Two-time Grand Slam doubles finalist Raven Klaasen sat down with The South African’s Dave Marshall for an exclusive chat at the recent French Open at Roland Garros.
Klaasen, now a respected tennis coach, spoke about mental toughness, pressure and future of South African coaching – among other topics.
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Why Mental Strength Matters Most
Tennis is often described as one of the loneliest sports in the world. There are no team-mates to hide behind, no substitutions, and no timeout huddles.
According to Klaasen, handling pressure is ultimately what separates good players from great ones.
“Our whole sport is about how you respond to adversity,” he says.
That perspective now shapes how Klaasen evaluates young players. While physical ability and technique remain important, he believes resilience is one of the clearest indicators of long-term potential.
“If you can run, hit and handle pressure, you can be good at tennis,” he explains.
Klaasen looks closely at how junior players react when things go wrong – missed shots, difficult conditions or losing positions. Those emotional responses often reveal more than technical ability ever could.
Comparison: The Biggest Junior Trap
One lesson from Raven Klaasen’s own playing career stands above all others: avoid comparing yourself to other players.
“Comparison is the thief of joy,” he says, echoing a phrase many coaches now repeat regularly in junior development environments.
In today’s social media-driven sports culture, young athletes constantly measure themselves against rankings, results, and online highlights. The coach believes that mindset can derail development.
“We develop at different rates,” he explains.
“One player might get the right coach at the right time. Another improves later physically.”
This philosophy is especially important in South Africa, where players often mature under vastly different circumstances and opportunities.
Pressure Is Normal – Even for the Best
One of the biggest mistakes players make, according to Raven Klaasen, is assuming they are alone in feeling nervous during matches.
“You look across the net and think the other player is comfortable. They’re really not,” he says.
Helping athletes understand that anxiety is normal becomes a key part of coaching. Rather than trying to eliminate nerves completely, elite players learn how to function despite them.
Interestingly, Klaasen believes most top players do not necessarily improve under pressure – they simply avoid their performance declining.
“The best players don’t get much worse under pressure,” Klaasen explains.
Still, there are rare exceptions. He points to Carlos Alcaraz as a unique example of someone who appears to embrace high-pressure moments with unusual freedom and positivity.
Building the Future of South African Tennis
Raven Klaasen remains optimistic about South Africa’s future despite current challenges.
He believes the country possesses the athletic talent needed to compete internationally – but developing professionals requires patience, exposure, and smarter coaching systems.
Most importantly, Klaasen believes coaches must continue evolving alongside the modern game.
Technical instruction alone is no longer enough. The future belongs to coaches who can communicate effectively, build trust, and guide players through the mental demands of professional sport.
For South African tennis, that evolution may prove just as important as producing the next star player.
Dave Marshall was reporting exclusively from the 2026 French Open at Roland-Garros for The South African.