Marta Kostyuk’s Coach Sandra Zaniewska on Emotions, Pressure & Winning

Marta Kostyuk’s coach Sandra Zaniewska joins Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran on Tennis Insider Club for a deep conversation about emotions, pressure, coaching, parents, data, recovery and what it really takes to build a top tennis player. Sandra shares how she went from professional player to coach, what she learned from working with Petra Martić and Alizé Cornet, and how she built a long-term relationship with Marta Kostyuk. She explains why she loves emotional players, why the goal is not to get rid of emotions, and how Marta is learning to turn them into strength. They also discuss the pressure of winning titles, the difference between being an underdog and a top seed, why Sandra does not set ranking goals, how she uses data to measure progress, how players can recover mentally during a long WTA season, and why tennis parents need more education and support. This episode is for Marta Kostyuk fans, tennis coaches, tennis parents, junior players, WTA fans, and anyone interested in elite sport, mental performance and high performance. This episode is sponsored by IM8. IM8 Daily Essentials is one of Caroline’s non-negotiables. One sachet includes 99 clinically dosed ingredients supporting gut health, energy, immunity, joint support and more. IM8 Longevity Powder is designed to support your body at a cellular level for long-term health and performance. Try IM8 here: https://iam8health.com/discount/TIC Use code TIC at checkout for 10% off your first order. Follow Tennis Insider Club: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tennisinsiderclub/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tennisinsiderclub Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1SDHHtfQmUS0TyP8wqJEh9 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tennis-insider-club/id1721351881 Chapters: 00:00 Intro: emotions, parents and coaching 00:42 How Sandra Zaniewska started playing tennis 02:20 Why you don’t need to start tennis at age three 03:00 Retiring as a player and becoming a coach 04:05 IM8 Daily Essentials ad 05:20 From player to coach: the transition 06:30 Coaching Petra Martić and learning on the job 08:00 Petra Martić’s French Open quarterfinal and Sandra’s breakthrough moment 09:15 Why coach-player splits feel like breakups 11:00 Learning to coach different personalities 12:00 How to start with a new player and build trust 14:00 Joining a team and working with staff 14:40 Coaching Marta Kostyuk under pressure 17:00 Why Sandra loves emotional players 19:15 The pressure of being an underdog vs a top seed 22:00 What happens after winning a title 23:15 Managing expectations after big success 24:00 Marta Kostyuk’s “princess treatment” at Roland Garros 25:20 Why Marta skipped Rome 26:00 Mental recovery and protecting the player 27:00 Why Sandra told Marta to consider stopping her season 29:00 Giving players space outside tennis 30:30 Learning when not to play 32:00 The ranking trap and outside pressure 33:30 What parents misunderstand in junior tennis 35:00 Why tennis parents need more education 36:00 Sandra’s advice to parents of young players 38:30 Parents living through their children 40:30 Why players must enjoy the journey 42:30 What really changed before Marta Kostyuk’s breakthrough 45:00 Why Sandra doesn’t set ranking goals 46:30 Using data to prove progress 48:15 How long should a coach-player relationship last? 49:45 The stats Sandra uses with Marta Kostyuk 51:00 Scouting opponents and choosing the right tools Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.