middle of the court and distribute balls while giving the same fairly basic advice to all their students.

Their rate is the equivalent of a minimum of 135 dollars or 125 euros per hour. It may seem expensive, but deducting the cost of renting the field, a coach’s salary is lower than the median salary value. In addition, doing this job until age 65 is very difficult. The same goes for regularly filling a week, or being able to work for several hours in a row, or even a full day.

In 20 years, I have had around ten coaches. One of them is regularly invited to international conferences. His high-sounding title is “Czech Professional Tennis Association Founder”. In 2010, he made us play the one-handed backhand in open stance, claiming that the best juniors use this technique. I had tried. It’s rubbish… The same goes for the forehand as well as the serve and volley, expensive advice, but focused on useless and counterproductive details for recreational players. One of my regular partners considers that his poor forehand comes from this coach, having only a total of five standard lessons in his repertoire.

Another coach had us prepare a high, very high racket forehand and told us to make a striking movement as if we were drawing an egg (or a letter C). My balls got very high and very slow.

Another coach considered that you should point the racket handle forward like a torch. It didn’t work for me.

Currently, I have the best local coaches of my entire tennis career. Thanks to them !