This is an interview with current Top-100 doubles player Catherine Harrison.
We talk about her time at UCLA, her match against the World No. 1s at the Australian Open (she & her partner were the only team to win a set against the Czechs), and her two-handed forehand.
Catherine also discusses:
- Her mindset going into and during her match against the World No. 1 Czechs.
- Having Peter Lebedevs as a coach and how he has helped her.
- How she manages her crazy travel schedule – she provides new details I’ve never hear before.
- Her thoughts on returning down-the-line in doubles.
You will find out how she got into tennis, who her least favorite team to play is, and what we can do to make doubles more popular.
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Interview Notes from this Podcast
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- Follow Catherine: Twitter | Instagram
- Her mindset, preparation, and execution at the Australian Open
- Being drawn against the No. 1 doubles team helped her relax some and focus on execution.
- It wasn’t ideal to face them in the 1st round, but she believed in herself and faced the challenge.
- In preparation for the match, Jake De Vries helped her study film and develop drills specific to their opponent.
- After she won the 2nd set, she didn’t change anything tactically but felt like they were just outplayed by the slightest margin.
- If she could do anything differently, she would try to be less nervous at the start, but the game plan felt good.
- Related Podcast: Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova Interview
- Scheduling and planning for a tennis professional
- It’s hard for her to schedule because she often has to sacrifice either singles or doubles even though she feels like she can compete in both.
- Her coach helps her with scheduling some, but she does most of it and the planning herself, and has to always think ahead.
- Having a two-handed forehand
- Growing up she was small, so she had to use both hands to hit a forehand.
- When she got older, she continued to use it and when she was old enough to not have to use it, it was too late.
- She feels like maybe her reach is a weakness with it, but she gets more power from the forced rotation.
- Related Podcast: Jack Broudy Interview
- Peter Lebedevs as a coach
- Peter is a great coach because he is really good at explaining things in different ways until the student gets it.
- She also thought her biggest strength was her mentality much like Vania King, while Peter thought it was her serve.
- Related Podcast: Peter Lebedevs Interview
- Related Podcast: Vania King Interview
- Ideal doubles partner & least favorite team to play
- Her ideal doubles partner would be someone who plays like her and is very solid all around.
- She would like to play with Shuko Aoyama because they both have two-handed forehands and Christian Harrison because there would be two C. Harrisons.
- Her least favorite team to play is Elena Rybakina and Veronika Kudermetova because they can hit teams off the court.
- Return preferences & going down-the-line
- She thinks it’s important to let her partner know where she’s going before the serve.
- However, if it is a 1st serve, she may just let her partner know that if she sees something she likes, she’s going to take it down the line.
- Favorites
- Tennis Book: Open by Andre Agassi, The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey
- Tournament: Wimbledon
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