“This generation of our stars will definitely not be the last”

For Russian tennis players, despite their suspension from team competitions and playing under a neutral flag in individual tournaments, 2022 has been one of the most successful. For the first time in history, at the end of the season, two representatives of Russia simultaneously appeared in the top ten ratings of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). President of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) Shamil Tarpishchev in an interview with a Kommersant correspondent Evgeny Fedyakov commented on this result, told how he works in the current conditions, and explained why new victories should follow the current victories.

— Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova finish the year in the top 10 world classifications. In the current situation, is it a paradox or a consequence of the trends that have been developing in recent years?

– The only paradox is that the athletes, who are affected by the environment in any case, almost at every tournament felt additional psychological pressure. But the most important thing is that they have retained the opportunity to play in all major competitions, except for Wimbledon, thanks to the firm position of the ATP and WTA. Therefore, I would like to thank the athletes from other countries who, having lost their ranking points for their performance at Wimbledon, correctly perceived the situation. After all, the same Novak Djokovic, who eventually won it, dropped in the ranking from third place to seventh.

– Daniil Medvedev started the year in second place, then became the first, but finished seventh. What does he need to return to the top of the rankings, if, of course, in your opinion, he is able to climb there?

– The advantages that Medvedev has a lot of have not gone away, but we must not forget that in the middle of spring he underwent surgery (for a hernia. – “b”). Moreover, the problems associated with this injury were present before. That is, last season, Medvedev, in fact, did not have a normal preparatory period, and this affected his stability: good performances alternated with unsuccessful ones. It is no coincidence that when he won tournaments in Mexico and Vienna, he then lost his first matches both times. Such results indicate that he did not have time to recover, but somewhere he was not confident enough in himself. But under the condition of normal preparation, stability will return, and then Medvedev, of course, will once again be able to become the first. After all, unlike most competitors, he has almost no convenient and uncomfortable rivals. He plays with almost everyone.

– Andrei Rublev finishes in the top ten for the third year in a row, but has not yet risen above fifth place. You have said many times that his game lacks variety. Perhaps, from this point of view, there is a flaw in Rublev’s coach, the Spaniard Fernando Vicente?

– Vicente is well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of Rublev, and he understands everything correctly. But due to his nature, it can be very difficult to convey the necessary thoughts to Andrey. The problem is that Rublev does not feel tired, it is difficult to stop him, he goes overboard with loads. This often explains his breakdowns during matches. After all, Rublev starts to wind up and beat himself with a racket when he himself is not in perfect condition, and his favorite attacking tactics do not work. The solution to the problem, from my point of view, is to achieve the optimal combination of training process with performances and having a plan B for any player in the top ten. And the variety in the game can be worked out in matches against opponents who are obviously lower in class. For many tennis players, this skill comes with age. The main thing is not to be late.

– What explains the fact that Karen Khachanov, who reached the semi-finals of the US Open and finished the season in the top twenty, according to statistics, plays relatively well Grand Slam tournaments, but often fails at less significant competitions?

– Khachanov also simply has to be in the top ten – provided that the training process is properly built. In terms of character, Karen is most suited to Croatian Vedran Martic, with whom they worked after a break this year. And I explain the best results in Khachanov’s long matches by the fact that his main trump card is the serve. And when he serves from the first ball with an accuracy of 70 percent, and then starts to breed from the back line, this tactic works best in the long run, as opponents gradually begin to tire.

– Aslan Karatsev, who, after last year’s rise, sank heavily this year, will he return to the top twenty?

– According to the game, he should be there. I hope that the resumption of work with Yegor Yatsyk (a Belarusian coach who worked with Karatsev until this year.— “b”) will bear fruit. It can sometimes be difficult to get through to Karatsev, but Yatsyk is a demanding, in a good way angry coach and knows how to do it. It is no coincidence that it was with him that Roman Safiullin made progress, who entered the top 100 in October, playing at the level of the first fifty dollars.

Let’s move on to tennis players. Is it unexpected for you that for the first time since 2011, two Russians finished the season in the top ten?

– Not at all! For example, I thought that Lyudmila Samsonova could be in the top five. Now she is the twentieth, but in terms of her potential – her character, her commitment to results and the level of her game – she should be much higher.

– That is, the return to the top 10 of Daria Kasatkina, who, after taking off four years ago, then rolled back quite far, does not surprise you?

– Kasatkina has been very talented since childhood. According to her thoughts on the court, she has long been a professor, only she does not play at the highest speeds, and this is the difficulty. It is hard for her to compete with tennis players who hit the ball harder. In addition, at one time there was an unreasonable training process and illiterate calendar planning. Although here much more depended not so much on Kasatkina herself, but on the people around her. And this year was successful for her, because some mistakes were corrected.

– Veronika Kudermetova has been working with her husband – Sergey Demekhin for a long time. What is the success of this family tandem?

– Demekhin was a good tennis player in his time. He is cold-blooded, calm and does not put pressure on Kudermetova psychologically at all. In addition, Veronica clearly benefits from systematic performances paired with Belgian Elise Mertens. Did you notice that her second serve was closer in quality to the first? In addition, in a pair, Kudermetova received a constant practice of playing interceptions and using other elements that benefit the loner, and her nervous system is tempered under conditions of frequent stress. Last year, at the Olympics, Kudermetova sometimes could not cope with the excitement. Now in this sense, it looks completely different.

– Do you see Kudermetova the first racket of the world in doubles?

– Of course, because only the Czech Katerina Sinyakova is ahead of her in the ranking. True, Kudermetova herself is now more inclined to be alone. And in a pair next season they plan to play with Samsonova.

– The leaders of the world rankings at the end of the season were very young players – Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek. How long can they stay at the top?

– Swiatek, quite possibly, became the first for a long time. Her head is in place, and in terms of tennis there are practically no weak points. Alcaraz, due to high-quality, versatile training, plays very interestingly. He is motor, fast, can do almost everything, and with his early development he is somewhat reminiscent of Boris Becker and Lleyton Hewitt. Only the second serve can be considered a disadvantage, as, by the way, with Sventek. But in men, the results at this level are more difficult to predict. After all, at the end of the year, injuries went, and this is not a very good indicator.

– How has the work in the national teams of all ages changed in the context of the complete removal of Russian tennis players from team competitions and the reduction in the possibility of juniors participating in individual tournaments?

“We have tried to take advantage of the current situation. First of all, we have improved the system of centralized training camps, which allows us to fully train young athletes in full accordance with our methods. In Bodrum, Turkey, Andrei Removich Bokarev, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the FTR, built a new base – ten clay courts and four hard courts. So now our juniors have the opportunity to go to clay already in March, two months earlier than usual. For them, it’s just a fairy tale. In addition, in the preparatory periods – in spring and autumn – we use the Armenian base in Tsakhkadzor for training. There is also clay and hard. Only hard we try to make it as slow as possible, because the ball flies much faster in the middle mountains, and when the athletes lose coordination, you cannot work on their technique. Interest in collections is huge. The guys at meetings constantly ask when we will go next time.

— How many people participate in training camps for all ages?

– At the moment – 64, although relatively recently there were 32. In the near future we plan to add a group of children under 12, who will be supervised by Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

How are groups selected?

— Based on objective test data that assess psychology and functional state. Plus sports results are taken into account. We have a lot of talented young people.

– Does she have enough competitive practice?

– Completely. We improved our calendar and as part of the Russian Tennis Tour (RTT) we began holding a series of five major tournaments in Moscow, Kazan, Saransk, Ryazan and Tolyatti, following the example of the Grand Slam series. All the strongest in three age groups take part in these competitions – up to 13, 15 and 17 years old. In addition, our athletes still have the right to compete abroad under a neutral flag. The easiest way, of course, is to travel to places where direct flights fly – to Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey. In the same Armenia, 16 international tournaments are held for different ages. And in Tsakhkadzor we are going to hold two tournaments of the highest category RTT.

– That is, you don’t have fears that in the current situation the generation of Medvedev and Rublev, Kasatkina and Kudermetova may become the last successful generation of Russian tennis players?

– Of course not. I am sure that this generation of our stars will definitely not be the last. Very promising young people are already visible behind him. It’s probably too early to name specific names right now, but believe me, we have several 15-year-olds who are already beating 18-year-olds. The total number of PTT tournaments this year has exceeded three thousand. There are absolutely all conditions for productive work under the age of 17. But it’s not only that. Teaching and methodological work is in full swing. Recently, more than 400 people joined during a distance coaching seminar, which was held in Kazan. Next year, we have planned certification of coaches under the new system. And qualified coaching staff is the foundation of our future victories.