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HI, NICE TO MEET YOU!

Updated May 2025

I've been coaching for over 30 years, and based at Hawker since 2001. For much of that time, I've dedicated myself to my personal development and to being the best coach I can be. In 2025, I love my job as much as I ever have, and I'm as motivated as ever to support budding junior players with achieving their goals in tennis. 


My passion for coaching lead to me creating 50+ coaching videos on YouTube (2000+ subscribers, and 450000+ views) back in 2015/16, and also to becoming a writer for Tennisplayer.net, a world leading coaching resource. More on that in the next section. 


My approach to coaching is relaxed but highly dedicated at the same time. My attention to detail is exceptional, and my creativity allows me to find the best solutions to support fast progress in my players. 


In 2025, there are 3 things that I live by:


I DON'T MIND WHAT HAPPENS: I've been trying to live by this for the last 18-24 months, and it's beautiful! Basically, just let life happen and work with what it offers. Seriously consider every opportunity, don't judge things, and don't try to control, interfere with, or manipulate things. It's crazy, but the more I live by this idea, the more things just fall into place, and go my way. 


YOU ONLY GET TODAY ONCE: I've been on this one for over 2 years now. Every day is unique, we only have one chance to experience it, so make the most of it, don't waste it! No matter what is going on, or if I'm not well, I know the current day is a one-off opportunity, and I don't want to miss out!


HONESTY: Since February 2023, when I was influenced by something I read, I decided to commit to not telling a single lie to anyone about anything, even the smallest things or the slightest exaggerations. I've been doing very well at it, though I promise I wasn't some crazy compulsive liar before that, far from it! The benefit is improved personal wellbeing, but the subject is both fascinating and quite deep, so I'll write more about in due course, watch this space! 


If you want to know any more, please just ask. I'm very happy to talk to anyone about anything, and I'll never turn down a chat over a cold beer! 

JOHN YANDELL'S INFLUENCE ON NICK

Taking it to the next level as a coach

Discovering John Yandell's site changed everything. As a coach who was incredibly hungry to learn and develop my knowledge and skills, nothing came close to satisfying that hunger like Tennisplayer did!


The highest quality articles and research, written by some of the top coaches in the world, and based on factual data courtesy of high speed video. I was in heaven, endlessly scouring all the past articles on the site, and still today in 2024, I love absorbing the latest articles that come out every month.

About Tennisplayer.net

Over a twenty year career, John has been a leading force in the creation of new teaching and educational resources in tennis. He was a pioneer of high speed filming projects, which have created the resources that take our understanding of the game to a new level. John has done personal video analysis for hundreds of high level competitive players, including Justine Henin-Hardenne, Taylor Dent, Gabriela Sabatini, and John McEnroe, among others. 


Tennisplayer has over 600 leading edge, luminously illustrated articles, covering every aspect of developing your game from the best coaches in the world, coaches who have worked with over 15 Grand Slam champions.

Nick writes for Tennisplayer!

In 2015, I sent John links to my YouTube coaching series, and he was impressed enough to ask me to write a series of articles for the site based on my 1-2 Rhythm concept for developing technique and timing on all the major strokes in tennis.


That series went live over the course of 2015 and 2016, and then I wrote a follow-up series on marginal gains in tennis, looking at every aspect of the game, and highlighting areas where players and coaches could make some marginal gains that can so often have a big impact on performance and results. That was published in 2020 and 2021.

What John said about Nick's Serve 1-2 Rhythm article

Posted on TennisPlayer to introduce Nick's Serve 1-2 Rhythm article:


This is one of the most important and valuable serve articles we have published (in 12 years), because it solves a basic mystery. What is the relationship between the backswing, the legs, and the explosion into the ball? Nick Wheatley has developed his rhythm concept and how it applies to all versions of the groundstrokes. But this article may be the best in the series. Multitudes of players and coaches obsess on the trophy position - and it is important. But what about the timing of reaching the trophy position in relationship to the true racket acceleration in the motion? What do players with very different trophy positions and/or different trophy position timing all have in common that allows them to explode rhythmically into the ball? You can have it just like they do.

Nick meets John for the first time in 2024!

It was an honour to meet up with John in person for the first time, whilst I was visiting San Francisco in April 2024. The picture is from that visit!

RIP John Yandell - February 2025

I was shocked and saddened to learn of John's passing in early 2025.


John was a visual tennis pioneer and a coaching genius. He created an online community that has had an enormous influence on the coach I am today. 


It was so special to spend that time with him on my trip last year, it was literally like meeting a God for me! Now, I just feel so incredibly blessed to have had that opportunity. 

I can't do justice in words to the coach and man that John Yandell was, but luckily a former Top 100 player who John worked with, has done a great job of this, so do check out what Jeff Salzenstein wrote:

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/rip-john-yandell-a-tennis-pioneer.782363/


When I saw John last year, his health was fine. He only started feeling unwell a few months before he died of cancer, aged 72, in February this year. We know life is precious, but we still take it for granted. Grab every day, be nice to other people, do your best, and enjoy being here!

current students and magical victories!

Updated May 2025

Find out about current students, and also some former students through some great stories in the magical victories section!

Skills & Drills

I coach 30+ kids a week in Skills & Drills. Some are Team Hawker Squad players who are adding an extra on-court session to their weekly schedule, but many are more recreational players who might only be doing tennis once a week.


It's a privilege to be their coach, and to be responsible for making the sessions fun, relaxed, but at the same time beneficial. Tennis is a sport for life, and I know many of these players will continue playing tennis for the next 30, 40, 50, 60 years, and their skills will have been bedded in on the Hawker courts!

Team Hawker Squads

I have 25+ kids in the squads, and these are our highest level, and most committed junior players. All my 30 years of experience, knowledge, and coaching skills, go into helping these players develop their ability to enjoy competitive tennis, and perform well in it.


Team Hawker Squads are the centre of our Hawker Tennis family. I'm always delighted to support these players in team matches whenever I can, as well as in individual tournaments, and I'm always keen to liaise closely with their parents to ensure we're doing all we can to aid their development. 

Individual students

I'm lucky enough to currently have a wide array of individual students, from a national level junior and several who are aspiring to get there, to committed squad players, and from keen adults to younger juniors in the earlier stages of their tennis journey. 


It's a pleasure and privilege to coach any player on an individual basis, and I always look to do my best to maximise the time and make it fun and enjoyable for both of us.

Magical victories - The best part of the job!

The on court work is fantastic, it's where knowledge is learned, skills are developed, rapport is built, and fun is had. However, the real magic happens on the match court when my players put in incredible performances and land themselves impressive and sometimes very unlikely wins!


Magical sporting success stories happen all the time at the highest levels, and there's always some version of the same story behind them; a player or team working together with the support of a coach (or coaches), and/or family, and/or friends. The rapport and connection between the group is strong, with the player or team feeling fully supported and cared for, and those giving that support doing so with passion and commitment.


Well, the same formula works at every level of competitive sport. It's not something that can be forced or created, it's something that just happens naturally in the right circumstances. I'm lucky enough to have experienced this many times over the years, magical moments and special victories that can't be erased. It's the best part of the job! 


I'll now share a few of them. I'm not taking credit for these successes*, because what is important to me are the cherished memories, priceless experiences, and the all-round positive effect these wins had on the players. Pictures from all of them are in the gallery below!


*Tap here to read the truth about who should take credit for sporting successes. 

U16 Surrey Team Tennis Champions 2016

The U16 Surrey Team Tennis Play-off's only ran for two years in 2015 and 2016, bringing together all the summer U16 Team Tennis league winners for a play-offs event at the end of August.


Hawker were defending champions after Harry and Zino won the event for us in 2015, though I wasn't in attendance that year. In 2016, I committed fully and took our team Harry and Moritz to Sutton TA for the finals. It was a long day, with 4 other teams to play, including our friends (and local rivals) Ham & Petersham! 


It was an early start, we left Kingston at 9am. Normally fine, but Harry (our more experienced No.1 player) had just got back from the Reading festival in the early hours! Moritz, being 2 years younger, was less experienced but very good. I took the boys through a warm-up practice at the venue, before they got started. We won our first 3 ties, though one of them was decided by a doubles champions tie-break. That left us playing Ham & Petersham for the title. Harry was tired, and both were concerned with the opposition who we knew well, and we knew were good players. However, the boys both executed their tactical plans brilliantly and played really well, to ensure we won without the need for doubles!


I shouted them to a KFC on the way home to celebrate a fantastic day and a great team effort, and to this day we all fondly remember the win and the KFC afterwards! Both have now finished Uni and were at my house for a BBQ last summer, where we spent a great evening catching up and reminiscing about all the good old days!


I was Moritz's coach for 14 years (2006-20, from age 4-18), and Harry's coach for 11 years (2007-18, from age 7-18). They were standout performers for Hawker, and responsible for winning numerous team titles and tournaments. 

PYWTW National Men's Doubles Champions 2024

Hawker has a rich recent history with the PYWTW national finals, and the August scheduling means I can usually offer my full support to our players. 


Tristan and Georgiy have epitomised what Hawker Tennis is all about, embracing the relaxed and supportive environment we have across all the squads. They left for Uni in September 2023, but have kept close links with the club and our current Team Hawker players. 


They wanted to go in for the Men's Doubles event in 2024 (having previously played the U18 doubles in 2022), and they qualified for the national finals quite comfortably to join 23 other qualifiers from around the UK. I committed to be there for every match they played, as did their parents. We were also joined by various friendly faces from Hawker through the event.


They won their two group games, but needed to come through a champs tie-break in one of them, as both guys struggled a little with their games and getting used to the grass. Georgiy wasn't feeling his return, so on his request, I went out and hit 100+ serves at him that evening to work on it.


In the 1/4 Finals, the boys were playing better, more solid, and with more confidence, and they beat a good pair 6-2 7-5. In the semi-finals later that day, they maintained a good level, and edged a thriller 7-6 5-7 (10-4)!


The key to the final was to stay relaxed and keep enjoying it, and to use the experience of the U18 Doubles final they had lost 2 years earlier. The guys were UNBELIEVABLE! They both played incredibly well from start to finish, and destroyed a decent pair 6-1 6-1, the most one-sided scoreline in the entire competition. It was a classic case of building your level through the event, and then playing your best when it mattered the most, and it was a real buzz for everyone involved!


The guys and I went out and celebrated quite late into the night, to mark a quite incredible achievement, and a day that will live long in our memories!


Tristan started Saturday group lessons in 2009 (aged 4), and did them for several years. His family moved to Kew, but he maintained regular weekend Matchplay's, and then got more involved in squads and regular individuals with me. Georgiy started out with individual classes when he was playing orange ball, and then moved to an academy, but he wasn't happy there, and came back to Hawker as a 13 year old in 2018. Tristan was also 13. They made their Hawker debut as a doubles pair a few weeks later in the Ham/Hawker Cup, and that started a consistent theme of enjoyment, success, and that classic Team Hawker camaraderie!

Ham/Hawker Cup wins 2017-2019

The Ham/Hawker Cup was a fantastic team event, set-up by myself and the former head coach of Ham James Kober. We used the classic Davis Cup style, played across 8 or 9 different age/gender categories, and we allowed on-court coaching to maximise the benefits for our players.


I absolutely loved this environment, because it tested every single aspect of my coaching ability, and it was a proper team event that brought the whole club together. I loved it!


In 2017, we hosted the event, and cruised to a comfortable 5-4 victory. I say comfortable as the 5 ties we won were all straightforward.


2018 was the highlight victory! Ham were hungry to level the series and win the cup, especially as they were at home this time. They had a much stronger squad, and were strong favourites in 6 of the 9 ties, but I left no stone unturned in the preparation of our players for the event, which later inspired one of my articles on TennisPlayer from my marginal gains series entitled 'The Cup'!


Our players scored several notable upset wins, and it was Tristan and Georgiy who landed an early blow, both playing exceptional singles to secure the U14 Boys tie by a 3-1 scoreline. In the end it came down to our Ladies team to score a stunning upset, represented by two of the Mum's, who rode their luck at times, but in the end were too solid for Ham's fearsome ladies players. That secured a 5-3 win, with the final tie being abandoned.


In 2019, we once again hosted, and unable to agree on a 9th tie, we only had 8 ties, and so worked with a sets count-back rule to decide the cup in the event of a 4-4 draw.


Of course, 4-4 is how it ended up! However, it took two amazing wins from Moritz to set up a situation where Tristan and Georgiy needed to win their tie by 3-0 to win us the Cup. Moritz beat Ham's two strongest juniors, with two performances that are simply the stuff of legend! Both were big upset wins that were not expected. 


Tristan and Georgiy won their singles to go 2-0 up, and around 9 hours after we started the event, everyone knew that the cup would be decided on the outcome of the doubles. Tristan and Georgiy had lost this doubles tie to the same two players by 6-1 the previous year, and both James and I did the best we could to prepare our players, and then coach/support as necessary during the match. Tristan and Georgiy got the job done, working great as a pair, and sneaking a very long tenth game of the set to win 6-4!


Hawker won the cup for the 3rd straight year, and after James left for his native USA when Covid hit, the event has never been staged again.

U14 Boys Surrey Champion 2022

This all came down to the final. Lucca was playing well and hadn't dropped a set in 4 matches. I'd been there for his 2nd round, 1/4 final and semi-final wins. The two of us got on very well and he was keen that I was there for the final too, and there was no way I was going to miss it!


Lucca's opponent had impressively beaten the top seed the day before, and he got off to a strong start in the final, converting a 5-1 lead into a 6-3 1st set. Lucca went an early break down in the 2nd set, before raising his level and gaining confidence in the process. He levelled the match with a 6-3 2nd set, and closed out the win with a tense 11-9 champions tie-break! I was court-side the whole time, just doing my best to find the right balance at the right time between giving encouragement and looking calm. 


At the time, this was Lucca's best ever win, and he was Surrey U14 Boys champion. It was also the first time anyone I'd coached had won a Surrey Championship, so it was a special day for both of us.


I was Lucca's coach for 4 years (May 20 - March 24, from age 11-15). He was the first one of my students to break through to national level, which he did in 2023. We worked most extensively on technique, whilst I also supported him with the mental side and tactical side of the game. He continues to pursue tennis just for pleasure, but remains at a very high level, and you can see him in action here, saving a load of match points at the U16 Boys national championships in Roehampton, played in April 2025! 

U16 Wilton Grade 3 Doubles Champions 2024

Magical wins are always possible when some form of that magical formula of rapport and support is in place. Sometimes it's more weighted to giving emotional support, and other times it's more weighted to finding the right tactics and executing them.


I love working out tactics for players, and it's often quite simple tactical plans that can make the difference between a straight forward win and a loss.


I'd watched Nicho and Oliver win their semi-final the day before, and also knew their opponents for the final and seen some of their match. Their opponents were both higher ranked, were top seeds, and fully expected to win, but the tactics were clear in my mind.


Right before the final, I spent half an hour with the boys at a local park venue to work through the tactical plays and make sure they understood them. It's fantastic when you have players who understand tactical plans and have the skill to execute them. I watched them deliver a near perfect performance, sticking to the plans, and winning easily 6-3 6-1 to stun the top seeds.


Nicho has been at Hawker from a very young age, and has been involved in more club successes than any other player in the history of the club, starting in 2017 when he was part of our winning U9 Team Tennis orange ball team! I was Oliver's coach for 2 years from 2022-24, during which time he became a national level player for the first time.

5-1 win away to Germany - U10 Team Tennis 2016

This one reminds me of the famous 5-1 football win away to Germany that all England fans will forever remember, a truly magical win from the football world!


Our team of Rohan, Sam, Mac, and James were all great friends and very close. They were in a tough division and looked underdogs in every match, but they gave it everything and played for each other, highlighted by the fact they won 9 out of 10 doubles ties during the season.


They beat Sutton Academy 4-2 at home, including Sam winning a match from 0-4 0-2 down! They lost to Barnes 3-4, but beat Southwark 4-2, including a doubles win that involved saving 5 match points! Our next match was Downs away, who had won all their matches, and their coach was an old acquaintance who had always beaten me on the court! This was the crunch match, so I was keen to take it on. I took the 4 boys down there early to be well prepared, and we'd been warming up for 20 minutes before the opponents arrived. 


Mac and James won their doubles on a champs tie-break, Sam lost his singles, and Rohan was in a tough battle with their No.1, which went to tie-break. I still remember some VERY long rallies, but Rohan saved 2 match points and won it something like 13-11 to give us a crucial 2-1 half-way lead.


The boys pushed on and won the remaining 3 matches (two of them on champs tie-break), to secure a 5-1 win away at the league leaders and leave the league in our hands. A routine win against Annabel Croft Academy in the last match secured it.


Along with Charlie, and Josh, this group of U10's would go on to be Hawker's first ever team to qualify for Premier Team Tennis as U14's in 2020. All the players were long-term Hawker squad members, winning plenty of titles for Hawker as well as G5 and G4 tournaments for themselves. In 2024, most of them still play recreationally, and keep in touch with the club.

magical wins photo gallery!

Harry and Moritz - U16 Surrey Team Tennis Champions 2016!

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