Anton Dubrov on Coaching Sabalenka, Her US Open Mindset & Wild Sleep Routine | Q&Andy

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We pay Anton by the hour here at serve. No, no, no, no, no, no. Well, now I'm a little nervous. Now listen, let's start with this. One congratulations. You came on with Arena as a hitting partner in 2019, and then the full time coach in 2020. Listen, number one in the world, four majors. I mean, just, you know, I think 18 titles since you've started working together. As fans, we've become spoiled by your successes in team Sabilecka. So when you're going into a US Open and she acts like the rest of us and loses twice in hard courts and in a lead up, it's strange for us. So what has that been like and what adjustments are maybe different going into the US Open on the heels of maybe searching for some match wins versus previous years, where you guys just win everything? True. I think we're also kind of spoiled with also expectation around that, okay, I was being great and you kind of come in and determine when you plan, okay, we're going to stay here most likely till then and then like, like from nowhere, but then you're like, okay, we have to go, we have to practice and then you find yourself in kind of not a depression, but you kind of lost, you're like, okay, so what's happening, you kind of it's awkward. But at the same time, as we always have this approach, you're like, okay, we're looking, first of all, we're looking for a solution and we're looking for the greatest one. So we're looking, okay, so what's, let's say in this situation, like Novakov's like a swina, what they've been doing, like how they actually get through and then we, like even like a like Kobe, I was like, it's, we all kind of will love all this like mentor thing from the Kobe, what he was like approaching all his careers, like there is no like all the time, like, like success in your career. So it's kind of all the kind, it's all the ways and I would say also, like as it's female athletes, it's also sometimes like a harmon, things can be like playing around a little bit differently. So you have to also have to be aware sometimes emotions can be a bit differently. So you're just taking this approach and okay, this is like, this is the, your career is a kind of a life with the way it's going to be not all the time to like up. So it's going to be down, but this is the where actually you're going to grow the most. So if we're going to find the best solution, you're going to be even stronger. So you've been great, but you kind of with all the knowledge that we had, you kind of get to the limit looks like. So we have to upgrade it. We don't have to find what was in the past and help you actually have to search for the new step that's going to help you to be a better arena right now. So I think that's where we are right now. So whether and whether you saw or right now at the big stage, she didn't win a slam this year. So definitely she expected a lot from herself. But right now we're in situation we're like, okay, you, yeah, you can't expect it, but to be honest like we just have to work every day just day by day and build, build you like ever match to match. We can't expect that you're going to play like perfectly. And this is great. We can use it as a motivation to be better. And okay, so right now like everyone knows, okay, they can, they can win right now. Maybe you know about it. But that's great. Now you can to prove everyone who you are. You all have always seemed to have one a pretty good kind of thoughtful response. I remember we had your partner crime Jason Stacey on our show earlier this year and it seems like there's this weird mixture of everyone seemingly wants to have a good time in cap camp Sabileca. I mean, you can see it whether you're showing up with tattoos in your heads for grand slam finals or just, you know, generally kind of giving each other some, some stick in her post-match speeches or whatever. But then it's also not an accident that you all have had this much success. It seems like, okay, this isn't working. How do we constantly get better, which is kind of what you're referring to? Team unity seems, it's easy when it's working. But it seems like it's, it would be even more important when things aren't going as you're accustomed to. Yeah, I think, I think this is right now, this is the time where we kind of, we spoke about with Jason Mosley's like how we kind of have to be even closer right now as the team. So everything's been great, we've been working day by day and right now we're in a situation where we actually have to, okay, this is the actually right now, the time of our job to find like this is where we have to part of our job to grow and this is the tough situation to be honest where we are right now. But I think just because I would say we're, I don't know how I can call myself, but like a good people overall and we know about this balance of, okay, we still have to enjoy the process. Yeah. We understand that it's our job and it sometimes can be rough, but at the same time, that's why we are here. So we all kind of helping each other as I think that Jason playing the biggest role here because he's always reminded us, okay, so this is why we all doing, this is our like job but at the same time is also our life, so it's all kind of connecting. So it's actually a pretty cool, I feel, lots of, I feel lots of inspiration when I'm talking with Jason, I feel him, he's like kind of the mentor for the whole team at the same time. But at the same time, I feel that we've been lucky to build this kind of the trust bubble inside the team where we, and I think it's really important for that because like tennis is like, it's so like private and so-and-so it's like everyone is like, it's like, I don't know, so not talking to Jason, not like a team sport at all. So I think the tennis player feel like such a loneliness most of the time, so they don't actually get this trust and I think it's also like, people change, I feel changing, the coaches pretty like lots of the time, so they also like not sharing lots of the knowledge, okay, what they're thinking, how they're feeling because they're like, okay, maybe in six months I'm not gonna work with me, so he will tell what I'm feel like to someone else, blah, blah. So we're really lucky that Arina trusted us actually, like we stayed with her through like rough tough moments, and with this like bubble, I think she can share with us wherever demons she has inside, and we can work through, and this is really important. You can't fix a problem until you acknowledge a problem, that's- And it's 50% of just fixing that actually is a big problem. But how do you, how do you adjust, so that's the kind of the team and obviously the mental piece of it and the emotional piece of it, as far as tennis is, because she's been shorter on matches than maybe she has been, or maybe she's used to going to slams? Is there any adjustments to be made day-to-day? Are you trying to play more sets, get more live match play, maybe just share with our listeners how you kind of adjust to the different scenarios this year kind of being a little bit different? I wouldn't say we have lots of changes to go on, especially right now, because we can play the mix doubles, so you kind of more also want to prepare a little bit to play doubles because we didn't play for a while, and it's going to start pretty soon, so- But yeah, it's like the week before the slam, you usually almost every day you play as, like at least I said, with another player, and then we spend like 60 to 90 minutes, sometimes two hours on the court, like just with the coach, as we call the session with the coach, with the hitting partner, so we're just trying to keep the volume a little bit, like maybe a higher intensity, a bit higher, like especially in the beginning of the week before the slam, but at the same time, I do like how she's practicing right now and what she's doing on the court. I think at the moment I just want her to be happy and enjoy the process, it's more important, so sometimes it's actually about to take some day off or some time off and actually spend less time on the court, or we mix it up a little bit with the warm-up to make it move fun and enjoyable, because you spend so much time practicing also, so it's going to be like boring in your case. I was like, we don't have any solution, I'm just doing the same thing and blah, blah, blah. So it is part of the journey, so we're trying to make it also fun and interesting, so she can be like excited about it. Yeah, I know it's hard when you're in the moment, but with someone who has the track record of Arena, especially at this tournament where she's won the last two years, we could very easily forget about any of it. She makes fourth round and is looking good. Mike, do we have any questions from Mike? our serve listeners. We do. We do. And as always, thank you, everybody, for sending them in. Please send more to ask Andy at surfpodcast.com or DM them to us or send us any way you can. Send us a video. Send us all the good stuff. But first, Anton Matt wrote in and wants to know, when did you first realize I mean, it was going to become or could become the number one player in the world? That's a good question. I mean, first, I might have when she was 14 and I wouldn't say she would be number one. It was just like, she was, but I mean, I had no experience like back then. I was like, maybe what was like 18 or something, but still she, but right now, I would say that as I remember how she was playing the matches, the passion she had, she has zero control on the record. She was hitting the fans. She was hitting like it's gonna be either winner or like straight, like it was just like straight like four, and just straight out. And she was keep winning because she was fighting like no matter what. She like my like one of her stories actually, I don't know if she she told her like it's how she fixed her own back and when she was 16 by herself. She was, she was playing like on the matches. She's like, it's such, it's shitty. Just all time, short, lends it short. What the fuck? And she asked like it's like can you just record me like she just asked some of the girls she recorded. And she's like, yeah, what the hell is happening with my elbow? Like what was she going? So she just actually changed it. And she said like it took me like five days. And now, and she's playing with the same techniques since then when she just like watched somewhere on YouTube, how was people should do? I wish iPhones would have existed when I was when I had a shitty back in. Yeah, it made things a lot better. Maybe. Yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe, or maybe you should, yeah, maybe you should ask maybe you know, she can help a lot or not. I don't know. Yeah. What else we got? Mike, let's get into the tennis a little bit more. Megan wants to know what's the biggest tactical change she has made since she started working with her. I would say everyone been like talking about it, but I think everyone's saying how she has to be like my patient and just to play the build more others and everything. But I think the biggest tactical change that we made is actually show her how to do it is like not about just kind of weight. It's kind of how you should build the point, like using different angles, how you can be like as we call like a Spanish style. So how you actually can spin the ball. And you don't have to like decelerate. You actually have to excelerate even faster. And just because she likes to dominate and she likes this kind of like dictates is actually was pretty a good approach for her. She's just because she was still and she actually like doing the stuff. She's not waiting for something. So I think with this kind of show with how to do it, she is able to build the points much better. So it's helped her a lot to be like stay in a rather longer and be and with selection of shots was much better right now. I'll tell you something that I've seen and I don't know how much you all have worked on it, but her ability when she has one hand off the racket now to knock down a slice versus six years ago. Night and day, right to extend a point of to find a different pocket to get someone to hit up to her because she's so good above her shoulders. But the nerd version of me as noticed when she has one hand off a racket to look awkward, maybe six, eight years ago. Yeah, I said, Max was joining us like last year. It was because she used to play like better and better sized like year by year, but overall like when Max joined us, so I would say slice and the net game, yeah, improve the lot. So she imagined setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all day comfy grip. Just plump, dewy, hydrated skin that still feels like your skin, tried new groupie setting mist from Mavily New York. Maybe it's Maybelline, what to do right now? Like next up is a question from Katie. It's a video question and just a preface. The kind of the first question of this is something Andy already asked about the makeup of the team and having having fun, but the next couple parts are a little bit a little bit more of an extension of it. Here we are, Sean. Teams up a link is always known as that, you know, the team who has so much fun, but at the same time when, you know, turning the matches, Arena can scream a new, and so my question is, how do you go from this intense moment back to joking, having fun, learning to do these TikTok dances? My second question is like, what is your favorite TikTok dance that she made you do? And my third one is like, how long did it actually take to learn the dance? So these are my questions. Thank you for answering. Good luck with all the rest of the tournaments, and let's freaking go! It's pretty cool. I was pretty easy to answer. She just has our passports, so we have no choice. I think that's what I've spoken before about. We have this like a trans bubble, like a safe place, and we discussed everything about it. Okay, that's what happened within a bar that you figured out. So we're going through a lot, so we are like no right now. Okay, when she experienced, we're kind of straight. She can be like this, so we don't take it personally. Yeah, okay. You're doing it. It's fine. If it's actually going to help you, this is great, and we're not going to take it personally at all. And after the match, I can even joke about it, saying like, yeah, it was pretty cool. I think this work, what is going to be on tennis TV, like it's going to be great, like it's great. We're going to be famous. Yeah, so lots of videos on Instagram, people just like sending me like all the time, I'm like, yeah, yeah, I know. Yeah, I know. Well, yeah, I'm popular, yeah, I know. Anyway, but I mean, if it helps, I don't see any problem, because I don't want her to be pretend to be someone else. Yes, there are some like limits, but like to be honest, like you, as I said, like, also, you cannot like follow to build like a Roger style. You use to build different. Okay. If you want to like break the record, and if it's going to help you, great dude, because you're different, don't try to be someone else right now. That's why we go into the tiktok here with this part. We've talked about it on our show a million times when it comes to arena. It used to be like, you know, probably before you were even born, Anton, because you're like three years older than the player. But, you know, it used to be everyone was like, okay, you have to stay calm. You have to do this. You have to do that. I'm like, well, Mac and Root did pretty well. You know, they're different, different. And I think arena has proven that over and over. You can be yourself. You know, mental toughness takes different routes to your point. What do we, what else we got, Mike? Next up from Nicole, and I think this kind of touches on a little bit. You know, you're only a few years older than arena. What is something that you have learned from arena? Oh, I think the biggest one is that there's kind of no limit. There's nothing literally impossible because she proved it like lots of time. Like it was just like, because we grew up in the same city and like in the Minsk everyone just kind of like saying that like, oh, she's not going to be able to play. She's playing such as stupid tennis and blah, blah, blah. I'm like, like, wait a minute. Like, and I said to her, like, if this stupid tennis is successful, so why the hell you should play some smart tennis right now? Someone is going to hit like, he can hit a winner from the return. Great go for it. Like in the end of the day, the prize money is going to be the same for the smart tennis and for the super tennis, where are we going to call it? And if you're going to win all those slams, it doesn't matter how you're going to win it. Take your strength. And we're just going to try to upgrade you and give you like much more tools that is going to be actually like useful for you, not for someone other like player that's the same. You don't have to become. Maybe you don't have to, I don't know, maybe the slice, let's say, is going to be like for someone's going to be like five slices in a row for you just want to mix it up and then go for next shot and see it. Great. We'll be right back. So much of what goes into being a player on tour is behind the scenes. Every moment matters when you're competing at the highest level. The part that doesn't get talked about enough is recovery. 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All right, back to the show. Next up is Caroline wants to know, and I think this goes into more of what modern coaching is like. It's not just about the tactics on on court. She wants to know how much recovery actually shows up on the court. Can you actually tell from Arena's tennis when she didn't sleep well the night before and what is the most slept on recovery secret for players during this last grand slam? Oh yeah, it's it's pretty tough sometimes, especially with the schedule like I remember like a few years ago we played with Alex Sandrova, the Usoppan who finished like closer to like three a.m. I think some like this so it can be rough. I'm actually pretty lucky because I have a pretty good partnership here with the A sleep that helped me actually a lot because you can like easily can go with a better quality of the sleep and I always suggest around wherever you have it like any chance to like adjust like at least you start like with the pillow like first I always suggest to everyone just like I don't really kind of the same with you especially like you consistently like changing the hotels like every week so you at least you have something that's gonna like be with you like pillow then like trying to to like stay and sleep in the in the really cold like room and I really know it's just like sleeping in that like extremely like it's like it's like freezer like when you watch the match people like like the night before the match I was like holy fuck what should I wear like it's like a song believable like what's happened like she's like no it's okay not even cold I'm like it's just like insane so she and I think it's just also naturally helps to sleep better because she can she actually can sleep like pretty well it helps a lot because like I mean sometimes after the tough loss you cannot sleep for a while but during the tournament she's pretty good and I think it's really important just to to pay lots of attention because people just always talking about intensity and the volume and the practice and everything but to be honest if you're not like recover well like it's all make no sense for you at all I will tell you I got delivered an eight sleep pod this week in New York and phenomenal when did you start like you in as an athlete you kind of take all these wins and you hope they roll up into a moment where you win a slam or you become number one in the world but when did you start incorporating eight sleep pod and does it help that you can actually kind of like my sleep score is 90 I think that's fine it's probably yeah better than yours okay it's definitely better than mine okay let me be fair let me be fair my sleep score is 90 when I don't drink a bottle of wine yeah but just talk about how important all these little things are to get right right we can talk about it's not just one thing it's not just stretching it's not just practice it's kind of all these little things and eight sleep is a part of that the process of learning as you go is that you as that Jason is it a community kind of implementing these things with trial and error I would say it's all of us but with eight sleep I'm actually the one who was kind of pushing like from all the sides to get any kind of the partnership because I was just when I saw the first time technology like a few years ago it was like this is insanely great because sometimes when you in like let's say I like AC but not even it's like blown right to you so like let's say with the with a sleep the biggest thing is like you can adjust the temperature and it's nothing's blown like straight to your face during the night it's unbelievable but going back to your questions about all those like how all these puzzles is like okay we get a great base but we want to upgrade it so we start with what we can do better and so the the sleep part is like it's it's a huge it's just like a recovery so how you can make better quality overall so and we like we found out that with with AC it's actually makes big like big changes I really love the whole thing how they're doing with a adjacent temperature logo to get you in a deeper sleep and then also if you have alarm like let's say a six seven so you're not going to like like wake up like in from a deep sleep like from nowhere and you know like freaking out about what's happening is actually gonna help you like from like 45 minutes before like an hour before to get you like out from the deep sleep so you're gonna be like like wake up pretty pretty cool and ready to go so the whole thing is like you think it's like kind of like always fancy it's not but it's actually makes so much easier like uncomfortable so afterwards we just like when you travel somewhere without you like oh my god I cannot sleep Mike all I'm just I'm you better be on your game you better figure it out we got a big three weeks ahead of us I know I'm gonna be sleeping great I know you maybe not you might be fun well well well well well I'm not doing so they have they have you you can we can sleep together guys it's possible yeah we I don't know judging by that room this teamside like a travel's like and look at that room we got great accompanist it's not it's not even mine so we're on different we're on different routes dude we were we're an internet TV show we we literally sleep in closets like we don't have we don't do shit what else we got I mean this is a perfect segue into what our favorite segment is well my favorite segment is Sean roll roll the animation yeah okay I'm glad we do that with live guest this one this one this one is from your friend Jason Stacy why are you a bully why is ice cream awesome and when are we watching spider-man oh I expected much worse question but we can go back spider-man I'm with the bully with the bully it's pretty easy because I always say that he's a bully he's just like he's always like cocky he just like pension so I'm like I probably just like because I'm spent too much time around him which is getting the same kind of approach to all the things but let's get I'm just trying to help him also to feel like better overall he not alone like this um ice cream on a serious note I have this is this is really about I'm a runner with uh I was like what was this not to no tell I was like a kind of a milk chocolate together like we because with with Jason well especially when Italy oh my god every night you go to gelato you just like you get like at least five kilos just because you there's no other like way how you can spend your like evening without ice cream there yeah he kind of have to do what was the last question okay when are you gonna see spider-man with Jason uh with Jason well it depends if he's gonna invite me like I mean if he's gonna be like pretty good I don't know feels like I feel like I feel like I feel like I feel like Jason I'm going today tonight there's yeah you still have time when I will ask because no one watches this show so no one no one will hear this answer but uh have you read Jason's book and what do you honestly think about it the pressure code the pressure code I think it's shit is like just lots of chat gpt like answering the questions and that's it nothing else it's just like a I don't know and he percent he is like a writer he even have like like a person I am a writer I'm like what the hell did you write like I'm stopping there like the first part of his question now makes sense this is great where he's such a bully this is great I actually um because I have a kind of uh I said like a privilege to spend lots of hours around him and like that lots of knowledge is just I think the book is just like just like almost nothing compared to what this brain holds there like all the time so um and I think he actually put it like pretty good like compact the whole idea about it and I think it's I hope it's just at the start of all other books it's gonna come up afterwards because I do like this system about here's like a three like emotions environment what was the third one don't ask us uh energy energy for those of you listening and out watching he's yelling into the other room and Jason's feeding him answers right now oh what's that oh that's shameless the team said like shameless the biggest book I've ever seen is that his book is that the font he needs to read he needs like prescription windshields on his car yeah because I mean he cannot see like right now so this is he's the kind of a book he's copy so it looks like a tournament printed that and handed it to him and actually and I actually think just the last part about the book that it's not just like a tennis special I think it's really gonna be helpful for like any kind of a stress moment in your life and the business anywhere any kind of an environment it's really useful hey listen man we always anytime anyone from team sabileca wants to come on you guys are welcome we love it you always are able to kind of tackle big big concepts with a sense of humor uh it fully intact so uh best of luck at the us open tennis is always better more entertaining more exciting when arenas playing well so we hope to see you uh the tail end of the us open for the third year in a row Anton Dubrov thank you for coming on say hey to that rascal Jason Stacey and uh best of luck in uh in New York man thank you guys thanks for inviting cheers thank you imagine setting your makeup then forgetting it's even theirs meet new grippy setting mist from Maybelline New York Zelda mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all day comfy grip no tightness no stickiness no residue just plump do we hydrated skin that still feels like your skin try new grippy setting mist from Maybelline New York maybe it's Maybelline