One of the best and most successful Slovak tennis coaches, Vladimír Pláteník (46), with rich international experience, was the head coach of the EMPIRE Tennis Academy in Trnava when the members of this Academy have achieved greatest successes. He will be the head coach of the academy and the manager of the club also. In Slovakia, he also led Daria Kasatkina, when she moved up in the WTA rankings from October 2014 to October 2016 by more than 380 places – she reached 19th place in singles. He wants to build on these successes again. "The academy concept worked before and was good. Whereas the things from the past that we have done, we can use now. My goal is to bring another quality and concept to the academy,” said Platenik for the www.empire-tennis-academy.com.

Why you decided to come back to TC EMPIRE. Is it a new challenge for you?

„I'm looking forward to work, as this area and the background are great. I've always been happy to be here. Of course, I like the fact I will be so close at my home in Bratislava, too. The concept of the academy has already worked in the past and it did well. We could learn the things from the past that we have done. We can use them now. We are all smarter, including the club owner, and me as head coach and manager. We know things what to avoid, what to watch out for. We are one step further. I will now focus more on management. I am also putting together a very good team of coaches. New ones have also arrived. There are also those who have stayed because they have good results. Especially with the Slovak players. I see an interest now, from Slovakia and abroad. My goal is to bring some quality, the fresh concept to the academy. To be better again.“

Who would come with you? How will it work?

„Three coaches for now. One of them is Martin Hromec, he was an excellent player, who made it close to the Top 200 in ATP rankings and was No. 6 in the world junior rankings. He is 46 today, in a good age. He helped Magdalena Rybáriková from Slovakia to reach No. 40 in the WTA rankings, Martin Kližan moved up to the world No. 24 in the ATP rakings. He was in world tennis for a long time, coached also the Israeli Shahar Peer (former world No. 11). Lenka Juríková, a former TOP 200 WTA rankings player, will come to Trnava, too. She has huge experience and is eager to work with us. And the third one is Michal Milko, who is another experienced player and coach now. These are people who have been playing tennis all their lives. We will work here as a team, not accept big egos. We need to cooperate, help each other. That's the kind of management I want to pursue. If we will be able to manage it, we could be happy with the results.“

Even in Slovakia, pressure to train individually is growing. You want to train collectively. So where do you think is the key to success?

„Individual training cost an incredible amount of money, few players can afford it. The advantage of the academy is that we don't want to tie a player to one coach. But, on the other hand, we don’t want to make big tennis factories too. The best solution, in my opinion, is ideally maximum four players per one coach. Or just two, if they are already Top players. And each player will have a coach responsible just for him. We will try to create unified methodology, but at the same time with the possibility to adapt it to individual players. I have made four players into the Top 20 and each one was different. One high, the second low, the third slow. All with different minds and personality.“

How do you want to do it?

„We are planning to make player cards. Like these, who are using by doctors. Once a month we will sit together and write down the data in the card.“

What data do you want to place there?

„In addition to the usual ones, such as name and age, etc., there will be mainly more technique pieces of information, such forehand, backhand, volley, return. Then physical and, of course, mental readiness to play tennis. Everything that matters in this sport. We will also do fitness tests at the end of the season. And then tests before the summer season. We will repeat them in March or April again. All components of preparation will be putting in these players cards. This will show us the strengths and weaknesses of each one that we can work on further.“

In the past, you brought players like Kasatkina, Svitolina, Jabeur to the club in Trnava. Do you have a similar vision again?

„I will be happy if the younger coaches will manage breakthrough. I travelled a lot and after 30 years, I no longer have the strength for it. I would like to help them from home and at the same time manage it from here. My goal is, of course, to is to prepare great tennis players. Preferably Slovak, but as the club is private and the support from Slovak Tennis Association (STZ) is really low, we have to recruit foreign players as well. But I hope we can build on the past. I used to travel a lot with Daria Kasatkina for example, and the work in the club, since I was not there, was not running ideally. Now I want to do it the other way. Opposite. I want to stay at home and be able to help the others from this place.“

Will you put emphasis on further education of coaches?

„Definitely. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic times, we have made theoretical training every week. We analysed the videos and discussed how to proceed. I always give others an example of men's tennis with a help of video. Top world players have basically the same tennis basics and we need to teach our members the same. It's all about positioning your feet, choosing ideal shots etc. It's relatively simple and the point is the other coaches understand how important is to see the things in the same way. Work as one. There is no other options for me.“

Interesting indoor tournaments series – EMPIRE Indoor Tennis Tour is coming up in Trnava. How do you feel about it?

“This series is unparalleled. Six tournaments for adults and two for juniors is something unreal.“

When will you start as head coach in Trnava?

„I will come back from New York at the beginning of October, I can start working here immediately.“