In this episode, you’ll get insights from a former pro player who is still a part of our sport as one of the best tennis analysts on TV. Nicolas Pereira is a former top 100 singles player and top 50 doubles player from Venezuela.
In this conversation, we talk about his story growing up in Venezuela, how he made it to the pro tour, and what makes a good TV analyst for tennis (including the differences between the English & Latin markets).
After that, we talk doubles strategy. Nico says he was a serve and volley player so I asked him how that translates to today’s game, what differences he sees, how he thinks about serve & return strategy, and more. He also shares what he thinks is a very underrated serve in doubles, how to execute the “bunt return,” and what he wants to see change in professional tennis to help the sport grow.
Show Notes from this Podcast
*To help support The Tennis Tribe & provide more free content like this, we may earn a percentage of purchases through the links below. See our affiliate page for more info.
- Follow Nico on Twitter
- Currently, he’s been a TV tennis analyst for NBC Sports, Tennis Channel, ESPN, & more
- Nico started playing tennis at 6 years old in Venezuela
- He went to Bollettieri’s as a teenager when he started playing satellite tournaments
- After turning pro, he reached the top 100 in singles and top 50 in doubles
- He retired from pro tennis at 26 years old in 1997
- Nico’s Favorites
- Tournament: Wimbledon
- Tennis Book: A Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes
- Non-Tennis Book: Paulo Coelho’s books
- Other people mentioned
- Nico likes Yannick Noah’s story
- Andre Agassi & his book, Open
- Mark Knowles & Daniel Nestor
Leave a Reply