Robert Lansdorp

Robert Lansdorp (born November 12, 1938, Semarang, Indonesia) is a professional tennis coach. He first rose to international fame in 1979 when his student Tracy Austin became the youngest US Open Women's Singles champion in history at age 16.[1] He has gone on to coach other tennis pros including number one ranked Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport, and Maria Sharapova. He subsequently got involved in current tennis star Eugenie Bouchard.[1] Lansdorp is regarded as an expert on groundstrokes, in particular the forehand, advocating a powerful, flat hitting technique commonly referred to as the "Lansdorp Forehand".[2]

Robert Lansdorp
Born (1938-12-11) 11 December 1938
Semarang, Indonesia

Career

In 2004, Lansdorp said: "I’ve never received anything from one player. Not even a $500 gift. They’re all multi-millionaires but I’ve never received one thing. And I’m telling you, if Maria doesn’t put a Mercedes convertible in my driveway, I’m going to shoot myself."[3]

Lansdorp received the USTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and was honored as a Team USA Coaching Legend along with Nick Bollettieri, Jerry Baskin and Jack Sharpe at the inaugural 2013 Team USA Coaching Legend reception in Indian Wells, California.[4]

Controversies

In 2013 he publicly criticized the United States Tennis Association's Player Development program under General Manager Patrick McEnroe, saying the 2012 mandate requiring players under the age of ten compete on miniature courts with lightweight green-dot balls is "wrong for the very talented kids." Sharapova, Monica Seles and the Williams sisters, he noted, were very competitive with standard courts and equipment from age 7.[5]

References
  1. Dillman, Lisa (August 15, 1999). "Lansdorp Makes Impact on Best of Generations". Los Angeles Times.
  2. "The Lansdorp Forehand". Tennisplayer.net. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16.
  3. Simons, Bill. "Robert Lansdorp: "My System Makes Them Great."". Inside Tennis. November 2004. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28.
  4. Pratt, Steve. "Renowned Coaches Honored At Team USA Coaching Awards". www.usta.com.
  5. Lansdorp, Robert. "Robert Lansdorp Talks About 10 And Under Tennis". Tennisconsult.com.
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