Tennis online coaching with Daniel Masur
The professionals of the tennis tour, which is currently closed, have vividly demonstrated in the past few weeks how they deal with the compulsory break when practicing their profession. Various work-out exercises and tennis challenges encourage participation in social media. Daniel Masur, currently number 250 in the ATP world rankings, is also trying to bridge the gap at home.
by Florian Heer
last edit: Apr 19, 2020, 03:25 pm
Daniel Masur is one of the players who were on the international tennis circuit last week. The 25-year-old German was active in the South African Potschefstroom in an ATP Challenger tournament in mid-March. In the quarterfinals, it should have been against his compatriot Dustin Brown. Then the event was canceled.
“The topic was featured in the news in South Africa, but nothing was noticed on the system itself. At the time there was only one confirmed case in the country. However, it was foreseeable that the corona pandemic would have an impact on the tennis tour, ”Masur says as part of the tennis podcast“ Challenger Corner ”.
Early departure from South Africa
The abrupt end of the event in Potschefstrom was not quite as spectacular as the departure of the colleagues at the parallel tournament in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan, where, among other things, the German Yannick Maden had to flee from an impending quarantine from Central Asia.
“At that point the decision to cancel the tournament came as a surprise. From today's perspective, it is of course absolutely understandable. For us it was only a matter of getting home as quickly as possible before the borders were closed, ”says Masur, who has been with his girlfriend in their shared apartment in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg since his return to Germany.
Online coaching via Facebook
However, he has no opportunities to play tennis actively, which led him to get creative during the break. The professional, who is only called “Wally” by his nickname on the tour, offers online coaching. “I started promoting the campaign on Facebook and it was very well received. Players from different classes contacted me and I was able to support them in various areas. The spectrum ranges from assistance with technical questions to the preparation of individual training plans, ”Masur explains his approach.
“I really enjoy this. Since you are not allowed to meet on the tennis courts at the moment, this digital offer is a very good alternative. ”It is also one of the people who try to make the best of every situation.
Masur has won eight titles on the ITF Pro Circuit so far and is regularly on the ATP Challenger Tour. The right-hander recorded its highest ranking in the ATP world rankings in June 2017 at position 203.