Part One of a Three-Part Series

South African Kevin Anderson has been a pro tennis player on the ATP World Tour for nearly a decade. In that time, he has won three singles titles, hit a career-high ranking of World No.10 in 2015, and been elected Vice President of the ATP Player Council.

Even though he is now an accomplished veteran with years of experience, Kevin still remembers growing up in South Africa feeling removed from the tennis world. He also realizes that although top players closely guard their secrets and training methods to maintain a competitive edge, he has a passion for sharing what he’s learned on the tour. So earlier this year, Kevin launched a knowledge sharing platform with the help of his wife, Kelsey, and his former coach, G. D. Jones.

The resulting website, realifetennis.com, is a unique trove of information and instruction for tennis fans, aspiring pros, weekend warriors, and even recreational players who want to take their games to the next level.

Realife Tennis offers a mix of free and premium content. Quick Fix Drills instruction for groundstrokes, serving, volleying, and strategy are available for $39.99 or $119.99 for the whole series. The site also has free articles and videos that address on court issues such as practice techniques and mental toughness and off court content such as nutrition tips and interviews with tennis insiders.

In part one of our exclusive interview, we talk to Kevin Anderson about Realife Tennis and find out what inspired him to pull back the curtain on the secrets of the pro tour.

Q&A

Tennis View: How did the idea for realifetennis.com first start?

Kevin Anderson: The idea originally came from my former coach G. D. Jones. He pointed out that tennis players are certainly turning to the Internet in search of tips and pointers for improving their games, but that no real tour level experts were sharing their tennis knowledge with the masses. GD and I instantly realized how valuable and helpful our own tennis knowledge could be to help people, and that we had a true passion to help players get the most out of their games.

TV: You talk about how pros are so protective about their methods; why are you willing to share your secrets?

Kevin: I have worked so hard to become the best player I can be, and I want to pay it forward by sharing this information with others who love the game.

In the world of professional tennis, there seems to be this perception that letting people in on your training methods will somehow compromise your competitive edge. Upon reflection of this, I really think this proprietary attitude towards training is completely unfounded. At the end of the day, if you put in the hours and actively improve your game, it is not going to matter whether someone knows how you achieved that.

TV: Who is the target demographic of the website?

Kevin: The site is targeted towards anyone who plays competitive tennis and wants to maximize their potential.  This could be beginners as part of a tennis league, all the way up to advanced professionals like myself. Our products offerings are specifically designed as training programs to help on court results. Whether improving the execution of certain shots, gaining a deeper understanding of tennis strategy, increasing physical stability and strength, or strengthening your mental fortitude the site is designed to offer a well-rounded approach to achieving the best possible tennis results.

TV: What do you hope people will get out of using the website?

Kevin: Realife Tennis is the premier online resource to help you maximize your tennis potential. For the first time ever, people can leverage the knowledge and experience of a top professional and get a behind the scenes look at what really goes into the making of champions.

Check back next week for more of our exclusive interview with Kevin Anderson and learn about his nutrition, what it’s like to be on the ATP Player Council, life on the ATP World Tour, and tips for getting the most out of practice.