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About this episode
Dan Smethurst is a British tennis coach and former player who most recently worked with top WTA player Johanna Konta.
A talented youngster, Dan was world junior number 29 before playing on the ITF and ATP Challenger Tour, reaching a career high ranking of 234 in 2014.
After quitting tennis he moved into coaching, working with Team Bath Tennis high performance players. Dan was Konta´s assistant coach and hitting partner for 2 years before her retirement in 2021, including her run to the French Open semi-final in 2019. He´s currently working with GB´s Aidan McHugh.
In this episode, Dan chats to Control the Controllables about:-
- His journey from a top junior into the pro tour, including why he nearly stopped playing tennis at 13.
- How he uses his playing experience as a coach to help players in tough moments.
- What he learned from working with Johanna Konta.
- The advice he would give to his younger self, and what he wished he´d learned as a player....and much more!
See full show notes here.
150th Episode Giveaway Winner!
In today´s episode we also announce the lucky winner of our 150th Episode Giveaway! Find out who has won a FREE training week at SotoTennis Academy!
We´ve been nominated for Best Tennis Podcast!
We´re very excited to have been shortlisted for ´Best Tennis Podcast of the Year´ by the Sports Podcast Awards 🎧🏆
We would massively appreciate it if you could spare just a couple of minutes to register here and vote for Control the Controllables!
It is also a great chance to discover some other brilliant sport podcasts! Thank you 🙏
Mentioned in this episode:
Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾
For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop. TennisAthlete is an online Strength & Conditioning platform, designed specifically for tennis players who want structured, affordable and flexible training. Wherever they are in the world. TennisAthlete helps you stay consistent, improve performance, and train with purpose. Train smarter. Anywhere.
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