Today you get to hear from one of the great doubles advocates of our sport. Luke Jensen is a former professional tennis player with 10 career doubles titles including the 1993 French Open title. Today, he coaches the New York Empire, is a TV analyst, and has a some innovative ideas on how to grow tennis (especially doubles).
In this hour long conversation from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Luke and I discuss his career, doubles strategy, how to play with a lefty, how to beat John McEnroe, and why Roger, Rafa, Novak, and Serena are not the GOAT.
The passion for tennis you’ll hear from Luke is second to none. We spend a lot of time discussing how to change the game to make it better for the fans and more doubles friendly. He explains why he thinks:
- Tennis needs to get rid of the “best of 5” format, play no-ad, and play lets.
- Pro tournaments should require players to play two events per tournament.
- Singles rankings should be replaced by a “tennis ranking.”
- Pickleball can help your tennis game.
At the end, Luke tells us a story about shark fishing with Andre Agassi.
Show Notes from this Podcast
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- Luke won the 1993 French Open with his brother Murphy Jensen
- He coached the New York Empire for the 2021 World Team Tennis Season.
- Their roster included: Kim Clijsters, Chris Eubanks, Kirsten Flipkens, Hans Hach Verdugo, Marcos Giron, and Quinn Gleason
- Luke’s NY Empire won the 2020 season, beating the Chicago Smash in the final.
- Luke played at USC for Dick Leach (father of Rick Leach).
- Today, Luke is the Director of Racquet Sports at Garden of the Gods Resort in Colorado Springs and a tennis analyst for ESPN.
- Luke’s Favorites
- Tournament: French Open, Monte Carlo is beautiful too
- Tennis Book: Inner Game of Tennis, Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes
- Non-tennis Book: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
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