For Tennis Parents by a Tennis Parent

One of the very cool things about being credentialed at the US Open is the people you meet in the Media Center and Media Dining Room. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to people like Joel Drucker, Bill Simons, Jon Wertheim, Sandra Harwitt, Ben Rothenberg, Cindy Schmerler, Tom Perrotta, and Matt Cronin – names you may recognize if you read tennis articles in  such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, or Tennis Magazine. I’ve also had the chance to meet some people whose names you may not recognize unless you’re a Tennis Twitter Junkie like me – Karen Pestaina, Carole Bouchard, Courtney Nguyen, and Ricky Dimon. Each year I learn by watching them work and asking them questions about their process. Believe me, it’s fascinating!

Another perk is meeting people in person whom I’ve only previously met virtually. You may remember I did a podcast with Craig O’Shannessy last year. Craig is the man behind Brain Game Tennis and does all the stats for the ATP Tour. He also works closely with Novak Djokovic these days providing insights to help him in his quest for even more titles, including this year’s US Open.

Craig and I met in person during last year’s Open, and he was one of the first people I ran into this year. Although he is crazy busy covering matches and consulting with Novak, he took the time to sit down with me to share his thoughts on what’s going on in tennis right now and what junior coaches can learn from the pros, specifically in terms of Talent Identification.

Here is an edited audio file in case you’re having trouble hearing Craig in the video (you may still need to turn up your volume just a bit):

For an update on the latest US Open Junior results and schedule, be sure to check out Colette Lewis’s latest post here.