Jonas Forejtek - The boy with the wooden spoon beats Marin Cilic
Jonas Forejtek celebrated his greatest success on Monday evening in Sofia. The name may not be familiar to many - but almost everyone knows a video of it.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Nov 10, 2020, 11:26 am
Forejtek, currently number 399 in the ATP world rankings, won the ATP tournament in Sofia against ex-top ten man Cilic 6: 3, 6: 2 - in his first appearance on the ATP Tour level. In Sofia he is at the start thanks to a wildcard.
The famous wooden spoon video
Forejtek? So far, this should only be known to insiders. The now 19-year-old won the junior competition of the US Open in 2019, but a video that has appeared on social media for years is much better known. And this one: Forejtek as a 12-year-old training with a wooden spoon!
Background of the wooden spoon training: training the optimal meeting point. Because if you don't hit the sweet spot here, you won't hit anything ... By the way, the inventor of the whole thing is Jiri Bartos, a tennis trainer from the Czech Republic, and also coach of the young Jonas Forejtek. The device, the "TennisPointer", is now also available in stores , in various sizes. And is also used by other players, such as Paula Badosa Gibert and Gian Marco Maroni.
This is how Forejtek came to TennisPointer
How Jiri Bartos came up with the idea for the "wooden spoon"? In 2011 he lost a lot of points to frame hits and wanted to hit the sweetspot more often. An attempt with the old Sampras bat (the Wilson Pro Staff 85, with a head size of only 548 square meters) resulted in arm pain, so Bartos designed small wooden clubs. And had the "wooden spoon" made by a carpenter. With whom his student Forejtek finally played regularly during warm-up training (later he went to the Waske Academy in Offenburg).
And coach Bartos? Now also hits cleaner. His conclusion: "The TennisPointer works with all strokes if it is used regularly." And: The wooden stick can also contribute to the health of a player. "
Cilic conqueror Forejtek, meanwhile, will face the winner of the match between Richard Gasquet and Roberto Carballes Baena in Sofia in round 2. Spoiler: As in Round 1, he will compete there with a real tennis racket.