Is tennis dying?

In this episode of the My Tennis Coaching Podcast, I explore a question many people in the sport are starting to ask: Is tennis slowly losing relevance?

With the rapid growth of padel and pickleball, tennis is facing real competition for players, court space, and cultural attention. But the real issue may not be the new sports themselves.

The deeper problem lies inside tennis.

In this conversation, I break down some of the structural challenges holding the sport back, including:

• ​ Path dependence in tennis coaching – why the sport struggles to evolve• Gatekeeping in coach education and development​ The lack of academic research influencing real coaching practice​ Why outdated systems continue to dominate coach education• How innovation is often resisted inside traditional tennis structures• The growing popularity of padel and pickleball and what tennis can learn from them

Tennis has incredible history, culture, and competitive depth. But if the sport wants to remain relevant for the next generation of players and coaches, it needs to be willing to challenge long-standing assumptions about how the game is taught and developed.

This episode is a reflection on where tennis currently stands — and what may need to change.

• ​Is tennis declining?
• ​Path dependence in sport systems
• ​Coach education problems in tennis
• ​Why tennis struggles to modernize
• ​Ecological approaches to coaching
• ​Padel and pickleball growth
• ​The future of tennis coaching

In this episode, I unpack a brilliant question from a top coach:

“What are the non-negotiables for representativeness in tennis—and can you trade some for others?”

We explore:

• Why throw tennis isn’t representative (and what it teaches us)

• The 6 core elements of representative learning design in tennis

• The difference between looking like the game vs. functioning like the game

• What coaches might be getting wrong when designing “game-based” sessions

• How to balance exploration and transfer in your practices

If you’re serious about designing sessions that actually transfer to matches—this episode is a must.

You’ve heard it a hundred times: “Play with better players, and you’ll improve.”
But what if that advice is only half true?

In this live session, I’ll break down:

• Why constantly “playing up” can stall learning, not accelerate it

• What ecological dynamics says about challenge, attunement, and information

• How to design matchplay that’s representative and actually helps players grow

• What parents and coaches often misunderstand about competition level

Whether you're a coach, parent, or player — this is a must-watch if you're serious about real development, not just chasing better opponents.

Are we preparing kids for tennis, or for a game they’ll never actually play?

Most red stage programs still rely on throwing and catching, but research shows these skills don’t transfer to striking sports like tennis. In this Live, we’ll break down the science, explain why hitting matters, and show you the 5 principles that must guide early-years tennis.

What you’ll learn:

Why throwing & catching games don’t prepare kids for tennis.

What early childhood research really says about fundamental motor skills.

How expert striking sports develop anticipation & perception–action coupling.

The 5 principles of Red Stage practice you can use to check your own sessions.

How to use the RPAT tool to measure whether your practices are truly representative.

👉 Want the game-based examples (Two Touch Tennis, Zombies, Stop & Serve, etc.)? They’re all inside My Tennis Coach Academy.

Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/6008161490960384

This week I’m answering the most common pushbacks I hear about how learning really works.From “What about fundamentals?” to “But isn’t that how I was taught?” — I’ll unpack what’s really behind these questions, and how we can reframe our approach to coaching, development, and skill acquisition using ecological dynamics.Whether you’re coaching beginners or top players, this live will challenge how you think about practice design, injury risk, and the role of repetition.Bring your questions, bring your doubts. 🎾 Welcome to My Tennis Coaching – The Home of Modern Tennis Training! 🎾If you're a tennis coach looking to modernize your sessions or a player wanting to train smarter, you're in the right place! I'm Steve Whelan, and I specialize in Ecological Dynamics & the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA)-helping you move From Drills to Skills with real, match-relevant training.📅 NEW! Weekly Live Podcast – From Drills to Skills📍 LIVE Every Monday | 10 AM UK Time🎙️ Coaching insights, game-based drills, and expert interviews designed to help you ditch outdated methods and create engaging, high-impact sessions.

This approach didn’t just change my sessions...it changed my career 👉 https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-coach-newsletter/ What if you didn’t have to run repetitive drills to see real progress? 👉 https://mytenniscoaching.com/drills-to-skills-fast-track-to-match-success/ The GB player pathway promises to find and develop the nation’s most talented juniors. But from what I’ve seen—and what many coaches and parents are experiencing—it’s not working the way it should.In this live session, I’m pulling back the curtain.Based on a recent YouTube video from a Parents Community Q&A with the NGBS Head of Performance Coach Development, I’ll break down the hidden flaws in the current system and why it’s leaving many talented players behind.We’ll explore:🎾 The dangers of early selection and fixed “aspirational standards”🎾 How the system favours ranking chasers over adaptable learners🎾 Why are late developers quietly being filtered out🎾 The tension between control, funding, and genuine development🎾 What an effective, ecological pathway could look like instead🎾 Whether you're a coach, a parent, or a player, his is a conversation we need to have.Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/6008161490960384🎾 Welcome to My Tennis Coaching – The Home of Modern Tennis Training! 🎾If you're a tennis coach looking to modernize your sessions or a player wanting to train smarter, you’re in the right place! I'm Steve Whelan, and I specialize in Ecological Dynamics & the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA)—helping you move From Drills to Skills with real, match-relevant training.📅 NEW! Weekly Live Podcast – From Drills to Skills📍 LIVE Every Monday | 10 AM UK Time🎙️ Coaching insights, game-based drills, and expert interviews designed to help you ditch outdated methods and create engaging, high-impact sessions.🎥 Must-Watch Coaching Videos:✅ Why You Shouldn’t Break Down the Serve: Whole vs. Decomposed Training – The real way to teach serving.🎥 https://youtu.be/0x6SdlQArSI?si=q4OxtflhXBxwikyP✅ How to Develop a Beginner’s Backhand in Minutes – A real on-court session using CLA.🎥 https://youtu.be/l65STewAKAw?si=6C8t4hTATDJnSRSs✅ Random vs. Blocked Practice – Why It Matters for Match Performance – The science of training for real competition.🎥 https://youtu.be/sOWyffgY1So?si=gqCyVjbPq9DlpdJD✅ Why Burnout Happens Mid-Season (And How to Prevent It) – Keep players engaged & avoid exhaustion.🎥 https://youtu.be/5sj_uGMjskI?si=oZeDUkEUg_Vd-psp🔴 Subscribe now and turn on notifications 🔔 so you never miss a live session or a new video!Join Our Growing Coaching Community!🌐 Website: https://mytenniscoaching.com (Get free drills & coaching resources!)📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytenniscoaching/💬 Comment on the video & join the conversation! What’s your biggest coaching challenge right now?🎾 Let’s transform the way tennis is coached—together! #TennisCoaching #EcologicalDynamics #FromDrillsToSkills #ConstraintsLedApproach #TennisTraining

This approach didn’t just change my sessions...it changed my career 👉 https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-coach-newsletter/ What if you didn’t have to run repetitive drills to see real progress? 👉 https://mytenniscoaching.com/drills-to-skills-fast-track-to-match-success/ Jannik Sinner’s is elite—but should your players copy him? In this live session, we’ll break down why mimicking pros often leads coaches and players down the wrong path. We’ll explore how to coach technique in context, why skill emergence matters more than imitation, and how to help players build solutions that suit them. Bring your questions—we’ll go deep on this one.