Annacone Embraces New Phase of Career

by Jeffrey Dunham
Aug 12, 11:09 pm EDT

For those familiar with the tennis community, Paul Annacone is a man who needs no introduction. Although he is a former tour player who owns three singles and fourteen doubles titles, Annacone will forever be remembered as the longtime coach of the great Pete Sampras (and later, Tim Henman). Annacone, 46, reached a career high ranking of No. 12 in 1986 and earned over a million dollars in prize money over the course of his career. For the past several years, he has been the head coach of men’s tennis for the British Lawn Tennis Association, a fact which surprises many casual tennis fans. As part of his job, Annacone travels with British players for a certain number of weeks per year. This position actually brought Annacone to the LG&T briefly last year for a couple of days, and he spent several days here this year with Brits Ken Skupski, Alex Bogdanovic, and Colin Fleming. In his comments, he seemed to enjoy his current relative anonymity and he obviously relishes helping young pros hone their games.

When asked about the challenges associated with his new position, Annacone wryly commented that "the geography is a little difficult," a reference to the fact that he spends time both on the road and in the UK. Annacone’s recent travels have taken him from a Challenger in Granby, Canada, to a main tour event in Washington, DC in the last few weeks. He added that his responsibilities include managing a group of coaches, mixed with travel and time actually spent in Great Britain.

Annacone reflected on the differences between coaching up and coming players and established players like Sampras and Henman: "It’s a different recipe. With young players, you are building the foundation, as in bricks and mortar. This is much different from working with an already-established game." In many ways, Annacone seemed to find this challenge more rewarding, adding that his current position is "fun, as the guys are ambitious and good-natured" and that he enjoys tournaments like the LG&T, where developing games "start to blossom."

The difference between a successful main tour player and one who remains on the Challenger/Futures level is often a mental one. Annacone agreed, indicating that Challengers were "a great stepping stone," but that many of the players view these events as "their tour," and do not seem to be willing or able to break out of the comfort zone that they have established at that level.

When asked about top American prospects, Annacone tipped 17 year-old Ryan Harrison, with whom he worked closely this week, although not in an official capacity. Annacone revealed that he grew up with Harrison’s father, so he had been giving young Ryan some friendly advice this week as he begins to find his way on the pro tour.

Annacone explained his philosophy about his career: "You’ve got to keep your antenna up. There are always new things to learn, so take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to you."