Tennis Prose




Apr/11

20

Welcome to the Futures circuit, kid!

We can only imagine how difficult it must be for a young ITF junior star to take his first steps into the mens professional circuit of professional tennis. A friend of the site, a well respected international coach, sent this diary entry about some of his observations and experiences which they have encountered as a teen prospect takes on the big boys for the first time in the ITF Futures circuit (some of the identities have been changed)…

This circuit has been an eye opener for “Jim.” I have been pushing him hard in training and the good thing is that all our hard work is slowly gaining respect. Respect in a way that now Jim is able to hit and train with different players here in the circuit which is tough to do if you don’t know anyone. In the first leg, Jim didn’t know what too expect and he was given a good awakening, not just by his loss to **** ****** but the environment he is into. Nobody spoke to him or even wanted to hit with him, despite his high ranking in the ITF juniors. He felt alone and in unfamiliar ground, where he was not comfortable. The mens players tend too be focused more on themselves unlike the juniors where everybody hangs out and likes to know each other. In the men’s circuit, it’s all about respect, results and who you know that will get you in the club. So what I did for Jim to maximize his exposure in this circuit was to get closer to these players and start talking results. Also, a lot of players and coaches here are old acquaintances of mine and some players we go far back because I even know them since they are juniors. Jim is definitely absorbing everything here in this circuit and his game is picking up to another level. Now, even guys in the main draw are hitting and playing with him which goes both ways, they benefit from us and we benefit from them. This second leg of the circuit is much better for Jim’s development and the Indian player who beat him in three sets got to the main draw singles and lost to another Indian player who is ranked in the top 600, in three sets, 6-4 in the third. This player also beat the top seeds in doubles yesterday with his Indian partner, 6-3 6-0. The top seed in this tournament is the veteran player ***** ********* of Thailand who was ranked as high as #60 ATP a few years back and has a win against Hewitt. But today he was pushed to the limit by an Indian player who is ranked in the top 600, 7-6 in the third set. A coach from Belgium who is a friend of mine and was the former coach of Malisse and Olivier Rochus gave Jim solid advice and he said he has potential but to be aware of adopting the bad habits of these players here in the Futures. Most of the players here are good enough to be playing bigger tournaments but unfortunately they are stuck at this level because they don’t work as hard as the top players in the world. When your coach pushes you work hard in training, you have got to do it. This is one reason why so many young players never get to maximize their potential because they absorb the wrong things from the circuit and for a young player to travel without a coach will just be a disaster and won’t work. He told Jim not to worry too much about his results in his first men’s Futures but to keep on playing his game and learning the positive side of the circuit. The age majority of top players in the world are ranging from 22 and above so now Jim understands more clearly why I still want him to play 60% juniors and 40% mens this year to give him time to grow and develop his maturity in both his mental and physical game. We are off to Chennai on Thursday for the final third leg and we hope to get our first win.

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4 comments

  • Mitch · April 20, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    J—- ———?

  • Scoop Malinowski · April 20, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    Mitch you are too good!

  • Dan Markowitz · April 20, 2011 at 6:40 pm

    Can’t say I picked up a whole lot of insight into what the Futures Circuit is about from this essay. It needs more specifics. It is interesting, although I don’t know if it’s true, to hear that players don’t reach their full potential because they don’t train hard enough, rather than they’re not good enough.

    I always thought it was a combination of the two, and sure you can say that the #500 ranked man could beat Nadal, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a talent discrepancy. You can work into your blue in the face, but if you don’t have the talent, the ability to win and a positive frame of mind, you’re not going to make it either.

    And what, did Mitch guess the guy’s name?

  • Grant · July 28, 2011 at 3:47 am

    I am a junior in boys 14’s I want to go pro but I need to know how hard the tournaments now I am not significantly ranked cuz I am a really late bloomer but I am willing to train Extremely hard I just need to know what they are like

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