Vekic-coach Torben Beltz: "It's important to stay positive"
Torben Beltz has made a name for himself as coach of Angelique Kerber. He is currently training Donna Vekic - and very successfully.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Nov 30, 2019, 05:02 pm
Two Grand Slam titles (Australian Open and US Open 2016) and the world No. 1 - alongside Torben Beltz, Angelique Kerber experienced her most successful time as a tennis player. After the split in late 2017, the 43-year-old has quickly found a new job with Donna Vekic - and the Croatian is playing as hard as ever. Under Beltz, Vekic made it from a ranking outside the top 50 to 19th, which has never been so high. No wonder that Beltz was last nominated by the WTA as Coach of the Year .
If you look at photos of Beltz and Vekic, you will notice one thing above all else: Both are mostly laughing - Beltz is considered a Mr. Good mood on the WTA tour. And puts a lot of emphasis on a positive mood during training. "I think it's really important to stay positive," he said in an interview with the WTA . "In tennis, every week is a new challenge and a new possibility to play good. Even if it's sometimes not going your way, it's not about going up." Being positive and focused - these are the two most important qualities for him as a coach. And: to carry out an intensive training even if the player does not feel well.
As obnoxious as it often gets on the court, so good is the mood among the women's coaches. "I have no problem with anybody," says Beltz. I have many good friends on the coaching tour. It is really fun. We all see each other every week. So it's good to see each other. I think if we have a good time together, sometimes we go play golf together, we have a drink somewhere. I think we all get along pretty well."
Beltz: Trust in the coach is very important
Trust is important in the coach-player relationship. "he player has to trust the coach, believe in the coach, believe in what I'm saying and doing with her. So I think it's a combination" says Beltz, who has worked as a Bundesliga coach in Wahlstedt with Julia Görges and Mona Barthel and then took Kerber as a 16 -year-old.
The hardest part as a coach? "I think for me the toughest is if my player is playing good and she's losing and she's feeling hurt. For me it hurts a little bit also. We as coaches have some tough days," says Beltz. "But it's the same as a player. We don't let it get to us and get too much down. It's trying to stay positive and see the next day and then we can work the next day and in tennis, we have the chance to do it the next week and do it better.