Back in the day, there were not many options to choose from when it came to tennis. Whoever wanted to play tennis and become a professional tennis player had to find a tennis coach and work with him. The option to play against the wall or with friends would not help you build a big career.

Nowadays, there are many options how to move forward and build a successful tennis career –starting from individual practices with coaches, tennis clubs, through small academies up to big world tennis centers. However, within this tennis menu, we must point out a specialty – a tennis preparation camp. It is an opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience, get to know the tennis grounds, meet new tennis coaches or sparring partners.

Cibulkova’s experience? Tennis factory.

Tennis camps are used by normal as well as the greatest tennis players. Our Slovak number one player Dominika Cibulkova is no exception. During her teenage year, she visited the famous Nick Bolletieri Academy in Florida. This is the world’s famous tennis academy and it is visited by thousands of players every year. However, Dominika does not have the greatest experience and memories about the place. ‘’There was chaos everywhere. The academy had around eighty courts and there were ten kids on one court. That is a tennis factory,’’ Dominika remembers.

Dominika. Personally.

Based this experience, she would like to help young tennis players and prepared a series of tennis camps at the Love4Tennis Dominika Cibulkova Academy.

It is a unique chance to get some know-how from a successful player. Even though some tennis players have their tennis academies, it is very rare for them to come among the players and dedicate their time to them. They are focused on their career mainly. It is a unique opportunity to meet with a player on Dominika Cibulkova’s level.

Cibulkova describes the camp’s philosophy: ‘’I do not want to do camps where there are ten children in one group. There will be smaller groups with three or four kids. Work with the coach will be on regular basis, but I will dedicate my time to players and come during the camps. I went through many different experiences and I know what troubles them.’’

There is no better opportunity than this when it comes to receiving advices regarding the game, practice, or a career. At anytime during your career, the best option is to learn from the best in the field.

Director of the Academy Jan Stancik comments ‘’Besides this, kids can become highly motivated when they have a chance to practice with Dominika. Parents also have the opportunity to come and talk to someone who created a successful story for herself. It is the same thing as young hockey players would learn from Alexander Ovechkin.

The authority of successful professional player helps

Young tennis players are taking advices from a celebrity such as Dominika Cibulkova more seriously than when the same advice is given by their coach.

‘’I attended one practice with two young girls, and I was watching them for about ten minutes. I was telling myself that during that time, I would have sat down twice because I go in with a much higher intensity. And when one of them saw that the ball was flying out, she stopped. She did not even try to run for it. My coach Matej Liptak would have already complained. You must run for the ball even though you might not get it,’’ says Cibulkova. Later, when she shared her insights to the girls, she saw herself how impressed they were.‘’First, they were surprised, but after that they started to practice very hard. Professional tennis players know what the key to success is. It is not just like the coach is coming up with these things. If young players have this information coming up from the first hand, they will realize it faster,’’Stancik says.

Tennis camp – the ideal start

Besides the tennis camps with Cibulkova, L4T Dominika Cibulkova Academy also offers tennis camps without the presence of the world champion from 2016. These camps have the same quality since the coaches working at the camps have rich experience with working with TOP 100 WTA and ATP players.

It is an opportunity for competitive players to improve their preparation, get new insights for their game and as well as a chance to have good sparring partners. Coaches will analyze their games, give their recommendations and point at the weak spots.

‘’Recently, we have had a Russian coming to our academy who was getting comfortable at her environment back home. After she arrived, she came across a new wind and she found out that the practice can be done on a much higher intensity,’’Stancik describes.

A quality sparring partner plays an important role in improving the one’s game. The Russian practiced with Belinda Bencic, Rebecca Sramkova and others at the Academy.

Stancik adds ‘’she found out that nowhere else she was practicing with such a high intensity than at our Academy. There are about seventy players with international rankings at the Academy and that is something special. Nobody comes here just like that. These tennis players are here because they want to improve. They are here to work hard, not to slack.’’

It is not easy to find an environment which motivates the player and once you find it, it is more valuable to be in such environment. The chances to grow are much higher when you confront the best in sports.

The phenomenal Rafael Nadal used to say ‘’It will never happen that there shows up one great player. It is always a result from work within a strong group where coaches and players motivate and help each other.’’