Tennis Lifestyle Podcast

Gianluca Sola

We talk tennis and....life. Because tennis is not only a sport but a way of life!

  1. 01/04/2022

    E34 - Rick Macci, Iconic Coach to the Greatest

    Rick Macci is a very well known name in the tennis world. He is a legendary coach who owns and operates one of the most famous tennis academies in the world in Boca Raton, Florida (the Rick Macci Tennis Academy). USPTA Hall of Fame Tennis coach  USPTA Master Professional Seven-time USPTA national coach of the year Trained five number one ranked players: Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams. And coached many other great juniors and top professionals. Owner of the Rick Macci Tennis Academy, where he currently still coaches 50 hours a week! Rick was crucial in the development of Venus and Serena Williams. He worked with their father Richard Williams and coached them in the early nineties at his academy in Florida. Rick is also one of the main characters in the recently released movie "King Richard" which is about the Williams family and their early development with Rick Macci. The movie has already gained great reviews and is an incredible story even for people who do not follow tennis. Richard Williams is played by Will Smith and the movie may be nominated for several Oscars! Rick Macci is also very well known for his coaching videos, video analysis, zoom virtual lessons etc...His technical instructional videos are a must watch (I highly recommend them!). All videos can be viewed on youtube at Rick Macci Tennis. This is from his website (www.rickmacci.com): "Rick’s experience over the past 40 years in molding a player is unmatched by any teacher in the world. As a USPTA Master Professional, Rick trains other tennis pros and coaches how to teach, motivate and communicate with their students to “deliver the goods”. Experts agree that Rick’s insight to explaining and presenting the psychological triggers of an athlete is a gift that very few coaches’ possess and can deliver." If you want to find out more about Rick Macci and his academy, following are some useful links: Rick Macci Tennis Academy: 561-445-2747 Clubhouse & Fitness Center: 561-477-9660 NETRICXS AND VIDEO SUPPORT: 772-214-4422 SUPPORT@RICKMACCI.COM www.rickmacci.com 19760 Striker Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33498, United States Facebook: @RickMacciTennisAcademy Instagram: rickmaccitennis Youtube: Rick Macci Tennis Twitter: @rickmaccitennis Enjoy the episode and happy listening! Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms. Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast Twitter: @GlSola Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast  Ciao, Gianluca

    56 min
  2. E33 - Craig Shapiro, Podcast Host & Tennis Rascal

    10/31/2021

    E33 - Craig Shapiro, Podcast Host & Tennis Rascal

    Amazing chat with Craig Shapiro - tennis influencer, insider and podcaster. Craig is the creator and host of the Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast which is my favourite tennis podcast. I started listening to Craigs' podcast a few years ago when it was known as the Under Review Tennis Podcast. It is an excellent listen; Craig has an incredible list of great guests and is very good at interviewing them and asking interesting questions. He is not only very enthusiastic and funny but his chats are also very informative and you end up always learning something new and surprising. I highly suggest following his podcast and listening to the past episodes. Craig has been involved in the tennis world for many years; he has had many great experiences and met many interesting people along the way. He was the racquet technician for Andre Agassi for a few years and toured the world with him and Brad Gilbert. Following his time on the tour, Craig got involved in TV production working on the Inside the NFL, Wimbledon and championship boxing for HBO Sports as well as working on the documentaries for the Tennis Channel. He has produced and directed some documentaries including one on Andre Agassi which I recommend watching (https://vimeo.com/361542352), and a mini documentary on Patrick Mourotaglou (https://vimeo.com/383801368) In our chat we talk about his life and work experiences in tennis, Indian Wells 2021, Andre Agassi, TV Broadcasting, his podcast and tennis podcasting, his recently launched Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast Tennis Academy which is mostly happening in his mind and cookies with his face! Follow Craig Shapiro if you like tennis! Twitter: @Shaptennispod Instagram: cshaptennispod shaptennispod.com https://shows.acast.com/craigtennispod Enjoy the episode and happy listening! Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms. Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast Twitter: @GlSola Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast  Ciao, Gianluca

    1h 17m
  3. 10/17/2021

    E32 - Robbie Koenig, "Broadcasting Nearer the Gods"

    Really nice conversation with the legendary broadcaster and former professional player Robbie Koenig. If you watch tennis on TV, there is a very high chance you have listened to his commentary! In this episode we chat about: Laver Cup 2021, which was held in Boston and won by team Europe. His Professional career as a tennis player. Former South African professional tennis player, had great success as a doubles player winning 5 doubles titles and reached the semifinals of the 1998 US Open men's doubles. Also achieved some great results in mixed doubles. His brief tennis coaching career. South African tennis. Junior tennis and development. His broadcasting career: one of the most famous and recognizable voices in tennis broadcasting. Robbie has commentated on several TV channels all over the world and is currently commentating for ATP Tennis on Amazon Prime UK, the Majors, Laver Cup and Sky NZ... His broadcasting style is unique and he blends great knowledge of the game (having played at the highest level), insights into players and their teams, technical and statistical analysis, and combines these with his great enthusiasm and passion for the game. He is also known for his famous one liners and sayings! We talk about this and more... Also we find out more about Robbie towards the end of the episode when we talk about his many passions which include Fly fishing, 80s music, coffee, golf. etc... and don't miss the mega rapid fire quiz!    Furthermore, Robbie was very accommodating, down to earth and it was a pleasure chatting to him. You can follow Robbie on twitter at: @RobKoenigTennis Enjoy the episode and happy listening! Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms. It also features on www.tennisworldusa.org - one of the most viewed tennis news websites around. Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast Twitter: @GlSola Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast  Ciao, Gianluca

    1h 15m
  4. E27 - "JL" John-Laffnie de Jager, Former South African Tennis Pro

    05/10/2021

    E27 - "JL" John-Laffnie de Jager, Former South African Tennis Pro

    Great chat with John-Laffnie De Jager! "JL" is a South African former professional tennis player. Had a career high singles of 313, but had great success as a doubles player with a career high of 11 and 7 titles. He also reached 4 grand slam doubles semi finals and 2 mixed doubles finals. JL achieved 4th place in the Sydney Olimpics in 2000 and qualified for the ATP Doubles Championship in 1999. He is a Grade A star GPTCA level coach, certified by the ATP; and captained the South African Davis Cup team. JL is involved in several projects and businesses: Founder: Matchpoint Tennis Foundation Owner: JL’s Tennis Academy in Pretoria Motivational speaker and mental conditioning coach for high performance athletes and teams including top rugby teams. JL was also the head coach of the UAE Royals (tennis team based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates that competed in the International Premier Tennis League) and is the head coach of the Springfield Lasers are a World Team Tennis franchise in the USA. He also talks about his involvement in the "Match for Africa", which his company organized; and talks about getting Federer, Nadal, Bill Gates and Trevor Noah involved and breaking the world record for attending a tennis match in the Cape Town Stadium! He also had a very interesting childhood growing up on a farm; and tells us the story of when he was born, his heart stopped and they had to give him an injection to get his heart going. Instead of injecting him in the thigh, they injected him in his butt and basically hit the main nerve going down his right leg, so he only had 10 percent use of his nerve in the right leg. The doctors told his parents that he only had a 12% chance of walking properly and he'd never be able to play any sport. His right leg is an inch-and-a-half shorter than his left leg, and he was in a cast until he was three years old! Enjoy the episode! Please follow and subscribe to my podcast, you will find it on most platforms. Website: https://anchor.fm/gianluca-sola Instagram: tennis_lifestyle_podcast Twitter: @GlSola Facebook: @TennisLifestylePodcast  Ciao, Gianluca

    1h 8m

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We talk tennis and....life. Because tennis is not only a sport but a way of life!