At the top of collegiate men's tennis, every program has great recruits and top-tier talent. However, coaches can’t expect to sign players and call it a day; they have to build players so they can reach their full potential. They have to gain an edge.
The quality of player development is perhaps one of the biggest differentiators between the best teams in college tennis and the average ones.
"Where we live, at the very top of Division I men's tennis, everybody's recruiting well and doing a good job with player development," head coach Matt Hill said. "Just to live and stay in that space, you better have a good handle on what your guys are doing and what their next steps are to improve."
No. 22 ASU, 12-6, employs an individualized approach to all of their players' development. Everyone learns and improves at their own pace. Thus, everyone deserves their own specific plan of development.
ASU uses individual practices with only one participating player and coach. In these sessions, coaches are able to be intricate with their players.
Part of what makes Sun Devil men's tennis such successful developers is its low coach-to-player ratio. Many programs in college tennis have upwards of 15 players with only two coaches. ASU doesn’t follow that script. This year, they have 10 players and three coaches.
In some cases, certain coaches are assigned to certain players to be primary overseers of that player's growth.
Additionally, each coach provides their own unique perspective to the craft. Hill provides an understanding of the strategy and match tactics. Associate head coach Dominic Cotrone is a player’s coach who is particularly adept at dealing with athletes' emotions. Coaching assistant David Fox is a former private coach with experience in individualized development.
For example, if a player needs help with their serve or is struggling to focus emotionally, they see to Cotrone. If they need help with match strategies, they see to Hill.
"We use our strengths and avoid our weaknesses when we're coaching the players so they get the best of both worlds when they work with each one of us," Cotrone said.
Because most ASU tennis players are professionals in some capacity before they join the program, they already have their own individual coaches. Men’s tennis doesn’t want to remove players from these coaches they’ve known for a long time, so instead, they bring the player’s individual coaches alongside them in the developmental process.
"We join almost a partnership with their coaches where we're on the same page as them," Cotrone said. "They know what we're working on. We know what they're working on. We’re able to work together as opposed to against each other."
ASU is seeking improvement in all facets with a variety of top-tier coaches, including physical improvement in the gym. They recently hired strength and conditioning coach Justin Russ, who worked with Virginia during their last two championship runs in 2022 and 2023.
The balance between hardening strengths and improving weaknesses
They're seeking improvement in all facets with a variety of top-tier coaches. All of the top collegiate tennis programs have thorough scouting reports. If a player has a glaring weakness, scouts will identify and expose that particular area of a player’s game until the issue is fixed.
One age-old question always arises when dealing with developmental players: Do you continue to work on their strengths or do you fix their weaknesses?
Tennis coaches have debated this question for decades, but for Hill the answer is simple — it depends on what has the greatest impact in matches.
"If the holes aren't gaping and you're not bleeding a million points, then we focus on their strengths and make sure those are super clean and sharp," Hill said. "But if you have some holes in your game where you're constantly getting exposed and your weapons are useless, then you better figure out a way to counteract what your opponents are doing to you."
ASU also coaches fundamentals and film. Much of their practices focus on tennis technique, while every match is recorded onto players' individual iPads for film review.
"The best players in the world aren’t more flashy, nor do they have better skills in other areas off the court. They're typically just way better fundamentally," Hill said.
But, players won’t magically improve if they're merely supplied with iPads full of film and only occasionally work on hit angles. In-game experience is crucial.
ASU's coaches often ask themselves a single question when constructing lineups: If one player is given 20 reps and another is given 20 reps, who is going to be the better player at the end of the 20 reps?
It's not always about winning their next match, it's about how they are playing at the end of the season. If that leads to a few losses in the short term, so be it — delayed gratification is key.
Development starts at the very beginning of every player’s recruitment process. According to Hill, a player's percieved ceiling is an important factor in determining whether or not ASU signs a player. They don’t want a finished product.
"We've turned down guys in the top 20 of the world because we didn't see their next steps to becoming pro men’s players," Hill said.
Many things have changed since the early days of the men's tennis program. Perhaps the biggest change has been their emphasis on acquiring long-term players. When the program was revitalized in 2016, the majority of the players the Sun Devils signed were only on one or two-year commitments.
That's not the case anymore. ASU is much more of a four-year program.
READ MORE: How ASU men's tennis rebuilt, revitalized its program from scratch
"We’re trying to find guys that are gonna be here for the long-haul," Hill said. "We have time to get to know them and invest in them. They have time to build an affinity and brand for this program and university."
Players respond to unique approach
Hill said sophomore Roi Ginat, while Cotrone said junior Murphy Cassone were two of the most improved players on the current roster. What makes Ginat unique is his work ethic.
"He’s probably the hardest-working guy on the team," Hill said. "We have a high-level group of players that are serious about their tennis, but Roi is a different breed."
Since arriving at ASU 14 months ago, Ginat has made significant strides in every conceivable area. His serve has been completely revamped, while his mental fortitude and on-court intelligence continue to excel.
Everything from the way he loads and balances his returns to the way, to the way he deals with taunting fans in away crowds has seen marked improvements.
For Ginat, it's his ball quality — better power, spin, depth, angle of ball — that has improved
"I definitely understand the game better and my ball quality has become better after my coaches insisted on working on it with me," Ginat said. "Even though at first it felt very uncomfortable, I'm happy that they insisted on improving it and now I see why."
The special thing about Ginat is that he's only a sophomore, yet he's seen so many advancements in his game. He has completely planning out his "two-year vision" with the help of ASU’s staff.
When he's a senior, Ginat sees himself playing with an aggressive style that amplifies his strengths such as his agile movement, skilled hand-eye coordination, and ability to think on the court.
Despite coming to ASU as a top prospect, Cassone has gone through significant growth as well.
The contrast between Cassone’s game as a freshman and his game as a junior is particularly evident. He’s much more well-rounded within all elements of his style and is even competing in qualifiers for the US Open and Grand Slam Tournaments while still in college.
That wouldn't have been possible for Cassone as a freshman.
"Although he was one of the best players to go into college tennis, he’s still taken the most strides forward emotionally and physically within his game than any of the other players that I’ve ever seen come through our program," Cotrone said.
Ginat’s and Cassone’s developmental processes have been completely different since they came to ASU. Their circumstances then and now exemplify how successful the Sun Devils' individualized approach has been.
Without a strict emphasis on player development, Hill believes that ASU would be "struggling to be relevant inside of the top-75 rankings." They are currently ranked No. 22.
"There's just so many good teams right now," Hill said. "The depth in college tennis is so good that if you're not really working at your players' level, you’re not going to get good recruits and your guys are not going to be performing and peaking at the right time. We'd be lucky to be in the rankings."
Edited by Vincent DeAngelis, Shane Brennan and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at jwkartso@asu.edu and follow @kartsonis3 on X.
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