Doubles star Matt Ebden has plenty of great practice stories to share in our “Train with the Pros” series.
Perth, Australia, 16 August 2024 | Jackson Mansell
At age 36, the enduring Matt Ebden is reaching new heights in his career.
The Perth athlete won the Australian Open 2024 men’s doubles title alongside Indian Rohan Bopanna and shortly after rose to world No.1 in the ATP Tour doubles rankings.
The unforgettable year became even greater when Ebden teamed up with compatriot John Peers in Paris to scoop Australia’s first Olympic tennis gold medal since 1996.
The inspiring Ebden shares advice and recalls some of his favourite practice memories in our Train with the Pros series.
Do you have a favourite time of day to practice?
Nothing too early, unless I’m at home so I need to get practice out of the way so I can go to the beach or spend the day with my little baby boy who is two years old. In general, not too early is ideal. I like to be able to wake up, have a nice coffee and breakfast or brunch with my family then practice late morning or early afternoon.
Do your training sessions look different now you are focusing on doubles?
With doubles I don’t need to train as long, it’s not so much about endurance and running to be able to last five sets at Grand Slams. The focus is more on strength, as well as short and sharp points. Serving and explosive power becomes a lot more important.
Do you have a favourite part of your game to work on?
My serve and my forehand, as well as my net game and attacking movements, was what I based my game around when I was playing singles. Now with doubles, it’s probably just my serve. It’s so important in doubles.
Do you have a least favourite part of your game to work on?
I actually can’t think of one. I enjoy trying to master the art of tennis, so I like practising all sorts of different shots and tactics.
Can you recall the first professional player you had the opportunity to practice with?
I don’t know if it was the first one ever, but the biggest one that comes to mind is Lleyton Hewitt. I finished high school in Perth when I was 17 and the Hopman Cup was always there. He was world No.1 at the time, and I was just starting on my journey, so I was a hitting partner at the event. He could see I was keen to train the house down, so he asked me to warm him up for all of his matches. That was my first foray into hitting with a world-class athlete. The intensity of…
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