The Long Game

By Miguel Coelho. Honest, evidence-based thinking on junior tennis development for families and junior players who want more than the standard playbook.

Latest

What Sinner's Junior Ranking of 133 Tells You

Nov 8, 2026

He never played a junior Grand Slam. Here's what the research says a ranking actually predicts.

What the System Doesn't Account For

Jul 7, 2026

Physical depletion across tournament days, the training that happens overnight, and why skills built in practice sometimes fail in matches.

The Gap Between Practice and a Match

Jun 23, 2026

The intensity gap, what ratings are actually measuring, and why preparation so rarely resembles a match.

What Your Child Is Not Telling You

Jun 9, 2026

Cognitive fatigue, the illusion of protection, and what development actually looks like from the inside.

Junior Tennis Has a Measurement Problem

May 26, 2026

The ratings, rankings, and technical scores that dominate the sport tell families something specific. It is quite different from what most of them assume.