Ryan Harrison joins Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran for a deep dive into what elite tennis coaching actually looks like — and why some of the most common advice players receive may not help them at all.
Now coaching Sebastian Korda, Ryan takes us inside the process of helping a player navigate pressure, setbacks and the biggest moments. He explains how Korda went from losing five straight points from 5–2 up in a deciding tiebreak against Taylor Fritz to handling the pressure differently weeks later against Carlos.
Ryan also reflects on his own experience as a teenage prodigy, winning an ATP match at just 15, dealing with expectations and injuries, and what he wishes he had understood much earlier in his career.
We get into why players can become obsessed with results instead of improvement, why tennis practice is often too generic, how players should actually choose a coach, and why telling someone to simply “be aggressive” means very little unless you can explain how.
Ryan also turns coach for Caroline, breaking down how he would approach a match against Danielle Collins, before discussing parents in tennis, team dynamics, data, on-court coaching and his relationship with his brother Christian Harrison.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Ryan Harrison’s tennis upbringing & being coached by his dad
01:18 Winning an ATP match at 15: when tennis became real
02:07 Pressure, plateaus & the prodigy trap
08:00 How Ryan’s parents helped him handle the pressure
12:09 What Ryan wishes he understood as a player
15:26 Injuries, COVID & how adversity shaped him as a coach
19:08 Korda vs Fritz → Carlos: learning how to close
21:17 Coaching men vs women
23:42 How Ryan would coach Caroline against Danielle Collins
27:38 Why tennis practice is often too generic
29:52 Stop chasing immediate results
35:23 How tennis players should choose a coach
40:12 On-court coaching, trust & solving matches in real time
43:19 Why “be aggressive” means nothing
45:07 How Ryan uses data without overwhelming players
48:30 What he would tell a 15-year-old prodigy today
50:26 Parents in tennis: knowing when to step back
55:47 Christian Harrison: from sibling rivalry to unconditional support