ATP: Mats Merkel series, part 3 – “Blood is always thicker than water”

Mats Merkel is scouting and coaching for Adidas. At the US Open, the 33-year-old German took care of the Taiwanese Chun Hsin Tseng in addition to his activities for adidas. In part 3 of our series Merkel talks about the importance of parents for the development of young players.

tennisnet: Mr. Merkel. Alexander Zverev has brought an additional coach into his team with Ivan Lendl, Juan Carlos Ferrero had already been there himself. However, as a complement to Alexander Zverev sr.. Is there a time when young players are cutting themselves off from their parents?

Mats Merkel: There is no need for this point in time. I am of the opinion that it is extremely important that parents continue to participate in their children’s lives. One sees this now also increased with the gentlemen. In the past it was always said: Oh, the girls are always on the road with their parents, mainly with their fathers. You can also see this trend in men: Shapovalov with his mother, Tsitsipas with his father.

tennisnet: With Alexander Zverev it is often even both parents.

Merkel: I believe that Sascha has benefited tremendously from having his parents around him during his career. On the one hand, because the parents had someone with Mischa, where one could proceed according to the “learning by doing” principle. You don’t make a mistake twice. And it’s so incredibly hard for parents to let go. If you consider that the parents have brought a child to a certain level – and then give this child up, like perhaps the Tsitsipas family to Mouratoglou, that’s not easy. Nobody knows Stefanos as well as his father. Or Denis as good as the mother.

tennisnet: Can the great closeness also harm?

Merkel: It doesn’t mean at all that it’s bad when the parents are there. On the contrary: If the parents are smart, and like Zverev is now adding a Lendl or a Ferrero, then this mixture can work. But the distribution of roles must be right.

tennisnet: What should the role of parents look like?

Merkel: This role is extremely important and decisive for success. After all, a parent can go to court with a player much harder and more directly than a coach could ever. Blood is always thicker than water.

tennisnet: Have you also seen parent-child combinations in recent years where you thought: This can’t work.

Merkel: You actually see such a thing very often at junior tournaments. On the one hand, because the parents do not have the money to let the children travel with a coach. And then the parents are really forced to go to the square and guide and advise their own child. And so they come into this coaching role, into which they may not necessarily want to be pressed. But it happens. Partly successful, partly absolutely in the pants.

tennisnet: Why?

Merkel: There is too much friction, too little knowledge. And also too few financial possibilities to create a structure for the son or daughter that makes it possible to train the player. Because being good in youth does not mean being successful as an adult. The failure rate is enormously high.

tennisnet: And fresh impulses are important here …

Merkel: You can also see that with the best. Günter Bresnik, for example, always gets good people for Dominic Thiem, be it a Gary Muller, a Joakim Nyström or a Galo Blanco. Günter does this specifically for certain events. He also knows how to keep Dominic fresh in his head. And that’s absolutely important. Because the year on the tour is long and hard.