Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to spend time in Great Britain alongside tennis coach Dyego Moyano, supporting a group of two professional players and three juniors during training and competition.
We were based in Reading, where having an Anytime Fitness close to the house gave us a good base for the physical work. From there, we traveled with the players to tournaments in Bradfield for the juniors and Aldershot and Roehampton for the professionals.
There was a lot of driving, planning and organizing involved. That is part of tournament life too.
For a strength and conditioning coach, however, being there provides something that is very difficult to reproduce back at the training center: the opportunity to see exactly what the athlete needs when competing.
Watching Training Is Different From Watching Competition
We learn a lot about an athlete in the gym and on the practice court. We can assess strength, power, mobility, movement quality and many other physical qualities.
Competition adds another layer.
Watching an athlete play a tournament match allows us to observe how those qualities hold up when the score matters and fatigue starts accumulating.
How does the athlete move late in a match?
Does court positioning change with fatigue?
Are they still able to accelerate and decelerate efficiently?
How well do they recover between points?
What happens physically after several matches in a short period?
These observations give context to the information we collect during training.
The Plan Has to Follow the Athlete
Another important part of traveling with players is understanding how quickly plans can change.
A match can last one hour or three. Schedules change. Weather interferes. An athlete may finish late and have to play again the following morning.
The physical preparation has to respond to that reality.
There are days when we can have a proper fitness session. On others, a short activation is enough. After a demanding match, the priority may be recovery and preparing the athlete to compete again.
The decision shouldn’t be based only on what was written in the program before the tournament. It should also consider what the athlete has just experienced.
This is where communication between the tennis coach, performance coach and athlete becomes particularly important.
Tournament Routines Are Part of Athlete Development
For junior players, these weeks have another important purpose.
Young athletes need to learn how to compete, but they also need to learn everything that surrounds competition.
How should I prepare my body before a match?
What should I do after playing?
What does a good recovery routine look like?
When should I train during a tournament?
How do I manage several matches over consecutive days?
These may seem like small details, but learning them early helps athletes become more independent and better prepared as they progress through higher levels of competition.
Professional players already have much more experience with these situations, but the same principle applies: good decisions between matches can influence what the athlete is able to produce on court.
Bringing Competition Back Into Training
Personally, watching our athletes compete was probably the most valuable part of the experience.
When I return to Costa Performance, I don’t want to remember only whether an athlete won or lost. I want to bring back information.
What did the match show us?
What needs more attention?
What physical qualities are already transferring well to the court?
What can we change in the next training block?
Being with athletes during competition closes an important loop between preparation, performance and the next phase of training.
We prepare the athlete, watch how that preparation responds to the reality of competition, and then use what we learned to make the next training cycle more specific.
For me, that’s one of the most valuable reasons to spend time on the road with the athletes we coach.
