Dubai:He has coached the likes of Mardy Fish and Jelena Jankovic and now he is preparing to groom the next generation of stars at the Equelite Juan Carlos Ferrero Tennis Academy based at the Emirates Golf Club. Meet Alban Renard, former coach at the Saddlebrook International Tennis Academy (formerly known as Harry Hopman Tennis Academy) and now a travelling pro with the Dubai-based academy run by Luis Miguel Reis.
Renard, who has worked with the top professional tennis players for two-and-half years at the Florida academy told XPRESS: “I was part of the coaching staff and my job was to take care of the professional players and give them training. Jankovic trained at Saddlebrook for six months when she was World No 3. Obviously, as a coach you don’t do much with the game of a player of her stature. Coaching top players is mostly mental,” he said.
The Frenchman then added: “I know Jelena is staying in Dubai these days and I intend to meet up with her. She still owes me $1,000 for my services. Well to be honest, she had given me the cheque, but my dog tore it to bits, so I will have to ask her again.”
On a more serious note, Renard said: “It was a good move to come to Dubai to such a renowned academy. I got offers from a few clubs here, but chose this one. I was a bit apprehensive about the standard here, but my worries have been put to rest by players like [Matthew] Kirk, [Pranav] Walia and [Elizabeth] Strand.”
Kirk moved to the Dubai-based academy in January this year after having trained in the US for two years and Brazil for one year. “It’s so different here and so much fun. I train with Alban and do fitness with Luis. It’s rough but I enjoy it,” said the 16-year-old of Danish and Kiwi descent.
Spain treat
Strand moved to Dubai a few weeks back from Stockholm and she agreed with Kirk: “They push us to the limit but it is all so much fun here,” she said.
Walia has been with this academy for seven years now and he recounted his proudest moment so far. “I went to Spain for training and met Juan Carlos Ferrero on my 13th birthday. It was the best present I could have hoped for,” he said.
Academy director Reis revealed that there will be a special camp in December where players from Spain will join, while a few of his academy players will train in Spain during summer next year.
