Effective tips on finding your perfect tennis trainer
The right coach can add a decade to your tennis life; the wrong one can stall you in a month. After fifteen years of coaching — and watching hundreds of players choose well or badly — here is the honest checklist I give every new Grove member.
Start with credentials, finish with chemistry
Certification matters: it proves a coach has studied technique, safety and progression rather than just playing well themselves. But a certificate never won anyone a third set. Book a trial session and watch for three things — does the coach ask about your goals before feeding a single ball, do they explain the why behind each drill, and do you leave wanting to practice?
Ask these five questions
- What does a typical first month look like for someone at my level?
- How do you track progress — video, stats, match results?
- What happens when I plateau for three weeks?
- Do you coach matchplay, or only technique?
- Can I talk to two of your current players?
Watch a session before you book ten
Any coach worth your money will let you observe a squad first. Look at the quiet players, not the stars: are they getting equal attention, are rallies alive with intention, is anyone standing around? At the Grove every trial assessment is free and every squad can be watched from the terrace — come and judge us.
Still unsure? Start with a box league place alongside one private a month. The league shows you what breaks down under pressure, and the private fixes exactly that. It is the fastest route we know from hopeful to dangerous.