Available online
Description
There was a moment when Sven Groeneveld realised he wasn't going to be a great tennis player, he knew he wasn't going to be able to emulate the great players of the day such as Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Co...nnors and John McEnroe, or that he wasn't going to be able to compete with the best players and make his living playing the game.But what Sven also realised was that he could see things in the other players, read a match, second guess what the game plan would be, what a certain player was doing wrong, and crucially how he could put it right. Since that moment Sven Groeneveld has become one of the most sought after coaches in world tennis. He has helped players such as Monica Seles, Mary Pierce, Michael Stich, Esther Vergeer, Greg Rusedski, Caroline Wosniacki and currently Maria Sharapova win dozens of grand slams and other tour titles.In the first part of our series The Managers, Ed Harry travelled to Sven's tennis academy in Amsterdam to meet him and to explore the role of the coach to the tennis elite. How do you spot, and then address the weaknesses in the best players in the world which could transform them from also-rans into champions at Roland Garros or Wimbledon?It's this ability to make the small adjustments that have such a big impact that means that Sven - and the other coaches explored in this series The Managers - are so successful.But the technical side of the game is only one part of it and Sven explains how the players have to bond mentally if they are to work and succeed together. Sven also admits that personality clashes are common in tennis and the separate egos of the player and the coach coexist. As Sven tells Ed, he has had to learn to manage his own ego as he has climbed the coaching ladder.Born in the Netherlands, it was from his parents that he gained his competitive streak that drives him today. Sven started playing tennis with a former table tennis international and a footballer - in the small village where he lived.Sven measures his worth on the practice court, working on the small parts of the game that make the difference between success and failure and that's the hallmark of all our coaches, the seemingly imperceptible detail they can spot that the lay person can't, which is why they are the best in the world in their field.
There was a moment when Sven Groeneveld realised he wasn't going to be a great tennis player, he knew he wasn't going to be able to emulate the great players of the day such as Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Co...nnors and John McEnroe, or that he wasn't going to be able to compete with the best players and make his living playing the game.But what Sven also realised was that he could see things in the other players, read a match, second guess what the game plan would be, what a certain player was doing wrong, and crucially how he could put it right. Since that moment Sven Groeneveld has become one of the most sought after coaches in world tennis. He has helped players such as Monica Seles, Mary Pierce, Michael Stich, Esther Vergeer, Greg Rusedski, Caroline Wosniacki and currently Maria Sharapova win dozens of grand slams and other tour titles.In the first part of our series The Managers, Ed Harry travelled to Sven's tennis academy in Amsterdam to meet him and to explore the role of the coach to the tennis elite. How do you spot, and then address the weaknesses in the best players in the world which could transform them from also-rans into champions at Roland Garros or Wimbledon?It's this ability to make the small adjustments that have such a big impact that means that Sven - and the other coaches explored in this series The Managers - are so successful.But the technical side of the game is only one part of it and Sven explains how the players have to bond mentally if they are to work and succeed together. Sven also admits that personality clashes are common in tennis and the separate egos of the player and the coach coexist. As Sven tells Ed, he has had to learn to manage his own ego as he has climbed the coaching ladder.Born in the Netherlands, it was from his parents that he gained his competitive streak that drives him today. Sven started playing tennis with a former table tennis international and a footballer - in the small village where he lived.Sven measures his worth on the practice court, working on the small parts of the game that make the difference between success and failure and that's the hallmark of all our coaches, the seemingly imperceptible detail they can spot that the lay person can't, which is why they are the best in the world in their field.
| Series: | The managers |
|---|---|
| Episode | 1 |
| First transmission date: | 2014-05-10 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC World Service |
| Published: | 2014 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:55:00 |
| Note: | BBC World Service version |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Richard McIlroy |
| Presenter: | Ed Harry |
| Contributors: | Ed Harry; Sven Groeneveld; Martin Bok |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Production number: | AUDA995B |
| Available to public: | no |
