Swiss Tennis national trainer Dieter Kindlmann - "Replacing Roger Federer will never be possible"
Dieter Kindlmann has been working as national coach for the U18s at the Swiss Tennis Association since summer 2021. In an interview with tennisnet, the former ATP professional and ex-coach of Madison Keys and Maria Sharapova explains how this alliance came about, why Suisse Tennis has so many successes, and how he sees the current development on the WTA tour .com.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Dec 18, 2021, 06:33 pm
tennisnet : Mr. Kindlmann. We can just reach you in your office. What is your typical daily routine in December 2021?
Dieter Kindlmann : It is of course a change from my previous process. Which also depends on the schedule of my players. Sometimes we train from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in front of school, sometimes in the afternoon. Most of the time I train twice a day with the two children I'm responsible for. I also have many discussions and meetings in the large Swiss Tennis team. I have more to worry about than before when I only had one player.
tennisnet : That means you are currently working in Biel.
Kindlmann : Exactly. We are here at the Swiss Tennis National Competence Center. This is the main training facility that I work at every day.
tennisnet : Which age groups are you responsible for?
Kindlmann : I'm the national coach for the boys in the U18 area, but I'm currently working with the younger team. Jens Gerlach is our junior manager up to U15, who works up the players that I then take over.
tennisnet : Does that mean that all talented young people in Switzerland train in Biel?
Kindlmann : No. We try to give the best young people in Biel an offer that we can look after them in the best possible way and prepare them for life after youth tennis. We also support executive athletes who train in a decentralized manner. As national coach, I also accompany the boys to international tournaments. We try to work as professionally as possible as early as possible. But after we have compulsory schooling up to the age of 16, the younger ones play even fewer tournaments abroad, but focus on those that take place in Switzerland. Basically, Switzerland is a small country that cannot be compared with Germany.
"Dominic Stricker is the prime example"
tennisnet : Which tournaments do you travel to? Still youth events or already futures?
Kindlmann : I was currently looking after the U14 European champion: Nikola Josic. I competed in all of the European tournaments with Nikola. Because of his good performance, we are just starting to play the U18 tournaments. There are different categories. And after he is the youngest, he first tries to gain a foothold in the lowest category. The step is very big. There are big differences, especially in the physical area. But our goal is to bring our players to a youth grand slam at the age of 17.
tennisnet : That only worked pretty well recently, when Dominic Stricker won the junior title in Roland Garros. To what extent is someone like Stricker still supported by Swiss Tennis?
Kindlmann : Dominic is the prime example we have. He was brought to Biel at the age of 14, went to school here, and went through all stations in the association. Our goal is that we could bring out several Strickers. Dominic is still in Biel and is being looked after by a national coach. He trains here, and sometimes my boys are also allowed to be his sparring partners. He has his home base here, comparable to players in Germany who have their center of life in the tennis base in Oberhaching.
"Stan Wawrinka would be a superstar in any other country"
tennisnet : Now tennis is becoming more and more athletic. What support do the young players in Biel receive in this regard?
Kindlmann : Especially when it comes to fitness, we are in the best position here, and in Beni Linder we have a man who takes care of all the physical care. We also have two fitness trainers, plus head coach Michael Lammer in the tennis area, who is responsible for the U23 area.
tennisnet : The successes of Swiss tennis players in recent years have been and are legendary. What do you think this can be traced back to?
Kindlmann : You can't compare Roger Federer, Martina Hingis, Belinda Bencic or Stan Wawrinka with one another. But Switzerland is incredibly spoiled by how many good players came from here. Top-top players, not just top 100. If Stan Wawrinka wasn't in the shadow of Roger Federer - in any other country he would be an absolute superstar. As far as I can tell after my seven months here, the success also has to do with the fact that tennis is very important to society. There is an incredible amount of support and enthusiasm for the sport. I would like that in other countries too.
tennisnet : How do the children deal with the successes of their compatriots: more incentive or too much pressure of expectation?
Kindlmann : It's a great perspective. But also a lot of pressure. To speak of the “next roger” is simply unfair. Replacing a Roger Federer will probably never be possible because he is simply a legend. Like a Serena Williams for women in the USA. But I see a lot of potential in Belinda Bencic's Olympic victory in Tokyo. This means that tennis is always in focus.
"You're always afraid to be positive"
tennisnet : Now we are still in the middle of a pandemic. In what ways did you feel this the most?
Kindlmann : We are dealing with young people here, some of whom, for example, could not yet be vaccinated. You used to go to a tournament, report and ask where the training grounds are. Now you ask for the closest test center. You don't know until the last second whether a tournament is taking place. Whether 2G or 3G applies. It's extremely difficult because it's not just about tennis. You're always afraid of being positive. It's difficult to come up with a solid plan because there are so many things that you can't control. But of course it's not nice when you have to go into quarantine abroad. The winter season until April 2022 will be a big challenge.
tennisnet : How did the collaboration between you and Swiss Tennis come about?
Kindlmann : Rather coincidentally. In April I was invited to take a look at this high-performance center here in Biel. I used the opportunity to talk to my colleagues here for a long time. And at the end of the day there was suddenly an offer from Swiss Tennis that totally surprised me. Until then, my life was always just the tour. At that time I hadn't given any thought to association structures. At that time I didn't have a player on the tour, I looked at all the advantages - and now I'm very happy that I chose this job.
"You always have to have Ashleigh Barty on your screen"
tennisnet : Working for an association is definitely a big break with your work as a tour coach, for example for Madison Keys, Ajla Tomljanovic or Angelique Kerber ...
Kindlmann : In recent years I have been very disappointed with how things are going on the professional tour. There is no longer any focus on development, very little on sustainability. That gave me a lot of headache, I had no planning security. Because of players I had to move to countries that I really didn't want to go to. Here I have the opportunity to finally work with guys again. Here I can help build something from the ground up in the long term. I work four hours from my home in the Allgäu, live in Bern, a very beautiful city. I experience a lot of positive things here that the tour has not given me in recent years.
tennisnet : You will still not have lost sight of the WTA tour. 2021 has brought interesting results, especially in Roland Garros with the victory of Barbora Krejcikova and then at the US Open with the triumph of Emma Raducanu. What do you see in your crystal ball for 2022?
Kindlmann : I'm still fully involved in the WTA scene, that was my life for ten years. Tour life also had incredibly beautiful sides. Regarding the prospects: I really wish Torben Beltz all the best, but at Raducanu I would be surprised if she could build on Grand Slam victories again. Simply because of a lot of public pressure. Everyone expects them to march away in front. It will be difficult. I believe that Ashleigh Barty must always be on the screen, even if she hasn't played a match in four months. The quality of the generation with Barty or Bencic is purely tennis-wise, yes.
tennisnet : Can Belinda Bencic win her first Grand Slam title?
Kindlmann : Belinda is always well positioned. It is getting older, more mature, more stable. She is in great shape. Olympia opened the door for her to believe that she could win something really big. She is in the best tennis age and has already had failures from which she has learned.
tennisnet : As nice as your job at Swiss Tennis is - do you think a return to the "old tour life" is possible for you?
Kindlmann : I'm really enjoying my work at the moment. But I don't want to rule out the possibility that I could come back on the WTA tour at some point. Because if it worked with a player, then the job on the tour was fun too.