At the WTCA, one of our primary goals is to create a global community of like-minded individuals across all areas of the tennis industry. By far, the best way to accomplish this goal is through our WTCA conferences. Not only do we strive to educate the next generation of women’s tennis coaches, but we also hope to foster meaningful relationships within the tennis community.
Take Laura Legoupil for example. Laura, a recently graduated physiotherapist, and strength and conditioning coach decided to attend the WTCA Conference Paris back in May. She had been playing tennis since the age of eight, and it had been her dream to work on the WTA Tour as a trainer. With this dream in mind, Laura thought the conference would be a great opportunity to learn more about women’s professional tennis.
What Laura did not know is that she would walk away from the WTCA Conference Paris with much more than additional tennis knowledge. Today, Laura is now living her dream, working as the physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach for Aleksandra Krunic, the No. 39 player in the world.
So, how did Laura get to this point in her career in just a few months? The answer is simple – networking. She attributes the relationships that she formed at the WTCA Conference Paris to her success today. By listening to the conference presenters and building connections with other members of the industry, she began to feel a great deal of confidence in her own work as a strength and conditioning coach. She realized that some of the top trainers in the world were using the exact same methods that she uses, and knew that she too could make an impact on the performance of high-level athletes.
With the knowledge Laura gained and the connections that she built at the conference, she was able to form a new relationship with Krunic’s coach and WTCA CEO, Sarah Stone. Just two weeks later, they began working together. Now, Laura has been instrumental in helping Krunic and Alexa Glatch improve their weaknesses and move better on the court.
According to Laura, she signed up for the WTCA Conference Paris simply to learn and become the best she could be in her profession. The added bonus was that she was able to meet great people from across the globe like Sarah and Alex. She firmly believes that to be the best you can be, you must share experiences with others and learn how to constantly improve.
Many coaches have lofty aspirations to work with athletes on the WTA Tour, but the reality is that many opportunities are only available through networking and attending conferences. Without attending the WTCA Conference Paris, Laura would have never landed her dream job.
There are no substitutes for building relationships within the tennis industry, which is why attending conferences are so vitally important. The WTCA Conference NYC is a great way to meet other like-minded coaches who are looking to make a positive impact on women’s tennis. Who knows, you may even find your dream-job along the way.