My Dad My Tennis Coach

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Felix Auger Aliassime. 

Sam Aliassime, Felix' dad and first tennis coach.

Quebec is on tennis watch tomorrow August 8, at the start of the National Bank Open, that is simply called Montreal.

The province will also sing ‘joyeux anniversaire’ to Felix Auger Aliassime, a professional tennis player, born in Montreal on 8 August 2000. Felix is a clinical player and delights audiences whether he plays Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Frances Tiafoe, Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer or Daniil Medvedev.

Felix is also special because his first coach was his father, Sam Aliassime. It is a win win situation because father and son kill two birds with one stone. The father knows exactly when the son is at night and the son can knock on dad’s door at night and ask him a tennis question.

Richard Williams is the forerunner of tennis dad coaches, because he coached his daughters Venus and Serena Williams to stardom. King Richard the movie released in 2021, is based on that dual relationship. It did not do well at the box office, probably because Will Smith, who played the father, slapped Chris Rock the comedian at the 2022 Oscars Awards.

Leylah Fernandez, who reached the ladies finals at the 2021 U.S. Open is coached by her father, Jorge Fernandez. Coco Gauff who reached the semi-finals at the ‘22 French Open was first coached by her dad Corey Gauff.

We salute dads that are tennis coaches because they don’t get enough recognition. They sacrifice time and money to coach their kids. When kids become famous in the tennis big leagues, they are advised to hire ‘professional’ coaches.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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