Sven Groeneveld: Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova Were Among the Most Hard Working

Sven Groeneveld, the famous coach who has worked with several top tennis stars including Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova, says the two former World No.1s were among the hardest working players he has coached.

Groeneveld was on the Instagram show of Christopher Kas and said his philosophy for coaching was to getting to know the person rather than the player -  You first have to get to know the person, then the player. That means doing your homework, preparing yourself. And you have to find out what the player needs. And that is his approach - be it technical, mental or physical."

The Dutch said Sharapova always gave 100 per cent to everything in practice.  “You have to be extremely on the ball, always give 100 percent, because Maria always left everything on the court. Also in their cooperation with the sponsors, partners and the team. Only Monica Seles was even more intensive at work than Maria Sharapova. Seles had trained for three hours and would then have hit the wall for half an hour."

Groeneveld also said he was not able to succeed on the professional tour since he did not have the right coaching team and leadership around him - something which motivated him to work as a coach.

Besides Sharapova and Seles, Groeneveld has also worked with Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario and Michael Stich, the first male player he coached.

Recalling his time with Stich, Groeneveld says,  "Sven, I don't know what to do. This week you are the boss, I do everything you say. ”Stich said that he never started training before 10 am in the morning.  Groeneveld quickly shifted training to 9 am and their partnership was successful as Stich went on to win his next tournament.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3ca8XAA