In Monday nights two hour special edition of The First Serve, hosts Brett Phillips and Sam Groth were joined by Paul Vassallo and Simon Rea as they continued to dissect the Tennis Australia performance review. Also joining the show, Women's Tennis Coaches Association CEO and founder Sarah Stone and ex-professional player turned coach Genevieve Lorbergs.
Groth and Phillips opened the show discussing the current state of the tour and contemplated whether the US Open should be going ahead, with the number of players unwilling to compete in the grand slam growing.
Groth shed some light on the state of the tour, saying Australian's shouldn't worry as he still believes tennis will go ahead in Australia in January.
"I still think we'll have something going on here in January. We're still leaps and bounds ahead of everywhere else in the world. I think by January, we'll have tennis in Australia which obviously helps all the tours," Groth said.
Paul Vassallo, new director of talent at Tennis Australia weighed in on the discussion and explained what he's responsible for in his new role: "I help oversee the national development squads around the country in each state and pathways that align to that and are underneath that," Vassallo said.
Simon Rea, the new national squad development coach in Melbourne also joined the show to tap in on the discussion and explain his new role.
"I think it's a fantastic opportunity for me to be back at Tennis Australia. It's an organisation that has a special place in my heart. There's certainly a strong focus on us here in Victoria, making sure that the athletes that are heading up to the national tennis academy under Brent Larkham and Chris Mahoney's leadership are ready to perform and perform strongly and to travel the globe and achieve results that make Australia proud, and to do it in a fashion that makes Australia proud," Rea explained.
In the second hour of the show, Women's Tennis Coaches Association CEO and founder Sarah Stone and former pro player turned coach Genevieve Lorbergs both joined the show.
Stone tapped in on the Tennis Australia performance review, providing her insight from her experiences living in the United States: "They don't rely on the governing body producing the players. A lot is out in the private sector and that's something that I'm pretty encouraged to see Tennis Australia is going in that direction because I believe it's a big step forward. I think we have a lot of really good coaches in the private sector," Stone said.
Ex-professional player Genevieve Lorbergs joined the show to talk us through her journey and explained how her educational experiences have helped her grow as a tennis player and in life.
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