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.

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Email us: ctc.podcast@sototennis.com

Mentioned in this episode:

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maxime tchoutakian