Pere Riba, the Spanish coach who helped tennis player Qinwen Zheng become an Olympic champion

• In this episode, he tells about the preparation of Chinese tennis player Qinwen Zheng, one of the best players in the world and who he accompanied in the achievement of the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

• As discussed in this project of the Higher Center for Sports Teachings (CSED) of the Higher Council of Sports (CSD), discipline and work are key in their training methodology to enhance the strengths of athletes.

• In addition, Pere Riba attaches great importance to psychological aspects, communication and lifelong learning.

Madrid, December 26, 2024.- The Higher Council of Sports (CSD) dedicates to Pere Riba the last episode of the year “The Word of Coach”, an audiovisual project developed by the Center for Sports Teaching (CSED) that aims to prestigious the figure of the technicians.

Passionate about tennis, a sport he discovered at just six years old, Pere Riba already showed an interest in the coach facet in his recent years as a professional player. He has trained, among others, Roberto Carballés. Also to great women's circuit figures, like the Americans Varvara Lepchenko and Coco Gauff, who was a coach when she got her first Grand Slam. “His victory at the U.S. Open in 2023 enabled me to fulfill a dream that I had not been able to achieve as a player,” Pere Riba said.

At the end of the same year she resumed her activity with the young Chinese tennis player Qinwen Zheng, with whom she had already worked in 2021. “When I saw her work ethic, I realized she was the player I wanted to train. During our first two weeks, we trained very hard, for many hours. I thought on the third or fourth day I would say I was tired, but that wasn't the case. Then I had a blind faith that I would be a great player,” he recalls.

Discipline and work are two fundamental pillars in the Pere Riba methodology. He is committed to enhancing the strengths of his tennis players, with special attention to the psychological level. In addition, it attaches great importance to communication with the athlete and to the continuing training of the trainer.

“It’s super important for me to be in constant learning. In fact, I keep training. It doesn't matter if you win tournaments and you're going well. Tennis, like all sports, is evolving and the humility of the coach, believing that you will never know everything, is important to be better and better,” he argues during the interview.

Following this philosophy of life, Pere Riba has recently passed the training course of the CSD Centre for Sports Teaching.

“I’ve learned a lot and the knowledge is helping me a lot in my work. I am very grateful to my tutor, who has made things very easy for me,” he says.

About “Coach word”

This project, promoted by the Higher Center for Sports Teaching of the Higher Council of Sports, highlights the figure of coaches allowing to know the keys of their methodology, their sources of knowledge or the importance they attach to aspects such as psychology or communication.

In addition, through the experiences of the technicians themselves, ‘Word of coach’ underlines their important work in improving the preparation, progression and achievement of the successes of those athletes with whom they work.

Full interview with Pere Riba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjN9IzPIrZc