Ryan Harrison: Coaching Sebastian Korda, Beating Alcaraz & What Great Coaches Do Differently

Ryan Harrison joins Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran for a deep dive into what elite tennis coaching actually looks like — and why some of the most common advice players receive may not help them at all.

Now coaching Sebastian Korda, Ryan takes us inside the process of helping a player navigate pressure, setbacks and the biggest moments. He explains how Korda went from losing five straight points from 5–2 up in a deciding tiebreak against Taylor Fritz to handling the pressure differently weeks later against Carlos.

Ryan also reflects on his own experience as a teenage prodigy, winning an ATP match at just 15, dealing with expectations and injuries, and what he wishes he had understood much earlier in his career.

We get into why players can become obsessed with results instead of improvement, why tennis practice is often too generic, how players should actually choose a coach, and why telling someone to simply “be aggressive” means very little unless you can explain how.

Ryan also turns coach for Caroline, breaking down how he would approach a match against Danielle Collins, before discussing parents in tennis, team dynamics, data, on-court coaching and his relationship with his brother Christian Harrison.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Ryan Harrison’s tennis upbringing & being coached by his dad

01:18 Winning an ATP match at 15: when tennis became real

02:07 Pressure, plateaus & the prodigy trap

08:00 How Ryan’s parents helped him handle the pressure

12:09 What Ryan wishes he understood as a player

15:26 Injuries, COVID & how adversity shaped him as a coach

19:08 Korda vs Fritz → Carlos: learning how to close

21:17 Coaching men vs women

23:42 How Ryan would coach Caroline against Danielle Collins

27:38 Why tennis practice is often too generic

29:52 Stop chasing immediate results

35:23 How tennis players should choose a coach

40:12 On-court coaching, trust & solving matches in real time

43:19 Why “be aggressive” means nothing

45:07 How Ryan uses data without overwhelming players

48:30 What he would tell a 15-year-old prodigy today

50:26 Parents in tennis: knowing when to step back

55:47 Christian Harrison: from sibling rivalry to unconditional support

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