Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the sit Down.
Speaker 1: I'm Matt Trolope, a writer for oz open dot com, and.
Speaker 2: I'm Viv Christie, managing editor of Australian Tennis.
Speaker 1: Magazine and Viv why are we this week sitting down
Speaker 1: with Torburn?
Speaker 3: Belts.
Speaker 2: We're sitting down with Touburn this week because he is
Speaker 2: quite a prominent figure in tennis in Germany and all
Speaker 2: eyes will be on tennis in Germany this week week
Speaker 2: when the Labor Cup is played in Berlin. Tauburn is
Speaker 2: the former coach of Angelique Kerber. He talks about his
Speaker 2: long partnership with her and why tennis is having a
Speaker 2: resurgence in Germany right now.
Speaker 1: And he also guided Germany to the United Cup title
Speaker 1: this year, which is another reason he's so esteemed in
Speaker 1: his country. You were lucky enough to do this interview
Speaker 1: with Touburen. I didn't join for it, so I'm really
Speaker 1: looking forward to listening now.
Speaker 2: Toubin, thank you for your time today and thank you
Speaker 2: for joining us on the sit Down. It's a pleasure
Speaker 2: to be talking to you. Perhaps we could start from
Speaker 2: the beginning and you could tell us about your start
Speaker 2: in tennis.
Speaker 3: Yes, I was good. Yes, I was a titnis player
Speaker 3: when I was young. I started with at a young age,
Speaker 3: when I was six seven years old. It's a long
Speaker 3: time ago now because at I'm forty seven now, so yes,
Speaker 3: so I started by tennis. I was a very active
Speaker 3: player when I was young. I was a good German player.
Speaker 3: When I grew up, I played in Germany Bundesliga. I
Speaker 3: went to the USA to study, so I got my
Speaker 3: scholarship to play college tennis when I was around. After
Speaker 3: my school in Germany, when I was eighteen nineteen, I
Speaker 3: went for two years to America, to South Carolina to
Speaker 3: study and to play tennis. And yep, that was my
Speaker 3: growing up. And then after I couldn't make it on
Speaker 3: the big tour myself. Then I started to coach. So
Speaker 3: I started to coach in Germany with some club tennis coaching.
Speaker 3: Then I then I came actually when Angel was sixteen
Speaker 3: years old, so seventeen years old, Angee Kerber was looking
Speaker 3: for a travel coach. So she was playing ITF junior
Speaker 3: well slams and she was looking for a coach. So
Speaker 3: the coaches from her they asked me if I want
Speaker 3: to be the travel coach and the hitting partner at
Speaker 3: that time. So I started a start to work with
Speaker 3: Angy when she was sixteen seventeen. And also my first
Speaker 3: long trip was also to Australia, so yeah, yeah, that
Speaker 3: was she was playing IF juniors, so we played the
Speaker 3: IF Junior Tour, We played the Taralgon I think it's
Speaker 3: the name Timers also, so we went there and we
Speaker 3: played the Australi Open Juniors. Yeah that was really fun,
Speaker 3: really fun time. Wow, So that must have been long Viragal,
Speaker 3: so long time ago.
Speaker 2: So yeah, a long time ago created such amazing memories
Speaker 2: and an amazing career. I mean that must have been
Speaker 2: quite an experience for you going from Germany to US
Speaker 2: college tennis.
Speaker 3: Yes, and that was for me was and I think
Speaker 3: this is for many German players, you know, if they
Speaker 3: playing good German level tennis, you know it's a good
Speaker 3: step to still do your education but also to still
Speaker 3: work on your tennis career and to try to make
Speaker 3: it to the professional level. So that was a good
Speaker 3: I think it's a good it's a good thing for fun,
Speaker 3: like for people from from Germany or from Europe and
Speaker 3: tried to combine the education and the tennis. So that
Speaker 3: was also for me, it was a good thing. And
Speaker 3: also I was okay. I wasn't okay German player in
Speaker 3: the US. I really got lucky because I had a
Speaker 3: really nice college, I had a really good coach, and
Speaker 3: I really improved my tennis in America. So I was
Speaker 3: really lucky to go to America. Was live and you.
Speaker 2: Had you mentioned earlier, Andie was only sixteen or seventeen
Speaker 2: when you first started working together. You had such longevity together,
Speaker 2: Like I think it was almost twenty years that you'd
Speaker 2: work together in the end. What was the secret to
Speaker 2: that long relationship?
Speaker 3: No, I think yes, I think it was really I
Speaker 3: think we had a really good time. So we started
Speaker 3: when she was sixteen seventeen years old, so that was
Speaker 3: really great. So we had a good start and then
Speaker 3: you know, and also like we didn't work for nineteen
Speaker 3: or twenty years almost together, but we didn't work the
Speaker 3: whole time we had. I think we started all over.
Speaker 3: I'm not sure if we started four or five times.
Speaker 3: So it was really like it was really like an
Speaker 3: on and off relationship. But yeah, but I was really
Speaker 3: happy to be with her when she had her big
Speaker 3: year twenty sixteen, when she was winning everything, off Austraight Open,
Speaker 3: And yeah, I think for me it was just it
Speaker 3: was a great It was great to be part of
Speaker 3: that journey. I would say. It was great to be
Speaker 3: there at the start when she started to go to
Speaker 3: play green Slam junior tournaments when she was sixteen seventeen,
Speaker 3: and now it was great to see her finishing like
Speaker 3: she did in Paris at the Olympics, with a really
Speaker 3: high level of tennis, really competing really really hard, and
Speaker 3: it was really fun for me to be part of
Speaker 3: that storyline was really great and for sure, and that
Speaker 3: you know, in the twenty years, it's not always always
Speaker 3: nice and always good. We also had our tough, tough
Speaker 3: part and also like you know, well like kind of
Speaker 3: difficult times. But but but when I look back, I
Speaker 3: really think only about the good times we had, and
Speaker 3: really I think it was a great, great journey.
Speaker 2: How emotional was it when she wound up her career
Speaker 2: at the Paris Olympics.
Speaker 3: Recently, Yeah, for sure, that was very emotional. She told
Speaker 3: me like a week before we were practicing in Poland
Speaker 3: and there she taught me, Hey, Torbin thinking about stopping
Speaker 3: after Paris, And I was like, yeah, that's that's a
Speaker 3: good at the end, and now when I look back,
Speaker 3: I think it was really perfect. It was the perfect
Speaker 3: ending for her. It was really because yeah, she was
Speaker 3: playing at a great level. She was beating great players.
Speaker 3: She lost against like like heartbreaking sixth seven third set
Speaker 3: against Quinn Wenn who won the gold medal. So it
Speaker 3: was really like it was that like kind of the
Speaker 3: sherry of the cake we say it was really was
Speaker 3: really great. And also like like like the response she
Speaker 3: got after it from the German fans, from from the crowd.
Speaker 3: Also like I mean, she played she she never played
Speaker 3: that well in Paris, like she was you know, it
Speaker 3: was not her favorite tournament and petrol and gross, but
Speaker 3: she she fell in love now, she fell in love
Speaker 3: now very late, but but she was playing it so
Speaker 3: sort like such a good level on on the clay court,
Speaker 3: and there was for me as a coach, was great
Speaker 3: to see that that she could finish like this.
Speaker 2: I think in your coaching career you have also coached
Speaker 2: Emma Radakanu and Contevey and donove Kich. How do you
Speaker 2: approach different playing styles and and different personalities.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a good question because I really think that
Speaker 3: every player needs kind of a different, different approach. I say,
Speaker 3: I think Age is really different to Emma or to Dollar.
Speaker 3: You know. Also, I think every player as a coach,
Speaker 3: for me, you have to really try and to to
Speaker 3: figure out and kind of to to see what what
Speaker 3: she what she needs from you. You know, like like
Speaker 3: some players that they need more the technic side. Some
Speaker 3: some players they need more the technical side, you know.
Speaker 3: And some players want to hang out more and do
Speaker 3: like like like like dinners together or like like doing
Speaker 3: some some games together. Some players really like only one
Speaker 3: you on the tennis court with like like fully focused.
Speaker 3: So it's really I think I think it's that I
Speaker 3: think that that's also the tricky part, but also the
Speaker 3: the part what I like about coaching. It's it's never
Speaker 3: you know, it's it's it's it's never like a nine
Speaker 3: to five job. It's really like it's it's really like
Speaker 3: you have to be be ready for changes. You have
Speaker 3: to adapt a little bit with with different personalities and
Speaker 3: different different asks from the players. So I really think
Speaker 3: that's that that makes the job as a coach really
Speaker 3: interesting and really exciting. For sure.
Speaker 2: Your experiences as a coach have been mostly on the
Speaker 2: w t A Tour as I understand it. What what
Speaker 2: are the nuances in coaching female players compared to male players,
Speaker 2: do you think.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's for me tough to answer because I always
Speaker 3: coached the side, not the men's side. I had had
Speaker 3: I had a small play that at the United Cup
Speaker 3: to be part of all those some MEHA matches like
Speaker 3: which was really great to watch, like Sacha from so
Speaker 3: close and play against top top a TP players like
Speaker 3: like scy Pass at Alex Australia. So it was it
Speaker 3: was really great. But I'm not sure if there's a
Speaker 3: big difference. I think it's and I think, like I
Speaker 3: just said that, you have to be really like trying
Speaker 3: to figure out, especially in the beginning, what the player needs.
Speaker 3: I think it's and I think that's on the men's side.
Speaker 3: I think it's it's kind of the same thing. I
Speaker 3: think you cannot say you have to do this for
Speaker 3: men play and you have to do this for a
Speaker 3: female player. I think it's really about the personality and
Speaker 3: about the player. I think I would say it's not.
Speaker 3: I mean, we mean the game is a little bit different, yes,
Speaker 3: but I think you have to try for me, as
Speaker 3: a coach, you have to try to figure out, Hey,
Speaker 3: what does the men or the women need to get
Speaker 3: better every day? And what do they wanted? Every day's
Speaker 3: kind of practice and every day kind of practice sessions.
Speaker 3: You know, I think it's for me. There's not a
Speaker 3: big difference in coaching men or women. But this I
Speaker 3: can only say because I never coast to men.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you touched on the United Cup. That was your
Speaker 2: first experience of captaining a team for Germany? How did
Speaker 2: you approach that responsibility?
Speaker 3: I think that was for me also that was a
Speaker 3: really great experience. It was great for me to be
Speaker 3: like responsible for the team of Germany. Yes, and also
Speaker 3: like I was also very lucky because the team was
Speaker 3: really great. They played the year before twenty twenty three,
Speaker 3: they also played almost the same team, same team, but
Speaker 3: they did not play very well. I think they lost.
Speaker 3: I was sure, I think how they played. But and
Speaker 3: this year, I mean, the winning makes it more easy
Speaker 3: and to have to have a good feeling and to
Speaker 3: have good good atmosphere and the team. So yeah, so
Speaker 3: we had a really good time.
Speaker 2: Was that a career highlight when Germany went on to
Speaker 2: win the title?
Speaker 3: For sure there was for me. For me, it was
Speaker 3: the what was the highlight for sure. Yes, I mean
Speaker 3: I mean also the gwand Slam tournaments with the which
Speaker 3: which Angy won, we together, like twenty sixteen, like you're
Speaker 3: Australian Open and News Open. That was also a big
Speaker 3: highlight for me. But but then you go like the Cup,
Speaker 3: it's almost on the same level because we had every
Speaker 3: day we had like a team thing together. We're playing
Speaker 3: games together there, we had dinner together, and yeah, it
Speaker 3: was just a great, great thing.
Speaker 2: It sounds like the United Cup is an event that
Speaker 2: you really enjoy.
Speaker 3: Yes, for sure, I really liked it. I think it's
Speaker 3: a good, good way to begin the start of the year.
Speaker 3: I think it's really great also for the players they
Speaker 3: get a lot of matches in. I think it was good.
Speaker 2: It was good for us and combining the men and
Speaker 2: the women. How do you enjoy that format?
Speaker 3: Yes, for sure for sure. Also like this, you know,
Speaker 3: I think it's also great to have like some practice
Speaker 3: together with the women is great. I think we had
Speaker 3: like Germany, have we had it? I just can can yeah,
Speaker 3: I just can't say it from the from the part
Speaker 3: of Germany. I think we had a really good time together.
Speaker 3: And I really I think all all the players and
Speaker 3: the team that had a good start of the year
Speaker 3: that they were very happy.
Speaker 2: Sure, I'd like to chat to you now about German tennis.
Speaker 2: So there are so many role models in German tennis.
Speaker 2: There's so many Grand Slam champions, former world number one.
Speaker 2: What role do you think Steffie Graff and Boris Becker
Speaker 2: and Michael Stick you know Wrot play in that.
Speaker 3: No, I think I think they have a big role
Speaker 3: in this. I think a really big role becose. I
Speaker 3: mean this it was kind of my time growing up
Speaker 3: also a little bit, and also for angled, so I
Speaker 3: think I think for a nation it's very important to
Speaker 3: have like like good players as a role model for
Speaker 3: the younger kids to see, hey, if you work hard,
Speaker 3: you know you can can reach it. We can see now.
Speaker 3: Also like like Italy is kind of booming, they tell
Speaker 3: you tennis because they have Janick Sinner and just me
Speaker 3: and Pauline now in the top of tennis. Because I say,
Speaker 3: I think you can see this also right now as
Speaker 3: happening to Italy attempt so because everybody saying it's Tyan
Speaker 3: tennis is so great right now because they have these
Speaker 3: kind of role models and and I mean for us
Speaker 3: in Germany. I think there was a really special time
Speaker 3: to have Steffie and Borrows and they were like so
Speaker 3: outstanding good players and and and all people started to
Speaker 3: play and to start to play tennis. You know, they
Speaker 3: started playing their backyards, that they they started to play
Speaker 3: in the parking lots, you know, that they started to
Speaker 3: play in the German clubs. They were really booming, and
Speaker 3: I think there was a really good it was a
Speaker 3: really good time for us. And also like and then
Speaker 3: also like like like like like like the girls and
Speaker 3: boys who came after Steffian Burrows, like we had like
Speaker 3: like a g and Andrea Petkovic and Julia Gergiz. You know,
Speaker 3: we we have so many good players who who try
Speaker 3: and it was also like a big big ask for
Speaker 3: them because every time when they were playing great, it
Speaker 3: was like, hey, this is the new Steffie and guess
Speaker 3: this is the new Staffy Garth coming now. So it
Speaker 3: was also I think not easy to grow up like
Speaker 3: after kind of Steffie. But but but but you could
Speaker 3: see it's it. I think it's it motivates the players
Speaker 3: and it's really really motivated and they really tried to
Speaker 3: to to get on this level, which is really tough
Speaker 3: because she want everything. But but I think it's it's
Speaker 3: for for tennis in the nation. I think it's very
Speaker 3: important to have like role models, like like we had
Speaker 3: in the at the time with with with Steffie and Boris.
Speaker 2: Who were your role models when you were growing up?
Speaker 3: Yeah, we mean, for sure, for sure, Staffian Borrows was
Speaker 3: a big part of that. And I also like, I mean,
Speaker 3: for me, I always like the Andrew Agacy piece Templess,
Speaker 3: you know, I like this kind of players also that
Speaker 3: was kind of my time who I watched a lot
Speaker 3: on tennis and who were playing Drasco tennis. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I think these kind of players I looked up to.
Speaker 2: Yeah, as I understand it, tennis is hugely popular in Germany.
Speaker 2: From what I've read and understood, it's I think it's
Speaker 2: the third most popular sport in your nation. What do
Speaker 2: you think is the reason for that success?
Speaker 3: I mean, yes, yes, I think, I mean, I think
Speaker 3: for sure the reason is that we always had good
Speaker 3: players in the top we all we have we have
Speaker 3: such as well as now we know, which is great
Speaker 3: for us. And we always had a g and we
Speaker 3: always had good players here. I think this if you're
Speaker 3: in the news in Germany with with with like like
Speaker 3: sports results and good and good good results. I think
Speaker 3: then that helps, you know. I mean, we can never
Speaker 3: be as big as football because in Germany soccer it's
Speaker 3: number one, you know. But but I think tennis is
Speaker 3: right there, you know, so and many and it's easy
Speaker 3: access also because we have so many tennis clubs. Yes,
Speaker 3: thanks to thanks to the thing we just talked about,
Speaker 3: but Jeffie and Borris, you know, thanks to that time,
Speaker 3: we have so many tennis clubs right now. I think
Speaker 3: in Germany also we have a good, good club tennis
Speaker 3: level also, you know, like like like like when when
Speaker 3: you start, when you are like like seven or eight
Speaker 3: years old, you can start to play club matches against
Speaker 3: other players. I think this is also helps. And yeah,
Speaker 3: I think I think we have good coaches. I think
Speaker 3: we have good club tennis. I think this makes the
Speaker 3: sport really popular in Germany.
Speaker 2: There seems to be a lot of professional tournaments in Germany.
Speaker 2: You've got you know, Halle, Stuttgart. There's so many different
Speaker 2: cities have professional tournaments.
Speaker 3: I think also that helps, Yes, for sure, it helps.
Speaker 3: So we have many we have many like like like
Speaker 3: top events, you know, like you just said, like Suga,
Speaker 3: but we also have many like junior tournaments. You know,
Speaker 3: we have many junior tournaments. On the high level, we
Speaker 3: also have we also have like every weekend. If you're
Speaker 3: a club player, you can like at every weekend you
Speaker 3: can play like like like uh kind of tournaments. You know.
Speaker 3: Also that I think this is really helps and this
Speaker 3: is really good for the German tennis.
Speaker 2: How much excitement do you think the Live Cup will generate?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's gonna be that this is gonna
Speaker 3: be big events. It's the only big event that's coming
Speaker 3: to Berlin. I have been Berlin right now, so I
Speaker 3: see some signs on the walls already. You know, it's good,
Speaker 3: you know. So, yes, I think it's going to be
Speaker 3: a graduate. The Labor Cup is always I always watched
Speaker 3: it on TV. Maybe now it's coming to Berlin, Man,
Speaker 3: maybe I have a chance to go to see it live.
Speaker 3: I'm not sure yet as I'm here, if I'm around,
Speaker 3: but I think everybody in Germany is very excited to
Speaker 3: have the Labor Cup in Berlin and in Germany.
Speaker 2: You mentioned Sascha Zerev earlier. Who are some of the
Speaker 2: other German players that we should be looking.
Speaker 3: Out for Yeah, I mean, I mean we we have,
Speaker 3: we have, we have so that there's a tough question
Speaker 3: because I don't want to miss anybody I don't about.
Speaker 3: But we have many good players here, like you know,
Speaker 3: like like like SaaS on one now, like yell At Dwarves.
Speaker 3: You know, he's playing very good. I think I'm not
Speaker 3: sure if he's also at the Labor Cup. I think
Speaker 3: he's also. I think he's nominated also, so yeah, so
Speaker 3: he is. He is a great guy. He just won
Speaker 3: in Munich, he won a big tournament that was really
Speaker 3: great for him. And yeah, he's so he has to
Speaker 3: look out for him. Yeah, then we are. But we
Speaker 3: have so many good players in Germany, like like Dominic
Speaker 3: Cup for us coming back, our doubles team, Kevin Cravis,
Speaker 3: Tim Purz, you know they they have they're great guys
Speaker 3: and great players. On the female we have many young
Speaker 3: players coming up also with Yeah, a lot of good
Speaker 3: players coming up. So yeah, I think German tennis can
Speaker 3: be very exciting and to look forwards and the suitside
Speaker 3: in a good way for sure.
Speaker 2: Back to you, what's next for you in tennis? Do
Speaker 2: you think?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean for me it's really fresh right now,
Speaker 3: so I just and just stopped last think two weeks ago.
Speaker 3: Now the Olympics are two weeks ago for me, so
Speaker 3: I'm just make up my mind and see what's coming next.
Speaker 3: But now the next the next weeks, I will just
Speaker 3: enjoying my time with my family and make up my
Speaker 3: mind to see what's coming.
Speaker 1: Viv congratulations. That was an awesome interview. I didn't actually
Speaker 1: know that Torbyn had been with Kerber for that long.
Speaker 1: Lucky that he started with her as an IF junior.
Speaker 1: That's an incredibly long partnership and so fruitful. I remember
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen really well when she broke through and won
Speaker 1: that Australian Open title against Serena Williams. Was one of
Speaker 1: my favorite finals, and seeing her celebrate with him afterwards
Speaker 1: and be so emotional was a really beautiful moment. And
Speaker 1: it sounds like he's had lots of beautiful moments with
Speaker 1: Kerber over the time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks Matt. It was really great to talk to
Speaker 2: such a highly respected and successful coach and sort of
Speaker 2: to hear about the longevity of that relationship. And I
Speaker 2: am really looking forward to seeing what he does next
Speaker 2: in tennis. I don't think we've seen the last of him,
Speaker 2: and we'll be back next week with another episode of
Speaker 2: the sit Down, and in the meantime, you can listen
Speaker 2: to John and the team on the Aoshow Weekly this Thursday.
Speaker 1: And details, of course, for how to contact us are
Speaker 1: in the show notes below, and remember to subscribe, rate
Speaker 1: and review, and please get in touch with us if
Speaker 1: you have any ideas of who you'd like us to
Speaker 1: sit down with next. We're always open to ideas and
Speaker 1: we'll see if we can make them happen.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we would love to hear from you. See you
Speaker 2: next week, MAP see I Viv