THE former coach of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras is headed to Scotland to share his expertise with this country’s up-and-coming players.
José Higueras will visit Scotland next month and will spend a week working the best young players at the GB National Tennis Academy based at the University of Stirling before sharing his coaching philosophy at the annual Tennis Scotland Coaches’ Conference being held at Gleneagles.
The Spaniard has worked with some of the greats of the game including Federer, who he teamed up with for the clay court season in 2008 before continuing the partnership through the grass and hard court season.
And Higueras has also worked with grand slam winners Pete Sampras, Sergi Brugera, Michael Chang and Carlos Moya.
As a player, Higueras reached a high of number six in the world and reached the semi-finals of the French Open on two occasions in 1982 and 1983 but it is as a coach he has really excelled.
As well as working with a number of major winners, he was also appointed the United States Tennis Association’s director of coaching 2008 where he now acts as a consultant.
The GB National Tennis Academy in Stirling is one of two set up by the LTA and opened its doors to eight of the country’s most promising talents, including Scotland’s Matthew Rankin, in September 2019 as part of the first-year intake.
Students are housed at the renowned Dollar Academy and receive expert tennis tuition from a world-class coaching team led by Leo Azevedo (head coach), Colin Fleming, Bruno Argudo and Esteban Carril and for a week next month, will have the opportunity to work closely with Higueras.
“I’m delighted to be coming to Scotland for the first time,“ the Spaniard said.
“Leo Azevedo is a great friend of mine and I have a lot of respect for him as a coach therefore when he asked me to visit the GB National Tennis Academy I didn’t give it a second thought.
“As well as a great friendship, I share with Leo the same personal and tennis values which was why I previously chose Leo to work with us at the USTA. British tennis is lucky to have a professional of Leo’s calibre leading the GB National Tennis Academy in Scotland.
“I’m a massive believer that sharing knowledge and experience between cultures can only be positive and beneficial for tennis. Doing this with the governing body, Tennis Scotland, together with my good friend Leo makes it even more enjoyable.”
Following his stint working with the young players, Higueras will then travel to Gleneagles where he will speak at the Tennis Scotland Coaches’ Conference on the 15th and 16th of February, at which over 100 coaches are expected to attend. Also speaking are Dan Bloxham, Head Coach, All England Tennis Club, Kris Souter, Workforce Development Manager, Judy Murray Foundation, and Coach Consultant, Tennis Scotland, Merlin Van de Braam, Head of Development, LTA and Jo Ward, former WTA and GB Fed Cup player.
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