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What does it actually take to rebuild a tennis programme from the ground up?

Julius Demburg and the team at RQT Stora Wäsby have spent four years finding out. Their focus: children under 12. Their bet: start where Sweden's tennis infrastructure disappeared.

𝟒 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬:
𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬
By age 13-14, the foundation must already be in place. Catch up later? Nearly impossible.

𝟐. 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭
75% subsidised fees as baseline. Economics can't determine which children get professional development.

𝟑. 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤
As long as Sweden trains seriously only after school, it will lag internationally. RQT integrates schooling from year 6. The best technical sessions can't happen when kids are already exhausted.

𝟒. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲?
Financing and time. They go together. Ten years is the real horizon, not 2-3. Most venues won't tell parents the truth because they're afraid to be uncomfortable.

Read the full conversation in our latest Court Side (link in comments) 👆

Sweden's tennis golden era wasn't built on talent alone. It was built on teamwork 🎾

The best players trained together, travelled together, and were supported by the same coaches. That collective infrastructure created excellence faster than individual programs ever could.

We've since lost that system. The question is, can we rebuild it?

Read Cornelia Lister's, former tennis pro and now Sweden Junior Padel Captain, 5 insights on what it takes to bring collective excellence back to racket sports 👉

Full article via link in the comments.

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