Sevilla (From our reporter) – Individual interests of the players, their mutual relationships, team chemistry. The captain has to take care of all that. “Pinďa knows how to step well, he is also the most successful captain we have,” says Pál Kotyza, who has led most of the top Czech female tennis players in recent years and was personally involved in many triumphs. There were not a few of them. In the years 2011-2018, Pál’s teams won six trophies. And this gallery probably wouldn’t be so rich if the coaches of successful female tennis players couldn’t have their say.
“Some captains don’t want personal trainers with the team. Petr chose the path that he likes these people there in order to get information about the player, what to say to her and what not to say. He does it very sensitively and it brings results. For some, it can be a disturbing element that there are a lot of us here, but so far it’s working out and I think it’s good,” Kotyza nods. “He always makes the final decision about the lineup, he takes responsibility. But he communicates with us a lot during the week. It’s a good direction,” agrees Kunst.
Photo: Czech Tennis Association / Pavel Lebeda
David Kotyza (left) with Petr Pála
During his 16 years of experience on the Pála bench, he did not experience situations that would significantly disrupt the team’s internal operations. Czech female tennis players like to go to team events, they look forward to them. Which is also the captain’s merit. “Even during the year, he is in contact with the girls and their coaches. He finds out how the player is doing health-wise, how she’s doing,” says Kotyza. “Pinďa is humble. In addition, communication is his strong point, he can be diplomatic, he is a guy in the right place. He does it well,” says Kunst.
Photo: Czech Tennis Association / Pavel Lebeda
Markéta Vondroušová (left) at the Billie Jean King Cup
One of the strengths of the Czech team is its breadth. Each of the players would do their job well on the court. But not all of them will get to the event, and the captain’s role is to balance the atmosphere in the team so that no one gets offended and comes again next time. And glad to.
Traditional Czech ‘rituals’ also include the evening pre-match meetings, when Pála and the coaches and players fine-tune the nomination for the next day, and for the fans, they are somewhat shrouded in mystery. But for their participants, it is perhaps a little routine.
“We just kind of sit down in the evening and tell each other our ideas. How are the girls feeling, if they need to rest. Sometimes it seems that the strongest lineup is not playing, but it is important that those who are most prepared play,” explains Kunst.
It was the same before Friday’s battle for the semi-finals with the USA. Even if the nomination is only revealed an hour before the first single. “The American women have a variable team. But we are in a slightly better position, they played against Switzerland (3:0) on Thursday afternoon and evening. We had two days to prepare. So far so good,” Kotyza winks.
2023-11-10 17:00:00
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