Robert Lansdorp’s Building a Champion is best understood as the legendary coach’s own words, partially shaped and organized by Bill Patton. Even so, the word “organized” might be misleading. Patton’s editorial notes describe the book as a tricky, fragmented work, and I found that assessment to be accurate. Lansdorp passed away in September 2024, and the book was apparently published largely as it stood at that time. The result is a meandering, frequently repetitive, and occasionally inconsistent collection of thoughts that reads less like a finished book and more like a work in progress. That lack of polish is both the book’s greatest flaw and its defining feature.
Before getting into the content, it is worth considering Lansdorp himself. He was one of the most influential coaches of his era, known for developing elite players through a demanding, fundamentals-first approach. His coaching résumé includes names like Tracy Austin, Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport, and Maria Sharapova. Lansdorp’s reputation as a tough, old-school coach who demanded excellence is well earned, and throughout the book, his belief in hard work as the foundation of success consistently shines through. That philosophy anchors the text, even as the narrative wanders.
This book is filled with strong opinions, many of which qualify as genuine hot takes, something that I am always here for. Lansdorp was sharply critical of the USTA and its player development systems, as well as the rise of large academies. Specifically, he believed those institutions produce overly uniform players with stifled potential. Lansdorp clearly valued instinctive play over prescribed patterns and advised that players develop best when they are allowed to play instinctively rather than being confined to rigid systems.
Some of Lansdorp’s views on technique are flat-out controversial. For example, he suggests that the split-step can cause players to lose timing on their shots. That is not a commonly held view, and it stands out precisely because it runs counter to mainstream coaching orthodoxy. Whether one agrees or disagrees, the book is at its most interesting when it presents such challenges to accepted wisdom.
At the same time, there are moments of insight that feel surprisingly modern. Lansdorp repeatedly emphasizes the importance of what is now described as a growth mindset, a concept that has been more formally articulated in recent years. He also offers observations that invite further exploration, such as the idea that while the court is a rectangle, tennis is fundamentally a game of triangles. Unfortunately, he doesn’t offer additional depth to that perspective. However, it is a concept that resonates with me, sparking a desire to explore that idea further in the future.
Robert Lansdorp’s Building a Champion also includes a number of drills and training ideas, some of which will surely be featured in future Tuesday training posts on this site. He also articulates an implicit ode to tournament play, emphasizing how that form of competition is one of the most important drivers of player development. That perspective aligns with his broader philosophy that players improve through doing, not just through structured coaching sessions.
Taken as a whole, this book is not a clean, polished coaching manual. It is uneven, repetitive, and at times difficult to follow. It is also something more interesting. It feels like an unfiltered glimpse into Lansdorp’s thinking, a direct line into how he viewed the game, his players, and the systems surrounding them.
Despite its glaring flaws, I enjoyed the book. That may not be surprising given my tendency to engage with the ideas behind how tennis is taught and learned. It helped that my copy came through Kindle Unlimited. I might feel differently if I had paid full price for the paperback. Even so, the book gave me a great deal to think about, well beyond the nostalgia of revisiting how tennis was taught and played when I was growing up.
For readers looking for a structured, comprehensive guide to coaching, this is not that book. For those interested in a candid, sometimes contradictory, but deeply authentic look at one coach’s philosophy, Building a Champion offers something that more polished works cannot.
It is not a finished product, but I recommend it anyway.
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