Learn What it Takes to Get to Top 15 in the World from the Coach of Jack Draper

Season #25 Episode#:16 Shaun Boyce & Bobby Schindler

Jack Draper is one of the fastest-rising tennis players in the world. He is establishing a name for himself on the ATP Tour and rising up the rankings quickly. But how did he get here?

In this episode, we hear from Draper’s longtime coach, Justin Sherring. Sherring met Draper when he was only six years old and has since worked with him to develop into a strong, skilled, and confident player.

He shows players how to fight, handle pressure, and win points under challenging situations. He has worked with numerous prominent players, including the Grand Slam doubles champion Joe Salisbury.

Tune in to hear about Draper’s evolution from a small kid to a 6'4" machine. Understand the mental and physical struggle of becoming a professional player. And discover what it takes to play at the highest level in tennis!

About Today’s Guest

Today we’ve invited Justin Sherring who has decades of experience in coaching tennis players. During his coaching journey, he has worked with some of the brightest stars in British Tennis like Jack Draper and Joe Salisbury. This journey shaped his coaching career and attained him tremendous success and fame.

Unlike most tennis players, Justin’s coaching style is deeply rooted in enhancing mental resilience, making the players more confident and getting the victory. In today's discussion he will reveal many areas of his coaching journey that most tennis enthusiasts don’t know.

So highly encourage you to hit the play button and get more intrigued!

What This Episode Discusses

1. The Early Days with Jack Draper

It has been an incredibly long journey with Jack since he was a kid, and Justin Sherring was there every step of the way. He explains how Jack displayed tremendous fighting spirit though smaller than most of his contemporaries, that would characterize his career. Sherring also explains how struggle and determination helped shape Jack’s career from the ground up.

2. The Role of Mindset in Tennis

Tennis is a mental battle, as much as it is a test of physical skill. In this episode Sherring explains how a strong mindset helped him to make a player to be dominant at the court. He also explains how this attitude has been vital to Jack’s success, and how he instills this belief in his other players.

3. Understanding Jack Draper’s Unique Style

One huge advantage for Jack is that he is a left-handed player. And Sherring utilized this in every angle of his game to bring out his best. To develop Jack’s serving technique and leverage his lefty advantage, Sherring offers a granular look at how he and Dana developed a winning formula for Jack.

4. The Coach-Player Dynamic

At the end of the day, the final outcome of a player depends on their chemistry with the coach. Sherring explains how mutual respect and shared goals can form a strong bond with players and how important it is. He notes how crucial it is for coaches to care deeply about the holistic development of their players, not merely as athletes, but as individuals.

5. Joe Salisbury - A Different Journey

The podcast also shares Justin's work with Joe Salisbury, a multiple Grand Slam-winning doubles player. Sherring talks about the interesting journey of Joe who faced a significant setback in his career due to glandular fever. Sherring explains how they changed his training to shift from singles to doubles. And this change has helped Joe dramatically to become dominant in the doubles circuit.

6. The 'Killer Instinct' in Tennis

The so-called "killer instinct" is one of the most critical attributes of elite players. Sherring explains why this trait distinguishes good players from great ones, and how to instill this all consuming passion to win in upcoming athletes. He also explains how this mindset is often an inherited trait but can be developed through effective coaching.

7. The Coaching Philosophy of Justin Sherring

Justin is definitely not the conventional coach, but he gets results. His emphasis is on a player-driven style, getting into character development before anything else. A foundation of Sherring’s coaching philosophy is building an environment where return on investment requires an understanding of the value of what it takes to persist, be resilient and to improve.

Be Our Next Guest!

We want more guests like Justin Sherring. If you are also a coach like him, we want to hear your voice. No matter if you are a coach, club manager, tennis player, or just a tennis enthusiast who has any interesting story related to tennis, we want you to visit our My Tennis Story page and share your words. If your words can r...