Read about the ATP Player Mentoring program and why Sinner’s Wimbledon rival Hanfmann is ‘really happy’

During the Wimbledon draw on Friday morning at The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Jannik Sinner was drawn against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann in the first round.

Hanfmann, the 32-year-old number 95 in the PIF ATP Rankings, was not in the middle of training, on the physio’s table or glued to the drawing on his phone. World No. The former 45 was a mile from the tournament site at the ATP Tour office in London, taking part in the new ATP Player Mentoring Program.

The program’s goals are to help players learn from industry-leading experts about their business areas of interest, expand their professional networks and support athletes on their journey as they begin to think about life after tennis and career opportunities.

“Actually, I’m glad we have something like this. It’s new, for the first time, so thanks to ATP for giving us this. I’m very happy,” Hanfmann told ATPtour.com. “I just finished the ATP Business Education Program, which has a lot of information for us, a lot of high-level speakers. And now we’ve actually been assigned someone one-on-one to help us and have a mentor to guide you a little bit through post-work opportunities.

“I think it’s amazing, because I’m 32 and I think a little bit about what’s coming. And life is not only tennis, but it is something we were good at. So now you’re trying to navigate, maybe a little ways behind tennis and get into some parts of the business. And we have great speakers, great people here to help us. The counselors, they are all very good leaders. We are very lucky to be able to be in this program.”

As of now, Hanfmann doesn’t know what he wants to do after his career. He met with his mentor, Oli Barnett, a partner at Baringa Partners LLP, who has extensive experience in various businesses.

“I’m just trying to learn from him and see what he’s done. Maybe with other mistakes he made, other experiences he has to help me maybe make my own decisions,” said Hanfmann. “And then just to learn from his experience and hopefully find myself in a place where I’m interested in something. Maybe games, maybe something else. And I think they can help shape us in this way.”

The German knows he may only have a few more years competing on the ATP Tour and is determined to learn as much as he can before the next stage of his journey. Education is nothing new for Hanfmann, who attended college at the University of Southern California, where he studied international relations.

“I actually really enjoyed going to classes, learning about new things and being involved in things outside of tennis,” Hanfmann said. “So I’m really excited to move my brain in a different direction and learn about new opportunities.

“We always associate ourselves with tennis, tennis, tennis, tennis. So it’s good to get your brain off of it a little, to have other interesting things. I think it also takes maybe sometimes a bit of pressure away from everything that’s going on at these majors, especially Wimbledon, there’s always a lot going on, which is good. But to be here at the ATP office, to see them for the first time, is really nice. I am very grateful to be a part of this.”

^{Hugo Nys and Arthur Rinderknech were mentored by Denise Melone, Managing Director, Havas.}
Hanfmann was joined by other players Daniel Altmaier, Zizou Bergs, Kimmer Coppejans, Taro Daniel, Alexis Galarneau, Robin Haase, Austin Krajicek, Matwe Middelkoop, Jamie Murray, Hugo Nys, Arthur Rinderknech, Jan-Lennard Struff, Michael Venus and Aleksandar Vukic in the program.

Bergs said: “I’ve always been interested in what my father did, what my grandfather did. So somewhere I always feel this love [business and management]. And I think that this program, meeting legends in business – especially today, I got to meet Sachin Dev Duggal – I think this is a good step for us to see, for me personally, what opportunities there are, maybe a little bit after my tennis career, to continue building on things.

“What makes me happy is waking up with an idea and going to bed with a clear goal or a clear goal. And I really hope that after my tennis, I will find something like that again, that I really live for.”

Krajicek said: “It was important for me to participate in the ATP Player Mentoring Program to try to expand my network. I always try to learn things outside the court. Unfortunately, we can’t play tennis forever. So as we move into the next phase of our lives, I think it’s important to connect and open up, and you never know where that might lead you. But I’m trying to learn as much as I can and educate myself so that I can make that transition as smooth as possible.”

Industry leading consultants participating in the program are Karl Altenburg, Oli Barnett, Chris Beltran, James Cluskey, Sachin Dev Duggal, Anthony Goonetilleke, Kurt Long, Fernando Martin del Agua, Denise Melone, Ander Michelena, Eric Murciano, Peter Norris, Geoff Robinson and Stephen Twaddle.

Chris Beltran, Founder, Investor and Creator said: “The first thing I learned about the ATP Player Mentoring program is that it represents some kind of tipping point in an athlete’s life. It is not the beginning of their career, when they are happy to approach this game and all the things that come with it. It’s at the point where they don’t feel like it’s the end of something. But, a lot of them are very small, and I’m a founder myself, and I run companies and things like that, you can really see, ‘Oh, you get to the exit of the company and you have full ownership, what do you do, where do I go from there?’

“I think there is a great, fun and exciting opportunity for these athletes to discover that there is so much happiness and joy after the game. Sometimes that includes sports and it does, sometimes it doesn’t. But there is so much hope and positivity behind. And I think it’s really important that they see that. I am very happy to be a part of that.”

Denise Melone, Managing Director, Havas, said: “I think professional athletes live and breathe their sport. And what they do every day is timely. I think the reason I’m excited about this program, why I think it’s so important, is that there is life after tennis. And I think the ATP Player Mentor Program will finally be able to help them prepare now for their future. It doesn’t mean that tennis is not their future, it just means that life after tennis is as important as their life today. So if we can help them prepare for that, start thinking about that early, then we will win.”