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The Final 8 of Roland Garros Explained, the Top 10 to Expectations, [TENNIS] Players in their Prime to who’s next in line for a Grand Slam

Last week we just touched the surface on essentially what we were really able to witness throughout the 2024 French Open with only a handful of players highlighted with so much more depth to come. As promised, this week it’s time to dive into a little more detail to really showcase the depth of the field and players that did not progress to the finals, however, still made an impressive appearance in the final eight. Needless to say, at the Grand Slam level it really is in part the luck of the draw that allows the eventual Champion to cross the line. That said, it is also incredibly clear that this 2024 French Open was not the case on the woman’s side of the draw with the eventual Champion within millimetres of bowing out in the 2nd Round due to her opponent and the quality of play demanded.

Swiatek entered Roland Garros as almost a clear favourite. It would be incredibly unfair not to have placed Sabalenka in the top two with the potential to claim her third Grand Slam. By all accounts, whilst this wasn’t the case and we know the outcome and what unfolded, Sabalenka was still incredibly close to progressing to the finals if her health was maintained…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTokTwitterThreads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today. 

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How the 2024 French Open separated Top 10 Tennis Players and closed the Gap between Others plus lessons for the 2024 Olympics

As the red clay settles and the noise becomes that little bit quieter, the grass beckons for those who have had time for their losses to settle and tackle a new surface with renewed hope of a better performance. Yet the tide is still high for the Champions of the 2024 French Open as their new silverware finds a new place to call home. For whilst there are only two who left triumphant with these titles, there are many more who should indeed be proud of their accomplishments to performances that really should signal a highlight of their 2024 season.

The Champions are known and yet there were some surprises. Recall that anomalies do exist and this Roland Garros was no exception. Sure, there have been much greater anomalies but the ones this French Open were not as shocking as perhaps some may have had you believe…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTokTwitterThreads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.

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The Countdown towards Roland Garros 2024, Swiatek’s Mantle and Tennis Players in Contention

This week on Beyond Top 10 Tennis specific players inside the Top 10 on both the WTA and ATP tours were highlighted for various reasons with an emphasis placed on whether or not they were or were not in the running for the second Grand Slam of the season. With Swiatek’s success over the last couple of weeks, it is easy to forget how both Collins and Sakkari have been surging ahead in their own rights and how Sabalenka was with a Championship point to claim the title in Madrid. What Swiatek has been able to accomplish over the best part of the last 6 to 8 weeks plus is nothing shy of remarkable as her statistics continue to climb. This is a timely reminder, however, for each and every one of you that breakthrough’s do happen we do see these players come through at the French which means Swiatek’s next Slam is definitely under threat.

Nevertheless, Swiatek isn’t anything less favourite but Sabalenka has come incredibly close in the past fortnight despite Swiatek taking an even greater advantage in Rome. If anything, it is a timely reminder of how exciting the level and depth of play is on the WTA tour irrespective of the contradictions…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTokTwitterThreads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.

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From A.I to Tennis Players on Fire, Final Seasons, Top 4 on the WTA and ATP tours & the G.O.A.T Data often Ignored

The last two weeks I’ve leveraged A.I to gauge it’s effectiveness to capabilities in sharing data to more precisely pulling a part key topics explored throughout individual episodes of Beyond Top 10 Tennis to give you a better glimpse or snapshot of what is essentially more than 10,000 words into an easy to digest format. It has been fun but also a lot of work. A.I definitely has its advantages but behind the scenes both of those articles were more arduous to time-consuming than I’d anticipated. And more often than not, took a hell of a lot longer to pen than writing each and every word myself.

It’s important to clarify this careful mix as I am well aware that most articles that suggest or share the use of A.I are left untouched. But truly, if you get to the undercurrent — behind these sentences to what’s really being shared, for any experienced writer there is a lot of nonsense that needs to be peeled away to get to the good stuff. Unfortunately, that takes a lot of work. The benefit nonetheless, for me personally, was sifting through a significant number of words — an entire three or four book chapters, into one concise digestible article. Now that’s no easy feat.

I’m confident I’ll be back and use A.I as an ‘assistant’ — to cull my words when needed and to condense these episode transcripts from Beyond Top 10 Tennis. From my perspective, that’s a helpful application as in reality A.I is essentially taking my work and my very own words whilst summarising it’s key contents to share. This is in direct contrast to *not* using my own words, content or elaborate and long-winded prompts over-and-over-and-over again, to a simple structured sentence with a simple command to write ‘something’ on ‘this subject’. In other words, there’s a significant difference in application and a lot of work behind the scenes.

But this week as I’m hopeful you can tell, that’s not what we’re here to talk about. There’s been way too much going on behind the scenes across the tennis landscape that has been shared on Beyond Top 10 Tennis but also has not been shared. On this merit, it deserves elaboration so let’s dive in and review some standout players…

Collins is on fire. Quite simply, she really is. It’s her final season and anyone who is dealing with endometriosis and/or has known someone who is dealing with this debilitating health condition, for Collins to play at the level she is — it’s absolutely Top 5 status without a doubt. Arguably, with a clean bill of health Collins would have notched up a few Grand Slams. She’s been ranked inside the Top 10 previously and has had to deal with surgery to rise back up the rankings. Collins has been a Grand Slam Finalist and she has notched up wins against the best. She comes with attitude and so much fun, Collins’ final season has been nothing but perhaps one of her best ‘two’ seasons to date. That said, if Collins makes a Grand Slam final this season and breaks into the Top 10 — both increasingly likely, it’ll be her best. And it has to be said that to go out with a US Open win would be stellar and something not even Serena Williams herself could manage. But then again, Collins has opted to go out at a performance peak so I’d say anything is possible with her current performance surge.

Thiem has called time and will close out his career this season. I’m sure I speak for many when I say it’s incredibly disappointing that Roland Garros won’t be giving Thiem the Wildcard he deserves having been a Finalist on multiple occasions.

Cornet is on her final season and has managed to claw her way back into the Top 100. Granted Cornet is French, Roland Garros will grant her special conditions as her career undoubtedly deserves. Not only has Cornet notched up wins against the best in the world throughout her career, she was a firm Top 20 player for a number of seasons — perhaps her first decade on tour, before shying away from her performance peak and settling between the Top 80 to Top 100 in more recent seasons.

Muguruza had a stellar career and quite simply when COVID came she was one of the more prominent players to take a much needed break. Fair is fair when you consider the demands of the tour and how Muguruza was No.1 and a Grand Slam Champion when Serena Williams was arguably at ‘one of’ her peaks. Not every player can make that claim. By all accounts, I’d say Muguruza had a number of years left in her, but then again, I’d perhaps go out on a limb and suggest she wasn’t content being ranked inside the Top 20 in the world — where her ranking had settled around this timeframe before taking an extended leave of absence. It is also important to note that for some players, normalcy is a huge reward given that they don’t get to experience that very often until their career comes to a close. And that’s where the irony of COVID comes into play. Rankings were impacted but so were a number of players who yearned for more time at home. Muguruza is the perfect example and this time away was what her heart had been missing, without a doubt, making the decision all the more easier to close off one chapter of her life and breathe life into the next.

This is a timely reminder of the demands of both WTA and ATP tours. On the other hand, Nadal arguably does not want to wave goodbye. Tennis has been his home away from home for essentially more than the past 20 years. It’s a huge part of him and his home life wasn’t what he’d yearned for as much as for the Grand Slams to fire ignited inside him when he’d step out onto the biggest tennis courts in the world. Neither is right or wrong but one has 22 and the other 2 Grand Slams.

But let’s be fair — there’s a hell of a lot more players — 99% or greater who yearn for that Grand Slam and never come within reach throughout their entire playing career. These two achieved this feat on multiple occasions and Nadal is one of the greatest players of all time

A topic most like to argue, Nadal in fact was more consistent than both Federer and Djokovic in holding onto his Top 10 ranking over the same period of time. For those interested in the statistics, these are wrapped inside the What is Your Game Missing series — 3 complete texts that extrapolate data off both WTA and ATP tours and this is one of a number of very interesting insights that is often neglected. Not even Federer or Djokovic won a Grand Slam 14 times. Whilst Djokovic has won 10 Australian Open titles, arguably he’s now under threat from the likes of Sinner to Alcaraz to add to his tally.

By all means more Grand Slams are possible for Djokovic but he’s also not against the dominance of Nadal nor Federer who had to dethrone the other as well as Djokovic to notch these wins. It’s a different era. On this note, Nadal should definitely be in discussion for G.O.A.T and similar to Collins — on an entirely different level, imagine if Nadal hadn’t been sidelined by a number of injuries in the later half of his career. Without a doubt, he was the player to dethrone Federer’s G.O.A.T status in respect to the Grand Slam tally and it was only after Nadal’s body struggled to recover from his ailments did Djokovic surge ahead — before Sinner and Alcaraz had levelled up with Medvedev his only real threat but by no means at the same level.

And this is a really interesting point. Federer peaked against the best in the world. Nadal peaked against the best in the world. Djokovic followed also against the best in the world but his more recent Grand Slams since overtaking both Federer and then Nadal were not won against the best in the world. Quite simply, Djokovic was the ‘best in the world’ left in action. And that’s another point. By all accounts, Djokovic is the player who has been able to maintain his health the longest and is deserving of the player who has been able to maintain his peak performance for the longest period of time courtesy of this health whereby both Federer and Nadal have succumbed to their ailments.

Whilst there are other players who are calling the 2024 season their last and those who have already closed out their career without a last ‘hurrah’, there’s another interesting storyline that was touched on in this week’s episode which includes Swiatek’s rise and Sabalenka gaining ground to both Gauff and Rybakina closely following. It’s an incredibly interesting time for the WTA tour as the Top 4 are truly in the race for the next Grand Slam. And it’s also exciting!

The level of play has gone up a notch and not inside the last 3 to 4 seasons have we been able to witness the stakes being this close with all 4 of these players with a Grand Slam now to their name whilst making further inroads to latch onto more. That said, Swiatek leads this pack — the second youngest after Guaff, then Rybakina and Sabalenka are at an age where their level is further primed to peak — a scary thought if considering both Swiatek and Gauff have ample room to peak in the years ahead.

Then there’s Sinner and Alcaraz looking to dethrone Djokovic and both are incredibly close. But given Sinner is out of action the past week and Alcaraz suffered an earlier loss than anticipated followed by the past week out, and Djokovic also with a number of earlier losses than typically anticipated, this has provided room for Tsitsipas and others to come forward. And this is the same player who regressed outside the Top 10 a matter of 2-3 months ago and then hit the courts with a bang to reach back-to-back finals followed by a title with Rudd closely following. But it is Tsitsipas who has continued to progress. On this note, it’s a timely reminder that Tsitsipas has been a Grand slam Finalist before and with the Top 3 not at the anticipated level and/or hard to gauge with the past week absent from tour, this is also followed by Medvedev still being in contention but hasn’t been as steadfast i.e. reaching these lead-up finals, as these other two. By all accounts, there are other players in there running from Rublev to Hurkacz, but when we’re looking at the 7 Keys to the 8th Key it really comes down to a cutthroat performance whereby the WTA tour’s Top 4 have been leading the charge in contrast to the ATP tour’s primary 4. 

A subtle word of warning — Zverev has been quietly getting the job done whilst Fritz has been regaining form. If anything, we’re mere weeks away from one of the Top 4 to make their mark — further, or for one of these ‘other’ players that haven’t garnered the spotlight to finally lift that maiden Grand Slam crown.

It’s a game of fluctuations and steadfast peak performances and who can maintain their grasp for longer periods of time before succumbing. It’s a battle in its own right and perhaps why Nadal was always poised for more but on equal accounts why Swiatek has been putting this on display in her own right. And with less than a fortnight to go until the 2024 French Open is underway, it’s this time of the season that is ample for both upsets and continued peak performances — a complex Pathway to navigate for those who are not equipped with all 8 Keys.

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTokTwitterThreads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.

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A Comprehensive Overview of Developing Elite Tennis Players: A Milestone Recap of Episodes 1 to 85 of Beyond Top 10 Tennis

Celebrating the one year Anniversary of Beyond Top 10 Tennis, this week’s episode — #85 is a capstone of what the past 12 months has delivered from our initial beginnings to this very season as the French Open beckons at the later end of this Month. 

What follows is a detailed, albeit brief, summary highlighting a handful of key takeaways and multifaceted strategies required as discussed in this week’s episode that revisited a multitude of key segments over the past year. Additional reminders to pitfalls players face on their journey towards the Top 100 and onwards towards the Top 10 are shared and why players struggle to overcome these predefined barriers in place that can in fact be overcome with the adoption of the 8 Keys made available at AM8 International

The Pivotal Coach-Parent-Player Alliance:

One of the cornerstones is the dynamic between the coach, parent/guardian and player. As I outlined in our very first episode: “Welcome and the Coach-Parent Relationship“:

The coach-parent relationship is incredibly powerful and important. Too often there is an assumption that coaches hold absolute authority. However, I advocate flipping that power structure, positioning players and parents as essentially the employers “hiring” the coach:

“You’re their employer paying for their service, so you have every right to get what you want…the easiest sign you have the right coach is if they know the 8 Keys, which 99.9% of coaches do not.”

This promotes accountability and ensures coaches are meeting each session’s stated intentions, goals, and needs. It also emphasises building a player’s independent thinking rather than ingraining an over-dependence on constant coaching cues.

Mental Health and Personal Development:

Mental health sat at the core of episodes like “Mental Health, Depression and Anxiety in Sport” because “most athletes experience depression and/or anxiety, often undiagnosed, especially between ages 13-23.”

I advocate proactively, identifying these issues through open dialogue and providing resources, noting “there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.”

Other areas of player-centric development covered include:

  • Instilling positive player behaviour
  • Promoting emotional stability and fair play ethics
  • Finding happiness/mindfulness away from sport
  • Supplementation and proper hydration education
  • Nurturing a positive body image and self-worth

These foster well-rounded growth beyond just athletic performance.

Mastering the Fundamentals:

A meticulous focus on technical fundamentals is vital. Early episodes highlighted forgotten aspects like discrete skill development, functional movement patterns, momentum generation, the applicability of reading and/or learning to a player’s ability to problem-solve.

Assessing and developing these areas provides the foundation towards optimal performance whereby learning proper movement mechanics from a young age is critical for long-term injury prevention.

Specific examples I explored include functional movement with five complete episodes dedicated to this all-important topic as each element of the kinetic chain — in some way, shape or form — direct and/or indirect, work in tandem, teaching you the core basics of technical parameters: your technique, your power and the quintessential building blocks to establish optimal foundations.

Other training essentials covered included periodisation, adjusting for adolescent-induced changes, planning productive practices, honing mindfulness, continuing coach education and the all-encompassing coach-player and coach-parent dynamic:

“Irrespective if you’re ranked inside the Top 10, 20, 100, or 500, there are specific rules that govern that coach-player relationship and the coach-parent relationship.”

Supplemental Cross-Training:

An insightful discussion on “Single Sport Interaction” advocated:

“Supplementary cross-training through other sports and activities enhances overall athleticism while providing an outlet for fun and passion.”

However, I cautioned against certain sports that could impair technical transference:

“Table tennis, badminton, squash — those are ones to potentially stay away from…I was always cautioned [against] squash as a junior, in fear that I could compromise my technique.”

The insights here speak to balancing complementary training with preserving the foundations.

The Elite Change of Pace:

As Beyond Top 10 Tennis transitioned in 2024 to focus more on WTA and ATP sanctioned events, I blended my deep experience with analytics to evaluate performances, results, and ranking implications in ‘real time’ to allow listeners (and readers) on-demand insights like never before opposed to waiting for that next Book release:

“Diving into granular details regarding specific players, identifying key separating factors like superiority in particular metrics, patterns of play and keys mastered versus deficiencies for those struggling or plateauing.”

Detailed breakdowns that have since been covered include the Australian Summer, Indian Wells, Miami, and the European clay courts that are currently underway. Emphasis was placed on:

  • Coaching dynamics of top players
  • Newcomers making an impact
  • Ranking movement within the Top 100 and 200 on both WTA and ATP tours
  • Gender interactions and age differences
  • Projecting grand slam contenders based on current form
  • Explaining upsets through the “rule of transference” lens (a key theory I termed and have since popularised since its earlier extrapolation in one of my initial releases)

The Pathway:

Underlying all these insights is the pursuit of completely mastering the 8 Keys which allow a player’s full capacity to become amplified, including but not limited to:

“The ability to handle immense pressure and solve problems in real-time is just as vital as technical prowess. For the 8% who ascend, the capability to remain dedicated to this holistic process for 10-20 years of developmental rigour is essential.”

By combining sports science with these well documented behavioural learnings, the path towards self-actualisation that remains performance-centric and two-fold can be optimised. This becomes a reality by fusing analytics with technical ‘best practices’ that provide a comprehensive roadmap — see The Long Game.

However, the road is unforgiving for those who lack the intrinsic understanding — those who are unable to harness these fundamental teachings are increasingly likely to underachieve, stagnating as their bodies and minds fall short due to the immense load of elite competition. But that’s where the 7 Keys and ultimate 8th Key come into play to deliver these long sought answers.

An Invaluable Resource:

Over 85 episodes and counting, the Beyond Top 10 Tennis Podcast has provided an unprecedented breadth and depth of insights encompassing every aspect of elite tennis development — technical, physical, psychological, philosophical to strategic and will continue to grow, evolve and share even more with the episodes to come. Some key quotes and discussions highlighted this week include:

“These episodes work in tandem, teaching you those core basics…to establish really healthy foundations in the developmental high performance stage.”

“We’ve got books on this around developing the athlete and specifically the text ‘The Secrets to Optimal Performance Success‘ really dives into this.”

“This episode is very close to my heart because I think most athletes, especially now more than ever, do experience depression and/or anxiety.”

“When you step on court, what is your reason? What is your intention? What are you working on?”

By condensing decades of experience into easily digestible segments, this has become an invaluable resource for any coach, player, parent or passionate fan seeking to deeply understand the all-encompassing process of tennis success — denoted by a Top 10 tennis ranking and Grand Slam Championship wins.

No stone is left unturned in examining every nuance and intricacy, from areas often overlooked to making sense of the latest performance analytics. My writings and ingrained philosophies are attributed to providing the framework — The Pathway, while first-hand accounts of applying these teachings to players across the globe add vital context.

It is this Pathway that has been comprehensively dissected to deliver those elusive answers for the very first time in tennis history — for those willing to embark on the arduous yet rewarding journey towards the top of tennis hierarchy. For the tiny fraction of tennis players who possess the unshakable dedication and predetermined fortitude, achieving these dreams of tennis success at the highest level of play is now quite truly yours when you commit to and embark upon The Long Game.

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTokTwitterThreads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.