You’ve been there.
Spent weeks on technique.
Footwork, racket prep, repetition after repetition.

And still—nothing sticks.
One week later, it’s like the player’s never done it before.

That used to drive me mad.

But I wasn’t alone.
The idea that repetition = retention is everywhere in tennis coaching. Especially if you came through traditional systems. Coach education loves the phrase “muscle memory.”
And yet—it doesn’t work. At least, not like we think it does.

Recently, a paper by Duarte Araújo challenged that entire model. It reframes cognition not as stored memory but as real-time interaction with the environment.

That’s a big shift.
And it explains a lot about why players don’t transfer skills from practice to match play.

Let’s dig into what this means—and why it might be the breakthrough your coaching needs.

The Brain Isn’t a Hard Drive. Stop Coaching Like It Is.

Here’s the core issue:
We think of the brain like a filing cabinet. Teach a player the “correct” forehand, and that technique goes into long-term memory. Then they “retrieve” it during a match.

Sounds neat, right?

But it’s wrong.

Every shot is emergent.
It arises from a complex, constantly changing relationship between the player and their environment. That’s what ecological dynamics tells us: action isn’t stored—it’s shaped in real time.

No two forehands are the same.
Why?

• The ball is never exactly the same.
• The opponent is always doing something different.
• The player’s emotional and physical state changes by the second.

So instead of trying to train technique in isolation, we should be designing environments that invite useful behaviors.

Think fewer drills. More context.
Fewer instructions. More interaction.

Information Is Not Instruction

This was another wake-up moment for me.

I used to think I had to tell players exactly what to do. “Early prep. Low to high. Accelerate through contact.”
Standard stuff.

But here’s the thing: information from the coach is often irrelevant.

Real information comes from the environment.

• A ball bouncing short invites an attack.
• An opponent recovering slowly creates space.
• Score pressure changes behavior.

Your role as coach?
Set up practice that guides attention, not just action.

That means:

• Less technical breakdown
• More intentional design
• Less talk, more play

When I changed how I coached the serve, this hit home.
Instead of basket-feeding and isolating technique, I just had a player serve—and I returned it.
No explanation.
Just serve and play.

At first, they were confused.
Then they started to adjust, self-correct, and improve. Not because I told them what to do, but because the game gave them information.

That’s real learning.

Why It Matters (And Why Most Coaches Still Won’t Change)

So why doesn’t everyone coach like this?

Simple. It’s harder.

It’s easier to stick to drills. Easier to give cues. Easier to follow what you were taught.
But here’s the danger: when you control everything, you remove the very thing that makes players better—interaction.

Traditional drills remove dynamic coupling.
They strip away the context. The variability. The pressure.

And without those, there’s no transfer.

Yes, it’s tough to coach this way.
You need to design better practices. You need to observe behavior, not just form. You need to let go of the illusion of control.

But it works.

If you want players who think, adapt, and thrive in matches—not just ones who look good in drills—you have to shift.

Stop training the movement. Start shaping the environment.

Ready to Rethink Tennis Coaching?

If this resonates, you’re not alone.

Hundreds of traditional coaches are starting to question the old ways—seeking new tools, better frameworks, and a coaching identity that actually works in the real world.

That’s why I’m hosting the 2026 Modern Tennis Coach Conference.

This won’t be the usual PowerPoint parade.
It’s about real conversations, practical coaching, and evidence-based ideas that translate to the court.

Want to be the coach who finally breaks through?

Be the first to hear when tickets open—Join the Coaching Playbook newsletter and you’ll get early access, exclusive content, and behind-the-scenes updates.

The change starts here. See you there.