Coach Spotlight: Darja – Developing the Next Generation of Tennis Athletes

Darja Mensi is the latest guest in our SportsProsConnect Coach Spotlight series. With nearly a decade of coaching experience and a passion for athletic development in junior tennis, Darja shares her journey from growing up in a coaching family to working with developing players in Europe.

Good morning Darja, it’s a pleasure to have you as a guest for our Coach Spotlight series. Please tell our readers a little about yourself and your journey in racket sports, coaching, and strength and conditioning.

Good morning and thank you for having me.

I started coaching fairly young, although at the time it felt very natural to me. I am 27 now and I have been coaching for around ten years.

I come from a family of coaches. My mother and my grandparents were all involved in coaching across different sports, so I essentially grew up in a gym environment watching my mother coach and educate other coaches.

Looking back now, I realise how complex coaching actually is. In my early years I would probably describe what I was doing more as sports instruction and supervised learning rather than true coaching.

As a child I played tennis obsessively. I also enjoyed sports like volleyball and mountain biking for fun. When I was 16 I suffered an injury that kept me off the court for about six months. Since I was used to spending hours on court every day, I started helping out with mini-tennis sessions that were becoming popular at the time.

During university I also worked in the fitness industry. After completing my bachelor’s degree I became increasingly interested in physical preparation specifically for tennis players. That is when my passion for athletic development within tennis really began.

Could you tell us a little about your playing career in Latvia?

I would not say my playing career was the most exciting because I did not play professional tennis. I competed occasionally on the Tennis Europe circuit and spent most of my time developing locally in Latvia.

However, that playing experience was extremely valuable. It gave me a strong understanding of the game and the demands players face on court, and that perspective has definitely shaped the way I approach coaching today.

You have worked with high-performing junior players in the Netherlands. How did this opportunity come about?

I really enjoy working with young players, especially when I can see genuine passion and love for the game.

A few years ago I was working at a club where a very talented ten-year-old player from the north of the Netherlands was training. She had moved to The Hague to pursue her tennis ambitions and I had the opportunity to work with her as her fitness coach for four years.

That stage of development is incredibly exciting because athletes are building their skills and learning how to train and compete. It was also my first experience working closely with a player through such an important development phase, so in many ways we were both learning together.

That experience reinforced my interest in the athletic and technical development of junior tennis players. At the time it felt like quite a niche path. Some colleagues suggested it would be difficult to build a career focusing specifically on physical development in junior tennis because coaches are often separated into either tennis coaches or strength and conditioning coaches working across multiple sports.

Of course there is a lot to learn from other sports and I still draw inspiration from coaches in different disciplines. I also encourage young athletes to participate in multiple sports for as long as possible, ideally until around the age of 14.

However, my main passion lies in the physical development of junior tennis players.

How does your work differ between younger players and older juniors?

With younger players, especially under the age of ten, the main focus is developing fundamental movement skills. Coordination, balance, agility and general athletic literacy are far more important than structured fitness training.

The goal is to build a strong base of movement skills while keeping the environment playful and engaging.

For players aged 14 to 17, training becomes more structured and increasingly sport specific. At this stage we begin working more intentionally on both general and tennis-specific fitness in a way that complements their technical and tactical development.

The biggest challenge is balancing long-term development with the growing competitive demands players face as they progress.

For high performance players focusing mainly on tennis, how should the balance look between on-court and physical training?

It may sound surprising but I believe a 50-50 balance between on-court training and physical preparation can be very beneficial.

Research increasingly shows that early specialisation does not necessarily lead to long-term success. In fact it often increases the risk of injury, burnout and psychological stress.

A 2021 systematic review in the International Journal of Applied Research found that early specialisation is associated with higher injury risk, while athletes who participate in multiple sports develop broader motor skills and tend to maintain healthier long-term engagement in sport.

Even for players focused on high performance, physical preparation and diversified athletic development should remain a central part of the training process.

Quick Fire Questions

Favourite tennis memory
Watching players achieve something they have worked extremely hard for

Three favourite inspirational figures
Judy Murray
John Wooden
Rafael Nadal

Favourite holiday destination
Spain

Other sports followed
Men’s figure skating

Left or right handed
Left handed

Beach or swimming pool
Beach

Favourite drink
Water

Favourite Roland Garros champions
Ana Ivanovic and Steffi Graf
Rafael Nadal

Dream job in tennis
Coaching junior players while contributing to coach education and development.

You can find out more about Darja and connect with him via her SPC profile:
https://sportsprosconnect.com/profiles/spexs_lab/