1. Can you tell us more about the motivation behind creating IMS Tennis and what were some of the challenges you faced at the start of the business?
The main motivation was to start my very first tennis business in my life. Since I was a kid I wanted to become a tennis coach but I never had the opportunity to lead a project like this all by myself. I believed it was the next step after coaching in many clubs and Academies around the world, so I felt I was ready to take the risk to open my own company. It was definitely the best decision I had ever made because I can make use of all my knowledge I had throughout all these years of experience. It was challenging at first because I had to start doing things that I was not used to do, such as admin work, marketing, accounting, managing my own schedule… And since I am doing most of my lessons in condos around Singapore and in public courts, I have to be very proactive booking the courts and always being a bit flexible with my schedule since life in Singapore is in constant change, lots of people traveling and when rainy season starts I have lots of cancellations due the weather…
2. How do you customize private tennis lessons based on a student’s goals and skill level? What is the impact of this tailored approach?
Usually in the first session I evaluate the level of the player and I always ask what’s their goal in short, medium and long term. Having this information allows me to have a plan and customized every lesson. My methodology includes four pillars: technical, tactical, physical and mental. I work on every pillar with all my students, trying to focus on improving the weakest one and maximize the strongest one. I believe that group lessons are good because you can socialize and interact with other people, but it’s in a private lesson where you can really dig in every detail of the game and bring it to the next level. You can really feel the progress really quickly when the lesson is tailored to the needs of every individual.
3. Could you provide insights into your coaching experiences at renowned tennis academies such as JCFerrero-Equelite, Vilas Tennis Academy, and Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy? How have your experiences coaching a diverse range of players in Spain, spanning various ages and skill levels, shaped your coaching philosophy and approach at IMS Tennis in Singapore?
Working in these Academies was a great experience, not only in Spain, but also in USA and China. I was able to work with high performance players, most of them were teenagers (12-16 years old). It was a challenging stage of my career because I was still a young coach not too experienced and I had many responsibilities, but I had many good coaches around me that were my mentors and I learnt a lot from them. The players I was coaching were competing National Tournaments so the demand level was quite high. I also worked with adult players as well with younger players, so I was exposed to a diverse range of levels and skills that allowed me to start personalizing my teaching methodology according to the needs of every player and stage and now I can apply it here in Singapore.
4. Looking ahead, can you share some of the IMS Tennis’ future plans or developments to further enrich the tennis experience for your students and tennis enthusiasts in Singapore? Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives that you’re excited about and would like to share with our readers?
I am developing a specific mental training applied to tennis for the players who are interested to improve that aspect of the game in depth.
Tennis in Singapore is growing more and more, so I am looking forward to see new players coming to IMS Tennis to know more about my training system and experience it.
If IMS Tennis continues growing, I am planning to bring more coaches here who share the same vision as me, so we could develop much more players together. And in the future, I would like to bring IMS Tennis overseas.
5. What sets IMS Tennis apart from other businesses in this field?
I believe my approach to tennis is different from other companies in Singapore, since I apply the Spanish Training Methodology that I learnt from my previous experiences working in very well-known Academies. Furthermore, I am also a fitness coach so I am able to combine both tennis and fitness training on court.
6. Can you share some success stories or notable achievements of students who have benefited from the coaching provided by IMS Tennis?
A have a few students that after a few months training with me they got accepted in the team training in their schools, which is quite a good accomplishment since it’s quite competitive because there are limited spots. I also coached a few ladies that they are playing doubles and singles competition in a league in Singapore called WITS, and after training with me for a while they got promoted to better teams and divisions.
7. What is one piece of advice that you want to share among aspiring entrepreneurs?
You have to follow always your dreams and learn from other people that has more experience than you and follow their advices. If at some point of your life you feel stuck with what you are doing, or you are tired to work for someone else, then take the risk, get out of your comfort zone and follow your passion. With effort, energy and good intentions, you can achieve whatever you want. The first step is always the harder one, but it’s a learning process that at the end will bring you joy.
IMS Tennis 