With coaches around the world currently unable to work with players on court due to COVID-19, ITF Player Representative Jamie Delgado shares his experience of being sidelined while Andy Murray was recovering from hip surgery and the lessons learned when they returned to action

For players and coaches alike, this is obviously a very frustrating time. The COVID-19 pandemic has put professional tennis on hold, and in many countries court and training facilities have been shut down as we try to stop the spread of the virus.

Right now, I’m at home doing what a lot of people are doing – popping out for a walk or a jog or to pick up food, and that’s about it. Whether you’re working with a professional player, a promising junior, or simply someone who is taking their game seriously, you’re always trying to help them improve and evolve. This break may halt that momentum, from a tennis perspective.

But not everything has to stop. Coaches around the world will be encouraging their players to keep active, as coaching goals are physical as well as technical. This is a great opportunity to focus on that side of the game if you have the space and facilities at home or can go out running or cycling.

From a coach’s perspective, you’re still trying to be positive through it and make sure you’re building on things, improving on things that will keep your players in good stead when they do start playing again. It’s not the same as playing tennis – tennis fitness is different to general fitness, and in terms of players making progress with their game, that’s all on hold unless they have a tennis court at home. But there will be a lot of players who will be using this time to build strength in certain areas or work on their cardiovascular capacity.

'The waiting game can be frustrating, but it can be an opportunity as well'

While this is a unique set of circumstances, an enforced hiatus like this is something that can happen in the career of a coach, especially those working one-on-one with a player. It’s certainly something I am familiar with. Andy underwent two hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019, major operations that required months of rehab before he could get back on court.

In that specific situation it was frustrating. Before his first surgery, Andy had been No.1 in the world and top of the tree, and it was a great chance to keep going and keep having success. That was especially frustrating for him, having worked his entire life to get to that point.

Then there was the downtime. Coaching Andy is my full-time job, and while he was in recovery it wasn’t a case of working with other players or picking up work elsewhere. The waiting game can be frustrating, but it can be an opportunity as well. For me, it was when I took my first coaching course.

Coaching qualifications are not something that a professional player is especially looking for – it’s not a necessity for the job. My own journey into coaching is proof of that. I played professionally for a long time, and towards the end of my playing days I got on well with Gilles Muller, who was struggling with his game. We played doubles together, but I was also coaching him in singles, and as time went on, I realised I was actually enjoying the coaching side much more than the doubles.

Playing professional tennis does give you many of the skills that a coach needs. We know what it’s like to compete in matches; what it’s like to get nervous in matches; what it’s like to be playing well and how important it is to keep those spells in perspective. You’re also aware of the harder moments on the tour – how it feels when the wins aren’t coming, and how to work through that.

'Players who see themselves becoming coaches should look for some training'

But players have often spent their careers just doing what they are told by their coaches. They don’t necessarily think too much about what they are working on, the scheduling, or how their sessions are being mapped out – their job is to improve their game and win tennis matches, and it’s a coach’s job to help make that happen.

For all that shared experience a former player can bring to a coaching role, if you are thrown in with a player without any formal coaching education, you’re learning on the job. And while there is no denying that you learn so much as you go along, I do think players who see themselves becoming coaches should look for some training.

A coaching course or qualification can help you understand how to communicate with the player and how to put your ideas into action. It happens in football – players often talk about doing their FIFA and UEFA coaching badges. The combination of playing experience and having also done some courses would make you a much better coach right from the beginning. And courses are available at all levels, including the ITF Coaching Advanced Players Tour Pathway aimed at pros and performance coaches looking to take the next step. 

While Andy was in recovery in 2018, I took the LTA’s Master Performance Tennis Coach Qualification course, and I found that really helpful. And I’m keeping it up – I was in a session a few weeks ago, a refresher catch-up where I was able to work on a few specific areas I wanted to brush up on. We have another one coming up, though that will be an online conference call, given everything that is going on.

Coaches are often viewed as someone who has all the answers, but that’s not always the case. Having mentors is also important. It’s great to have someone in your corner as a coach, someone you can bounce ideas off – maybe they have advice on how you deal with a certain situation that has arisen with your player, to make sure you’re on the right track.

I have Louis Cayer, the LTA’s senior performance advisor, who coached me towards the end of my playing days. He ran the coaching course that I took, and he’s someone who, especially from a technical point of view, I would consult for sure. I feel lucky to have that.

When the time comes for players and coaches to return to court, the first thing to focus on is trying to get the basics right. If your player hasn’t hit for a while, make sure their technique is okay, and let them get a feel for the ball again. Some players take longer than others for that feel to come back, so repetition and volume is important.

As soon as they start feeling the ball, you can start getting specific to their game style quite quickly. But that spell of building some volume up of what they’ve missed is a really important element.

The reality is that initially you are not going to be playing amazing tennis. But even while knowing the reasons for this, players can still get frustrated with it, and that’s normal. As a coach, you have to manage expectations a little bit.

That is important when it comes to matches as well – when they haven’t played for a while, it’s perfectly human to make more mistakes than before, to feel rusty and not quite as confident. There’s quite a process you have to go through to get back to playing your best tennis again.

'You have to keep a sense of perspective and look for solutions'

It’s as much a psychological test as anything else for a coach helping a player to work through that – to keep them on the right track, keep them doing the right things, and keeping them positive as well, because it’s not easy on them.

Andy’s situation was a bit different as it was an injury that needed medical intervention. As a coach I’m not involved in that – I’m not necessarily giving much help or advice regarding those sorts of things – but you do think about when he starts playing again.

If it’s an injury that affects how your player plays their game, you’ve got to start thinking about that. Depending how bad of an injury it is, will it affect their performance? How can you maximise what they have, and limit exposure of what they don’t have? You have to think outside the box a bit.

Also, depending what injury they are dealing with, you have to think about scheduling on their return. How much do they play, and how much do they not play? What surfaces do they play on?

You also have to factor in how practice sessions may have to change. You might not be able to practice as much as you would like as a coach, if your player’s injuries no longer allow for that. And if you have less time on court, you have to plan sessions even better than before to get the most out of them.

In that way, it is quite challenging when a player does start playing after injury. There’s more pressure on those early sessions, and no time to waste – not to say that there was before, but every action and decision requires fresh scrutiny as to how they make the session more productive. You have to keep a sense of perspective and look for solutions – something we’re all trying to do right now.

To assist the 164,000 tennis coaches globally during this time of uncertainty, the ITF is making more resources on its ITF Academy platform available for free for the duration of this period of imposed shutdown.

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