Just Play

It's been a year since we started and in our 46th and final episode of the year, we look back at what we have done, and more details on the pod that you listen to and how we create it. The big question though, are we heading to year 2?

We discuss what the life of a pro is like, could we do the constant travel year on year, interviews, training, not seeing friends and family as often as we'd like - would we embrace all of this or would it be too much. What are the benefits and drawbacks do we believe of being a Pro.

Join us as we interview Paul Marchant, Ryan's assistant at Swanage Tennis Club. Come and join us to find out about his unique story of growing up at the club, being pushed by Ryan, taking on his level 3 qualifications and also hear his honest thoughts on who is most likely to forget their tennis rackets between him and Ryan in some fun questions.

Lots of people believe to be a great athlete you have to have some sort of resilience whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally. Does this resilience stem from a persons childhood or experiences they have encountered, we discuss!

The good old saying of 'Practice Makes Perfect' is used by a lot of people to emphasise the fact you need to do lots of repetition to make something better - but does it actually make it perfect? Does perfect exist in tennis or are we making something permanent or autonomous? We discuss!

Ryan and Andy discuss the UK's LTA Tournament competition structure. Focusing mainly on juniors, they look at whether it does accommodate all, focusing on the beginning of everyone's journey at your first venue whether it be a club or a park, and whether it is easy to compete and fair? Is ranking / WTN the most important thing or should it be about the enjoyment and love of the game? Should we be comfortable being uncomfortable and putting a little 'pressure' on players to see if they thrive or survive? We discuss!

It's a critical time for outdoor tennis clubs in the U.K. Is the landscape shifting because of Padel and Pickleball becoming more accessible and easier to play, so what do Outdoor Tennis clubs need to do more / less of to continue pace with these up and coming sports and potentially ones on the horizon also! We discuss

In this episode we discuss the recent change of sponsorship for British player Emma Raducanu. She once was affiliated and sponsored by Nike, but her change to Uniqlo makes her a Global Ambassador for the brand, so is this a good move long term for her and potentially other players follow suit? Is it all about the money or having more input into what you wear? We discuss!

A fun one today where we try and pick from different era's and game styles, to see who we think we most resemble from the tennis tour. Past and present, we really look at all aspects from the physical to the mental side of the game, but do we feel like any of our game is like the current day players like Alcaraz and Sinner?! Listen to find out!

We discuss in today's pod a little more about Grand Slams and how they all differ in terms of applying for tickets - does this contribute to tennis being accessible or non accessible when you want to go and watch the pro's? Surely we want as many people to have a fantastic experience and all want to go, but does price also play quite a bit factor?

We discuss are certain nations stronger in producing a bigger pool of players / better players by producing something we don't know about? Why isn't it for example one nation doesn't have 50% of the top 100 just purely with their nations players, or is it just not that easy? We discuss!

We take a look at the Australian Open 2026 Singles Quarter Finalists where we haven't seen too many upsets so far and in for some scintillating matches to come. Who do we think will make it to the final four or will there be a surprise or two along the way?

We begin this year by taking a look at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. The Battle of the Sexes - was it a gimmick or have we now got more eyes on our sport and the 1 Point Slam won by Aussie Jordan Smith! Is it a good format or could Ryan & Andy make it better for next year?

Happy Christmas to everyone! Ryan and I look at the 2026 season, and we try and make some bold predictions for who is winning the Grand Slams. We don't know who will be in form, who will get injured, but do we back some outsiders or is it going to be the same players in contention for titles in 2026 - listen and find out!

Today's Pod we discuss having 1:1 private lessons. They are possibly the best way to improve your tennis, you, a coach, and time to really have areas of your game improved no end! But what happens if you have a player who thinks they are good at something and actually, they need help in that area and does it differ from Adults to Juniors?

Social Media is really everywhere these days, and whilst when we began our journey over two decades ago social media was only really in its infancy with MySpace, Bebo to name a couple. But how important is it to use social media within tennis? Can we promote / sell in the right way to show what we do and entice new players to the programme. We discuss!

A big topic is the battle of winter in the UK, especially being an outdoor tennis coach. It isn't easy stepping on in the winter months knowing rain is on the way, there is a massive wind chill, and players may want to stop due to the weather, so how do we remain positive and keep going year on year during this tougher period when work may not be as certain? We discuss!

Lots of the freelance tennis coaches begin at one tennis venue and remain there growing what they have, but should you branch out and look at getting other venues / facilities and growing your business? Or do you begin to dilute what you have built already? We discuss the pro's and con's to expanding in the tennis coaching world!

Another deep dive into the world of Tennis Coaching as a business, as Ryan & Andy discuss the importance as a business to have Terms and Conditions / Policies in the tennis world. Like anywhere, we have to protect ourselves and our livelihood but what is fair to us and also the people we teach? We discuss!

Tennis seems to now be in jeopardy of being caught up by Padel, but since it's boom in the UK since Covid are we just following a trend around the world and it will in 5 years fade away or is it here to stay and take over? We discuss!

Relationships and communication in any sport are so important, but how does it affect performances and results? Does one side of the Triangle (or pyramid) need to be stronger than another? We discuss!

Lots of different coaching qualifications around the world doing great things in different ways but what if only one existed and Ryan and Andy created it? We tell you how we would go about it from how long courses should be to how you could / should be assessed and examined.

We discuss the impact of tennis coaching to everyone, whether we really are good value for money compared to other coaching industries or do we charge too much or too little?

Discussing how teams are sorted out where we work, do Team Captains have a big say in it or is it too political and committees sort it out. Never an easy thing to do to say to someone they should play for another team within the club but it's apart of evolution of people getting better and wanting more of a challenge, but finding the right challenge is key and never easy to sort!

We discuss how people in general rate themselves, do you compare against other people at your club or pro's? Is it following fundamental things such as being able to rally and serve and who is correct?

We sit down and discuss the LTA Coach Development's video trying to get more people into coaching, or are they upsetting people in other industries and portraying them in a bad light? We discuss it all!

As we both work in club environments we thought it best on episode 20 to delve into committee's and how important are they, which roles you MUST have but also which ones could you do without?

We discuss how important in this era to play for your country in the Davis Cup / Billie Jean Cup with players deciding to prioritise training blocks and competition over playing for your national team - or is there more to the story?!

A good debate on does competition keep players in sport or does it push them away? What involvement and responsibilities do the player, coach & parent have and is it possible to build resilience in players with it being okay to fail sometimes?

It's a niggly and painful injury we have all had once upon a time in our lives, but does 'Tennis Elbow' get a bad rep? Is it actually caused from tennis and is it avoidable from the start of your tennis journey? We discuss!

The US Open has now hit Quarter Final stage in the singles so time to review it so far and give our predictions for the rest of the draw. We also discuss the controversial Mixed Doubles tournament that took place and did the winners send a message to the tournament on who should have entered? Plus we discuss how our Brits faired in the tournament.

Is going for a 1 - 2 - 1 lesson better for you to improve or should you put yourself in a group environment? We explain the pro's and con's of each to help you make your own decision whilst also letting you know what we prefer teaching.

We go into the world of stringing, how important is it to regularly change your strings or should you just let them break, does weather and court surface make a difference and what are we using? Let us unpack it!

We discuss the ongoing discussion that keeps coming up in the world of tennis in terms of equal pay. Is it fair that men's and ladies get paid the same but play a different format? Does it need to change? Is it the new norm? If we were put in charge would we try and change it and if so, how?

A short pod for us for a change! We speak about how tennis scoring came about and some of the myth's of where it began and would we ever change it to something else?! Or is it perfect!

We speak about the two weeks at SW19 and the champions in each event, notable matches were obviously the men's and ladies singles, but who in terms of the Brits did well.

In this episode we decide to take a look at all four Grand Slams and compare them, from the unique court surfaces that players play on, to a fans experience around the grounds and what we believe costs are like and how easy is it to access tickets?

Ryan turns 40! Where has that time gone?! Andy decides to interview Ryan unscripted, to find out more about his tennis in those first 40 years, what his best outfit was, best racket, and whether he thinks at 40 he could be his 20 year old self in a tennis match .. surely not!? Listen to find out!

We look back at Day 1 & 2 of the Wimbledon Championships which has produced 10 Brits making it through in singles to the 2nd round for the first time in Wimbledon history. However, lots of big shocks with big names going out, we review all the action so far.

We review the ladies and men's finals at Roland Garros 2025 with big congrats to Gauff and Alcaraz. We begin to look at the grass court season, the first couple of weeks have been completed with Wimbledon on the horizon, who do we think are the strong favourites and are there any dark horses to look out for?!

More of a light hearted pod for Ryan & Andy on this one, they go discuss the recent victory of Rory McIlroy claiming the career slam and what had been the elusive green jacket to his already glistening collection of titles. We discuss how did he do it and our life pressure whether it be on the court, or generally just being competitive in everyday life.

We follow on from the previous pod and talk more about what we believe is required from 11 years onwards. What needs to be the focus for the player, but also factoring life also, family, friends, what sacrifices need to be made to become a National Champion and hopefully m make tennis your future job

We delve into how we would create a champion from the age of three years old to a National Champion. We talk in Part 1 the journey from coming to the club, the importance of player, coach, parent relationships and how much training, competing and nutrition are up to the age of 11 years old. Is quality better than quantity? What are the most important attributes that we look for.

In this podcast we discuss how our coaching journey began, what we were good at and not so good at, what we improved, and has the game evolved in 25 years since we first started?

Another episode with Ryan and Andy, going into detail when they attempted starting on Monday 8th August at 9am and finishing three days later on Thursday 11th August. Hear how they dealt with it all, how they came about the idea and who the eventual winner was whilst raising money for the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust*Note - current record as of recording is 82 hours set in 2024

Episode 1 and the start of our podcast journey! Get to know Ryan & Andy's journey, from how they began in tennis with parents to how they became tennis coaches.