Today´s episode is a tribute to one of sport's greatest minds Dr. Jim Loehr, who sadly passed away last month aged 83.

Dr. Loehr was one of the world’s leading performance psychologists and a true pioneer in mental fitness. Across a remarkable five-decade career, he worked with hundreds of elite athletes including Grand Slam champions Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario.

His work helped transform the way athletes viewed mental performance — not as a weakness, but as an essential part of achieving greatness.

We were incredibly fortunate to welcome Dr. Loehr onto the podcast in 2021, and his episode remains one of the most listened-to conversations on Control the Controllables.

In this special CTC Short, Dan reflects on Dr. Loehr’s impact on tennis and sport before revisiting a powerful clip from their original conversation.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• Listen to Dr Jim Loehr´s episode in full
• Episode 120: Marcus Daniell
• High Impact Athletes
• SotoTennis Academy

What does it really take to coach at the very top of the game?

And how does a 32-year-old coach find himself leading the journey of one of the fastest-rising players in world tennis?

In this episode of Control the Controllables, we sit down with Maxime Tchoutakian, the coach of Vicky Mboko — a 19-year-old who has taken the tennis world by storm, breaking into the Top 10 in less than a year.

But Max’s story is just as compelling as the player he now coaches.

Ranked 530 in the world as a player, he took the US college route at Baylor University, rebuilt his career from scratch after COVID, and walked into the Mouratoglou Academy with no clear coaching plan, only to have one practice with Victoria Azarenka and receive a call from her agent 30 minutes later.

What he shares in this episode gives a rare, honest look at what it really means to operate inside the world's best tennis teams.

In this episode:

• What it was actually like telling a former World Number 1 how to improve her game at age 26.
• The moment Azarenka asked him to become her full-time coach and how scary that felt.
• Why adaptation is the single most important skill to survive life on the WTA tour.
• His honest take on whether coaches are paid well enough for what they sacrifice.
• What makes Victoria Mboko so special and why Max believes she will win multiple Grand Slams.
• The brutal truth about French tennis: why talented kids keep falling short when it matters most.
• His biggest coaching regret and why he wishes he'd trusted himself sooner.

CONNECT WITH CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES

• Website: https://www.controlthecontrollables.co.uk/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctc.podcast/
• Email us: ctc.podcast@sototennis.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop. TennisAthlete is an online Strength & Conditioning platform, designed specifically for tennis players who want structured, affordable and flexible training. Wherever they are in the world. TennisAthlete helps you stay consistent, improve performance, and train with purpose. Train smarter. Anywhere.

TennisAthlete

A tribute to a British tennis legend.

This week on Control the Controllables, we're marking the retirement of one of Great Britain´s greatest ever players, Jamie Murray.

7 Grand Slam titles. 39 tour-level titles. World Number 1. Davis Cup Winner & Olympian. The man who put British doubles on the map and helped spark a generation of GB doubles players that continue to thrive on the tour today.

We went back into the archives to pull out one of our favourite moments from our episode with Jamie back in 2020. This short clip is a perfect reminder of just what a remarkable person and player he is.

In this episode:

• The story of Jamie's Wimbledon title age 21.
• Why zero expectation was the secret weapon that fuelled that Wimbledon run.
• How expectation and pressure change as a career develops.
• How he felt reaching World Number 1.
• Becoming Jamie, not just Andy Murray’s brother.
• Why Dan thinks his impact on tennis will contine.

From all of us at Control the Controllables, congratulations Jamie. What a career. What a legacy.

Control the Controllables episodes Jamie Murray features in:

Episode 13: Jamie Murray - From Dunblane to the top of the world!

Is Opelka Right - Should Doubles be Scrapped?

CONNECT WITH CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES

• Website: https://www.controlthecontrollables.co.uk/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctc.podcast/
• Email us: ctc.podcast@sototennis.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Train Smarter Anywhere: Strength & Conditioning for Tennis Players On the Go 🎾

For players who don’t always have access to in-person coaching, progress doesn’t have to stop. TennisAthlete is an online Strength & Conditioning platform, designed specifically for tennis players who want structured, affordable and flexible training. Wherever they are in the world. TennisAthlete helps you stay consistent, improve performance, and train with purpose. Train smarter. Anywhere.

TennisAthlete