What Do Spanish Tennis Players Have that We Don’t?

This weekend as we see the Madrid Open unfold before Rome and Roland Garros, one has to wonder what is it about the Spanish tennis players that makes them have a representative in each of the quarters match-up? four out of eight and three out of four in the semis? and at least one of the finalists?

Let’s look at their accomplishments as a country:
– 14 players in the top 100, highest number of any country.
– World’s number one (coached by his uncle, not a celebrity coach, or ex star).
– 20% of the world’s top 50 (10 players).

Well, one can wonder it’s the clay courts, the way they move their feet, how defensively they play, the patience they have, what exactly is it?. I want to know it and buy it. One also wonders why if we play in hard courts here, don’t we have four Americans in the quarters at the US open?

As I tried to figure out what is it about them, I came to the conclusion that the Spanish play under a system of recognizing patterns, and playing points with a defined logic, given the geometry of the courts, the pattern of the balls, always playing topspin in key situations and having a huge understanding of margins. Do this exercise for me any day when you watch a Spanish player. They play 80% of the points in an orange court, yes the one for kids that most parents here in the US complain about and most coaches don’t pay enough attention to. Count 10 points and pay attention where the balls land. You will reach this conclusion. 8 out of 10 balls are played in a 60 ft. court.

Now watch our top players and the numbers are simply nowhere near 80%. They are also fantastic at changing defense into an attack. My conclusion is they have a better understanding of the court, a clear understanding of the subsequent point and a higher taught tennis IQ.

When you see Spanish tennis players play, you will recognize this:

They seldom hit the net, in key points (40-15, tie breaks, 15-40 etc..) they always play topspin and are resilient in the time it will take to finish a proper point. Amazing it is. But, this ability to decipher points is taught. Why can’t we learn it here for our kids? My conclusion is that in the US, coaches and parents are not worried about the key tennis component, the mental game, and are very much worried and practicing strokes all day long, almost to the point of being senseless for years.

So, when a 15 year old who has been playing for 10 years plays on a global scale, his or her shots are amazing or just as good as anyone in the world. But, at that level as in the pros, winning a match comes down to a few points and how you play them. So, if we were to ask the 15 year old, how long have you been practicing, the answer would be 10 years. If we then ask how long have you been practicing your mental game? The answer would be nowhere near the years practicing. Here is the area we need to focus on as parents and coaches. Bingo!

In my pursuit for answers for my kids, I decided to have Oscar Borras (a Spanish coach who worked with Rafael Nadal) teach us that Spanish methodology of playing and part of the methods Spain uses to break all records with normal tennis players with the obvious exception of Nadal who is a generation wonder.

If you enjoyed this article, please don’t forget to tap . You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you.