He was born on October 29, 1975 in Belgrade. He has been a coach in tennis schools for 28 years and has „B“, „C“ and „D“ licenses of the Tennis Association of Serbia (TSS), at which he is a tennis expert, as well as at the Tennis Association of Belgrade. He started his tennis career at the „Partizan“ tennis school in 1982, where he trained until he was 17. Then, at the age of 19, he enrolled in the Higher Coaching School and, alongside his studies, began working as a tennis coach.
He worked in several tennis schools in Serbia, including the „Novak Djokovic“ tennis school, where he trained hundreds of young tennis players and many famous domestic competitors. He raised several national champions in the categories up to 10, 12, 14 and 16 years at our tennis club.
„Tennis develops a personality. I am the only child in my family, my mother brought me breakfast to bed, I didn’t have to worry about anything. However, an individual sport such as tennis, in which the coach at matches, as a rule, cannot say anything to you, teaches you to make your own decisions. You become encouraged, empowered, your personality develops terribly well. In addition, tennis is a specific sport, because there is no time limit. Our children aged 10, 12 play matches for two or three hours. There are no time-outs, quarters or halves. Sometimes they even play two matches a day“, says Petar.
In the tennis school „Match’n play“, he trains both competitors and recreational players, according to a joint plan and program established by all coaches of our tennis club. His way of working is based, above all, on instilling a love for tennis and building mutual trust, because he believes that a child’s tennis development is unlimited if it is based on those two foundations. He pays special attention to every young tennis player in order to understand what kind of person he is and to get the best out of him or her.
„Tennis, as an individual sport, helps a lot in physical development. It helped me a lot in the development of my lungs, motor skills and dynamics. I was born with asthma, a big handicap since the second year of my life. I went to the Emergency Center three or four times a week and got injections. I still have it today and that is why, among other things, I remain active. Fast running, breathing and effort help me stay active from eight to 10 hours a day and at the age of 46“, says Petar.
He is distinguished from other tennis coaches by his rich international experience, gained by participating in tennis school and competitive tennis projects in Lebanon and Georgia, where he was the first Serbian tennis coach to train children. He also trained young tennis players from China at TSS.
„I worked every day, even on weekends, from nine in the morning to nine in the evening. I set records in classes held in those countries. That experience helped me a lot, because I cooperated with their coaches, with whom I exchanged knowledge and experiences. There we brought a more elaborate tennis training program than theirs, and we especially contributed to the development of the ‘Tennis 10s’ program, which we also apply at the ‘Match’n play’ tennis school, and which is very important for children who are starting to play tennis, because children do not play with the coach, they start playing with each other on the big court as soon as possible“, says Petar.
Tennis is in his genes, since his father Rade was also a tennis coach who taught children tennis for free in the seventies in the Belgrade neighborhood of Kumodraz 2.
„I inherited my enthusiasm for tennis from my father. I woke up, and the children were already in the apartment, waiting to go out with Uncle Rade to play tennis. Love for children is still my motive. I like to spend a lot of time with them in tennis school, both with competitors and recreational players of all categories. Whenever I have the opportunity, I tell their parents that I am not here because of them and their money, but because of their child“, emphasizes Petar.
