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USTA

Player Pathways

In this presentation for Coaches, USTA National Coaches David Nainkin and Jon Glover reflect on their experiences of coaching young players, with a particular focus on Taylor Fritz and Ann Li and the decisions made along the way in their journeys from Junior to Pro. The discussion uses the USTA Player Pathway study as a framework to discuss the various aspects that go into player development at this crucial stage. In particular, the audience will learn about the coaches thoughts on scheduling and long term athlete development.

Player Name - N/A

Scenes

00:00 Player Pathways

Each player has thier own unique pathway in Tennis. This USTA PCD study reveals the benchmarks that Top ATP & WTA Professionals reach as they progress through junior tennis into the world of professional tennis.

00:20 Jon Glover

USTA National Coach for 5 years working with the boys 14 & under
Former Director of Player Development at Legacy - Regional Training Center
Strong understanding of the world’s be 14U level based on coaching the 14U World Junior Teams and attending Les Petits As

01:04 David Nainkin

Davis Cup Coach and Olympic Head Coach
Been with USTA Player Development for over 16 years
Had the opportunity to work with some of our best young talent on the West Coast out of the National Training Center in Carson

01:38 Adam Snook

Uses video and data to provide objective feedback to coaches to support the coaching process
Focuses his time helping helping develop key performance indicators to help evaluate the long term development of our athletes
Played a big role in getting this player pathway study visualized

02:17 Geoff Russell

Sr. Manager of Team USA Pro and Transition
Plays a key role in driving the Performance Team approach here in USTA Player Development
Big believer in how we use data and analytics to evaluate the long term development of the athletes

02:57 Agenda

04:17 Ranking Milestones

04:23 ATP Ranking Milestones by Age

A look into the average age the current ATP Top 10, 25, 50, 100 in the world hit various ranking milestones

05:41 Taylor Fritz

David Nainkin reflects on his time working with Taylor Fritz. In particular the early days with Taylor as a 16 year old, and the challenges faced and choices made at this stage of his career.

09:52 Taylor Fritz Ranking Milestones vs ATP

David Nainkin discusses Taylor Fritz quick rise through the ATP rankings and the pivotal role that his experiences in high level ITF junior matches played in this when first breaking on to the tour.

12:09 American Men vs International Pathways

A look into the ranking pathways of various American and International players.

13:30 WTA Ranking Milestones by Age

A look into the average age the current WTA Top 10, 25, 50, 100 in the world hit various ranking milestones.

14:22 Ann Li

Jon Glover reflects on his time working with Ann. Going back to first meeting Ann and her family as an 8/9 year old, commenting on her coachability, the development of her skills and game style, and specifically coaching with the end in mind.

19:03 Ann Li Ranking Milestones vs WTA

Jon Glover reflects on Ann's Wimbledon Juniors Final run, breaking a little later on to the tour than most of her peers, but believing iin the process and the importance of her playing the right tournaments and hitting those steps along the way.

21:53 American Women vs International Pathways

A look into the ranking pathways of various American and International players

23:18 College Tennis as Top 100 Pathway

23:25 Men - College and Straight to Pro Pathways

A comparison of 6 American players who have reached the Top 100 with varying pathways. in particular those who went straight to Pro's and those who used college as part of thier development pathway.

23:57 Marcos Giron

David Nainkin discusses Marcos Giron's college successes, injury setbacks and his hardwork and apllication as an athlete to bring about tour success.

25:59 Women - College and Straight to Pro's Pathways

A comparison of 6 American Women who have reached the Top 100 with varying pathways. in particular those who went straight to Pro's and those who used college as part of thier development pathway.

27:29 College vs Going Pro?

Jon Glover discusses the considerations either going Pro or going to College first, in particular through the lens of Ann and her decision at the time.

30:44 Managing the Plan

31:19 Taylor Fritz Schedule 14th-16th Birth Year

Wasn’t until his 16th Birth year that Taylor played ITF Events
Was getting all of his match play through 15 years old through USTA Junior events
Focus was on developing his game
Multi-Sport participation
ITF Junior Tour and Taylor's exposure to different time zones and surfaces

37:38 International Players Schedule - 14th-16th Birth Year

38:23 International Players Schedule 17th-18th Birth Year

39:44 Taylor Fritz Schedule 17th-18th Birth Year

The decisions made at the start of Taylor's pro career including training base selection, the schedule, wildcards, and training blocks to allow him to work on his area of focus to be ready to compete on the tour.

45:46 Ann Li Schedule 14th-16th Birth Year

14th Birth Year - Played a 100% complete USTA schedule, and was not selected to play Les Petits As.
15th Birth Year - Switched to an ITF Junior Schedule (mostly within the US) and balancing this with USTA National Events
16th Birth Year - Added ITF Pro Circuit events to her calendar, balancing all three event types and winning her first Level 1 event - G18’s Clay Courts.