Digital Transformation in Tennis Coaching

Topic
The increasing integration of digital technologies into sports has sparked a transformation in coaching practices, particularly within tennis. This thesis investigates how digital transformation is reshaping contemporary tennis coaching practices. Using qualitative interviews with coaches and players, it explores the integration of tools such as video analysis, tracking systems, and mobile app platforms. The focus lies on understanding changes in feedback culture, coach-player dynamics, and barriers to implementation, with special attention to both amateur and professional contexts.

Relevance
By capturing real-world experiences from the field, emphasizing new capabilities, identifying practical barriers, and highlighting the shift in coach-player dynamics, this study explains why and how digital tools are used in tennis coaching, and offers a basis for improving their usability and impact.

Results
Digital systems expand coaching capabilities, enabling new forms of feedback, self-coaching, and performance analysis. However, their integration depends on user experience, cost, support, and cultural acceptance. Coaches increasingly act as data interpreters, while players experienced psychological stress caused by constant performance tracking. A countermovement highlights the need to preserve authenticity, human connection, and emotional depth in coaching.

Implications for practitioners
The practical implications of the results can be summarized as follows:

• Coaches need training to meaningfully integrate and interpret digital tools.
• Digital systems should complement, not replace human judgment and relational dynamics.
• Overreliance on data risks diminishing player intuition and confidence.
• Hybrid coaching models with partial remote elements are increasingly viable.

Methods
A qualitative, explorative research design based on Gioia et al. (2013) was applied. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven coaches and three players from various countries and skill levels. Data were collected via video calls and in-person sessions. The analysis followed an abductive approach and resulted in seven aggregate dimensions: Transformation of coaching practices, Change in the coach-player interaction, Difficulties when adopting new systems, Limits to digital systems, Cultural resistance and conflicts in values and Future outlooks. First-order participant quotes were used to derive higher-order themes, which served as the basis for refining the study’s initial guiding assumptions.