Here are the rules that in my opinion form the backbone of this profession. They are essential for the execution of quality work. Look around you and you will find that coaches who respect these rules are few and far between. This is unfortunate because the player always pays the price in the end.

1. I BELIEVE IN MY PLAYER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

The coach is the Guide. He indicates the routes, marks checkpoints, and provides the energy necessary for success.

The best option is to not fix limits, and to accomplish this, do not even conceive of them. In any case there is only one rule that is universally true:

Anything is possible if you believe it.

2. I PURSUE ONLY ONE GOAL: PERFORMANCE

My way of thinking and my philosophy have often led people to think that I acted more as an educator than as a coach and that I strove for the player's comfort...

I have only one goal, performance at the highest level. I merely use the most adapted techniques, the tools that work. However, each day we must remember our one and only objective for it is very easy to lose our way for various reasons:

Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.

3. I BEAR THE GOOD AND BAD RESULTS. I QUESTION MY METHODS.

How many times do we see coaches delight in the good results of their player, and others highlight their insufficiencies when faced with bad results? No, we cannot act this way.

I support my player.

The coach is RESPONSIBLE in victory and euphoria, but also in defeat and turmoil. We do not jump ship when it starts to sink. Certainly, if the results disappoint, we most likely have to change the player's behavior, but this is our role. If this is not done, we are responsible.

We are making a joint effort and we must bear the results together: the player and us. We must become one. It is not at all the “fault” of one or the other, as we hear quite often.

We must take responsibility and find the solutions together.

I question my methods.

Instead of accusing the other, as is unfortunately the case, the coach must question his methods : “If we find ourselves in this situation, it is probably because I did not do what was necessary, that I missed something along the way, that I did not succeed in guiding my player in this direction,...”. This constructive reasoning fosters development and growth, allows for positive change. It is quite simply the only way to improve. There is no shame in making a mistake if we gain in experience and an advantage.

4. I DO NOT JUDGE MY PLAYER : BEHAVIOR DOES NOT DEFINE A PERSON.

At times the coach will notice behavior that he will object to. He either disapproves of it or he judges it to be inadequate to attain a high level of play.

For example, a player who constantly gets upset during matches and throws his racket, a player who does not seem interested in winning a match and who does not display any effort to win...

It is vital to understand what is hiding behind this behavior. It is easy to label someone “crazy” for who he has become during matches, or “unmotivated” for not giving his all during matches. This type of judgment never deals with the problem, yet this is often where lies the key to the problem.

A golden rule would thus be to never judge your players, to understand that behavior does not define a person, but is simply a reaction to stimuli. The reaction can be out of place at times and should be changed.

The player will lose confidence in his coach and in himself if he feels judged, and it will be very difficult to make him effective on the court.

Coaches who judge their players only reveal their own incapacity to find solutions to the problems presented before them.

5. I ENTER THE INNER WORLD OF THE PLAYER

If I am named president of a large company tomorrow, my first act would surely not consist of making decisions. In my opinion, this would be the best way to commit errors and make my future colleagues doubt my capacities.

No, my first act would be to make the most detailed and complete report on the state of the company: what sector is the company in, what is the market for this sector, who are the competitors, the stakes, the lobby groups, what is the company culture, what big changes have taken place in the past few years, is it considered modern or outdated,....There are countless questions and the responses are imperative for a solid understanding of the necessary strategies that should be take to lead the company successfully.

Understand and master in order to make the right decisions. When it comes to sports coaching, we must have the exact same approach. It is dangerous to make any decisions before having made a complete analysis of the player: it includes, of course, an understanding of their game, the player's qualities, his weaknesses, his physical abilities and psychology. This last point is particularly important for it is often neglected yet it will determine the quality of communication between the student and the coach. Each person has a different vision of things. Each person perceives the world on a personal level. One of the coach's first acts is to enter the inner world of the player so as to understand his perception of the tennis world. It is a rare and challenging feat but a necessary one. To be able to see through another's eyes for just a moment, to listen with his ears and think with his spirit. It is the indispensable condition for good communication.

6. I ADOPT THE PROPER SPEECH We sometimes do not measure the weight of our words. Once we open our mouths, each word is filled with meaning and inevitably provokes an effect on the listener. So, as a coach, it would be wise to weigh each of our words in order to obtain the desired effect.   A speech and vocabulary adapted to each player. We all react differently to stimuli. We each have our own vocabulary. "It is nice out" for a Parisian signifies "It is not raining", whereas for a Marseillais it means "There is not a cloud in the sky and it is 30°C. To get our messages across, it would be best to use a vocabulary adapted to each person. A speech adapted to each situation. At times you must bring confidence, at times comfort, at times provocation... We will have to adapt our speech depending on what the player is going through, the next goals that need to be achieved and the outcome we desire.

Quentin Folliot at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy

7. I NEVER ACT EMOTIONALLY

A coach who acts emotionally is not acting as a coach but as a human being who falls victim to his feelings.

How may times have we seen coaches, enraged following a match his player lost, dump all of their frustration during, what we incorrectly call, "a post-match debriefing". In reality, it is more often than not a unique occasion for the coach to "calm his nerves" which have been put to the test during the game. Where is the coaching in this? What effect does this behavior produce in the player? Simply an enormous wave of negative sentiment on top of the disappointment of having lost a match. The player has not learned anything, but has lost a bit of confidence in himself and has come to understand that his coach has been harboring powerful feelings of frustration.

This is just an example but there are countless others. The coach is a human being and every human being has feelings and emotions. To avoid finding oneself in this type of scenario, the coach should never act emotionally. He should take a step back, wait and always act with a “level head”.