The TennisFormer-player-turned-super-coach Brad Gilbert has added a showbiz string to his bow after serving as consulting coach for the new tennis movie Challengers. The 62-year-old, with wife Kim, was responsible for turning Hollywood stars Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor into convincing tennis players for the silver screen. And, as Matt and Viv found out during their sit-down, there was a lot more to the role than Brad expected.
Hello and welcome to the sit down. I'm Viv Christi of us joined Tennis Magazine and joined by Mattrolope of ozopen dot Com.
Hey Matt, Hey Viv, how are you.
Yeah, I'm great. We had a really interesting chat this week. We talked to a man who has worn many hats in tennis. Tell us a little bit more about that.
Yeah, we were lucky enough to get connected with Brad Gilbert, who was the consultant coach on the new Challenges movie, and we spoke to him the morning after. He'd just seen the film the night before for the first time. So yeah, the timing was brilliant, and yeah, it was. It was a very enjoyable chat.
Let's hear what he has to say.
Brad.
Good to see you and thank you so much for joining us on the sit down.
Yeah, my pleasure. Good morning.
Congratulations on the upcoming release of Challenges. Yeah, we'd love to chat to you about your experiences working on that film because I know that you were pretty central to getting the actors, you know, whipped up into shape and getting their kind of tennis skills honed to appear on the big screen.
It was a really unique experience, you know, it's coaching, but in a different way.
Zendiah and Josh had very little tennis experience.
Mike had only played, you know a bit of high school tennis, but his character.
Had to have a one handed back end, and you know, he had a two ended back end and the unique challenge that's different about something like this. In a tennis match, a lot of times you don't know what's going to happen. It just kind of in this we had scripted points and then you need to get ready to have that ready to plete these scripted points.
We heard that Zendiah attended a college tournament and some college matches with you and one of the one of the actors studied me curiosis serve. I was wondering, like, were ay your ideas being like, you should watch this. This is a great basis for kind of like learning about the strokes and how tennis has played and how it looks, or kind of yeah, how did that? How was that kind of like extra research for the actor? How did I arrive at that?
Well, my wife, who was involved in the project with me, sent all.
Of them a lot of different videos, and you know, we said a lot of different videos to z on you know players to you know, the maybe that she wanted to pattern you know, herself after Mike Feis's character. R.
Donaldson was a little more defined.
We knew it was patterned a little more after Roger Fetter, after a Pete samples, Zandiah Tashi her character was a little We knew she was a killer, but didn't really know her game style, and Josh was a little bit free wheely.
So I think that when we went to the Pepperdine Arizona State men's match and then we went to a Pepperdine UCLA women's match, which at the ton of both those teams were top.
Five, I think it was a really good experience for her that she could see it. It didn't realize that there was matches on so many courts and the energy and intensity. So I think that helped her, you know, build some thoughts on what she wanted to try to achieve for the character.
Brad, who were some of the players that at SENDEO watched that You said that you sent some videos, Well.
We sent a lot of videos of taller players, you.
Know she you know, he is about five ten and a half, so it was more taller bass players and aggressive bass players didn't want to send her small grinders, you know, because her character was supposed to be an aggressive style player. So you know, we just sent videos to all of them and then they could get an idea to and then you know, like as a kid, when you watch a lot of players, you kind of oh, I'm gonna take a little bit of him. I'm gonna take a little of that, and that's what you do, and that's what we kind of did. And then the biggest thing was the writer had written a lot of the points, and he would just say, Okay, I, you know, want this point to end on a winner, I wanted to end on an error, wanted to end on a tween, or wanted to end on So I actually had to write for each point, Okay, here's the nine ball route, here's the sixth ball route, you know, like a play by play person. And then we would start to rehearse it a little bit in the practice, and then Luca is kind of a visionary a little bit said I want to see that this point be a little longer, a little shorter, a little faster, a little more than and so I would just do the outline of the points and then I think the thing that helped the most was practicing the points without the ball, learning the movement and learning the stroke of the point without the ball, so we're where you don't miss and then you.
Continue on with the points.
I think that helped all three of them a lot, learning the points without the ball.
Interesting. Was there anything that surprised you about the process of filming and just the production arver role.
I don't think you realize until you start filming that there's like one hundred and fifty people on set. I mean there's a massive amount of people that are involved, and you know there was a big CGI team and you know Luke as a big team, the the cinematography team. And then when you start to rehearse and start to film. You know, in Dennis and a match is in real time, it could be one shot, twenty shots, you don't know. But when you're you're doing this type of work, Let's say we're doing this six ball rally, it will be the same six ball rally until they feel like, Okay, we've got that, We've got this, nine, We've got you know.
Looking for different Another thing that is unique in Dennis when you're watching a manage you're seeing the players and then the reaction is sometimes the crowd and the boxes afterwards. This sometimes literally you're looking at Zendaiah's eyes as she's sitting in the stands watching the action and watching it unfold. So it's a different way. And the movie itself is like the narrator. It's the narration of these three players lives. How do we get there? You know, what are we doing? So it answers a lot of the questions for the movie, you know, that's how we get intertwined, going back and forth. But the challenger of Tournament itself is the narration of the movie.
Brad, when did you see the final version of the movie and when you saw it, what did you think?
Well, I saw the final version last night at the premiere Wow. But after the movie like in September of twenty two, so we kind of thought the movie was going to come out in twenty three. That's what was going to come out during the open. But then we had.
The writer strike, the actors strike, so that pushed everything behind. But we did, my wife, I mean, we did a ton of editing work and seeing a ton of clips of the tennis making sure that like.
The scoreboards were right from the open, the posters were right, the points that we wanted were right, you know.
So we but we would see a ton of the tennis stuff, and we watched some of the acting. But you know, I never saw the entire movie through, but I always was seeing every day getting sent to me was the tennis stuff.
How stressful was the process compared to say, catching a player at a Grand Slam.
You know, probably the most ratifying experience was the three of them, you know, didn't really know each other before. Their chemistry, their camaraderie, and you know that you have a short period of time to get them ready, and it's a little bit like you know, the off season getting ready to get ready to go to Australia, you know, and you're hopeful that the work you put in, you know, you can get them ready to be to you know, literally, once we were in Boston, we had six weeks to get ready and then they're going to be shooting.
So everybody's got to know and do their part.
It's amazing. While we've got you here, we'd love to ask you about Coco obviously. We'd love to know what most impresses you, Who impresses you about her and what it's been like working with her so far, because it's been what about just over six months, almost nine months, almost nine months.
Cocoa has a lot of resolve for a young player, and she's learning how you know, what happened today doesn't mean what it's going to happen tomorrow. And sometimes when she's not at her best, she finds a way to grind through. And she's driven, you know, fiercely to be to get better and keep improving and keep moving up. She's a great kid.
She literally has no shortage of I call doing what she needs to do to put in the hard yards to get better.
I found it really interesting an interview she did on Tennis Channel when she was asked about winning the US Open and she said it was a bit of a surprise because she thought when she won her first major it would come at Roland Garross And I just wondered, if you, like, would you have agreed with that. I know obviously her first major was at the US Open, but before she won a major, would you have thought her first one would have been on clay? And I guess what does that mean like for her clay court season coming up?
That's a good question. I mean, her movement is such a good factor. But obviously Schiantek has kind of established herself here at a young age is being dominant on clay. But you know, she made her first final of a major on clay and.
Son then obviously that kind of makes you feel like, okay, maybe that should be my best surface.
Andre got to the finals, you know, a couple of times when.
He was really young of the French and you thought he would win that, and then that became the last one he can win. They're all difficult, this heck to win, and wherever you get the first one, you know, it's like savor it and then start focusing on the next one. I feel like at this point, hardcourts is probably her best surface. I think ultimately that at the certain purpose, I think she should We'll get the will improve the most on his grass, because I think her game has a lot of upsiding grass. So you know, I think that there's no reason why she shouldn't be good on any surface because of her movement and her willingness to, you know, to grind on the court.
What's it been like for you, Brad working with one of the world's top women after you've worked with some of the great ATP players in Agacy, Erotic and Andy Murray.
Well, I told Zenzaia last night that, you know, somehow she must prepared me in twenty twenty two, because I spent like a couple months with her in LA before we got to Boston. So I think she somehow must have you know, art imitates life, so somehow she must have got me prepared to get ready.
For Coco in twenty twenty three. But honestly, if I'm working with a club player, I'm working with a girl, boy, or whoever I am. Your old goal is trying to help them get better. So I try to look through their lens and see what we can do to help them get better, and try not to think about it's a male, it's a female, it's a boy, it's a girl. This is a tennis player that you know.
Hopefully we can help, you know, achieve their dreams and get better.
What's pleased you the most about Coco's progressing your time together.
I think that the thing that pleases me most about it, Well, first of all, she comes from such a great family. She's a great kid, She's unbelievably hard working, and she's humble, and she's incredibly dedicated to wanting to get better.
And I feel like she's not satisfied or complacent, you know, with this result or that result.
She just wants to get better.
Looking at your career as a whole, You've been so connected with tennis for so many years in so many ways. Obviously, you were a pro yourself, you made the top five, and then you've moved into coaching, You've written a book, You're also an analyst and a commentator, so you've worn lots of hats in tennis. Do you prefer one of the hats?
I would say, honestly, I've been blessed by a dire adult life to be involved in something that I love to do, you know, so I really haven't had to have a job, but I've been able to do something that I'm passionate about in all different facets.
You know. I love to commentate, I love the coach I you know, I never would have thought that I would have enjoyed coaching.
More than maybe playing.
And but and then sometimes there's many times I got to pinch myself that when I'm sitting courts up, like you know, maybe for the two thousand and five Aussie Open for FED and SAFF and I'm sitting courtside watching that or the Rafa Verdasco match, and you're sitting there watching an epic match, and you know it's supposed to be a so called job, but like it's amazing to be a part of such a great sport that I feel like I still have a long ways to go.
That's the beauty of tennis. And you know, now I'm back coaching, it's it. I feel like, honestly that it's been a great ride, and now.
Doing this movie, so you know, who knows, maybe I'll be involved in another movie, you know, but they're all unique and great experiences in something that I love to do more than anything.
Atenus and Brad, we have to ask have you worked with any other celebrities in guiding their tennis?
I once spent in the late nineties two weeks. Then we became friends for you know, a long time after that. I helped Robert Williams get ready for an event that he was playing. He was playing with Andre and he was playing against Billy Crystal and Pete Sanpris, and he heard it that his friend Billy was really taking the tennis serious, so and his people arranged for me to to, you know, spend a couple of weeks every day with Robin and it was one of the great experiences of my life.
I mean, he was It's such a funny guy.
And it just fun to be on the court with it and like and then to see him serious, Okay, I get ready for this tennis.
He had played high school tennis, but he's.
Like, oh my god, I I gotta be, you know, ready to go because he knew his friend was going to be ready to go.
And which led to a great friendship I had with him for a long time after that.
Yeah, that's amazing, and it's been so great just listening to you today. Your passionate about the sport in all those different ways you mentioned has really come through. And we're thrilled that, you know, there's a movie that's getting out. They're into the mainstream and putting tennis out there because we're big tennis fans too, so it's always good when tennis gets its time in the spotlight.
Thank you, appreciate it, and look forward to twenty twenty five Osie Open. Yes, well, see so much, Brad.
It's been great talking to you.
Thanks Brad, Thank you.
I loved hearing all the details of, you know, Brad's experience. You don't think about things like having to teach a player with a double handed backhand a one hander, and you know how he checked the scoreboard and things like that and made it a really authentic experience.
Yeah.
I love that quality control he got to do. And in his point about you know, one hundred and fifty people being on set, you know there's a bit of pressure on that. So you did a great job.
Yeah.
Absolutely, And I think one thing that's kind of underrated in Brad Gilbert's story is the fact that every point of his tennis journey he's absolutely excelled. Like he got to world number four himself. He's written a book, winning Ugly that we still talk about now. He's coached three different players to Grand Slam titles, and yeah, just kind of yeah, every step along his way in tennis, he's just done such good job. And it was just yet great to talk to someone so passionate about it. Yeah.
I think it's fair to say that he's valued every one of those experiences equally. I loved hearing that he says he's never had a job just because he loves what.
He does so much.
Yeah, it was awesome.
So we'll be back again next Monday, and in the meantime, you can listen to John and the team this Thursday on the AO Show.
Weekly.
Details for how to contact us are in the show notes, and as always, please subscribe, rate, and review. Oh and there's still time to get your entries in for our Challenges Ticket Giveaway. Details for how to enter that competition are in episode thirty four of the podcast, and winners will be announced on The AO Show this Thursday. See you next week, Viv See you
Next week, Matt
