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Philip Farmer Interview: Coaching World #1’s, Bryan Bros vs Today’s Doubles, & The Lob Return

Will Boucek ยท July 18, 2023

This is an interview with Philip Farmer who has coached on the ATP & WTA tours for over two decades.

Phil has one of the smartest doubles minds in the world and has coached four different players to a world #1 doubles ranking including the Bryan Brothers, Corina Morariu, and most recently, Austin Krajicek, who I interviewed last week. He’s also coached a number of singles players including Sam Querrey and John Isner.

However, in this episode, we focus heavily on how a club-level player can improve because Phil also works with adult club players near his home in Dallas, Texas.

You’ll learn:

  • How Phil prepared Austin & Ivan Dodig during their 2023 Roland Garros title run
  • What Phil has helped Austin improve over the last few years that lead him to ATP #1 in doubles
  • How a club-level player can add the lob return to their game (even if you only have 4-6 hours per week of court time)
  • The best time to poach or use serve formations during a match (especially if you’re new to both)
Philip Farmer and Austin Krajicek
Coach Philip Farmer (right) with Austin Krajicek after winning the 2023 Roland Garros Men’s Doubles Championship.

We also discuss how pro doubles has changed since Phil coached the Bryan Brothers from ’03-’05 from more traditional formation and deep volleys to I-formation, lobs, and angles.


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Interview 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 Philip: Twitter | Instagram | ATP Profile
  • I first met Phil at World Team Tennis in 2021
  • He lives north of Dallas in Frisco, Texas, and coaches at Lakes Tennis Academy when he’s not on the road
  • Listen to the Austin Krajicek Interview from last week
  • Philip has coached Bob & Mike Bryan, Corina Morariu, Sam Querrey
    • He currently coaches Austin Krajicek, John Isner, and Hans Hach Verdugo
  • Austin and his partner, Ivan Dodig won the French Open in 2023 after making the finals in 2022 where they had multiple championship points
  • Phil’s Favorites
    • Tennis Book: Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert
    • Non-Tennis Book: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
    • He was featured in Mental Toughness 101 by Greg Levine
    • Tournament: French Open
  • Philip also celebrated the Roland Garros title with his wife, Nataliya, and their son, Finn
Philip Farmer and his wife
Philip & Nataliya Farmer
Philip Farmer's son with a trophy and tennis racquet
Finn Farmer

About Will Boucek

Will Boucek is the Founder & CEO of Tennis Tribe. With over two decades of experience playing & coaching tennis, Will now works as a doubles strategy analyst for ATP & WTA tour players and coaches. Will helps tennis players at every level play better doubles through smarter strategy. He also has expertise in tennis racquets & gear, testing the latest products from Wilson, Babolat, Head, Prince, and other tennis brands.

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About Will Boucek

Will is an ATP & WTA doubles strategy analyst. He helps doubles players at every level of tennis improve their game using smarter strategy & tactics. He has worked with players at the USTA 3.0 level, all the way up to Wimbledon and the US Open.

"I think most club-level players focus too much on technique and not enough on strategy. You probably don't have 10 hours per week to improve your serve... but you can improve your court position, movement, and shot selection immediately!"
- Will Boucek, Tennis Tribe Founder

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