Who we are

For more than 35 years we have worked nationally and internationally for different tennis federations, served as talent scouts, been immersed in player development from the ground up, been involved in coaches education, coached teams, developed training concepts for clubs and teams, been presenters at several national and international coaches’ conventions and worked with parents and officials on a daily basis.

We share our knowledge

Experts

Oliver Heuft

Founder and executive owner of TennisGate

Oliver is a DTB A-certified coach. He has over 20 years of experience as head of a youth talent promotion group and freelance coach for the Baden Tennis Association (Badischer Tennisverband), specialised in fostering talent up to the age of 14 and training technical basics with the aim of turning pro. 

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More about Oliver Heuft

Oliver was the Youth Coach (age of 6 to 14) of Dominik Koepfer, #1 US College in 2016 and ATP Pro (Career High 50 in 2021).

He is also a Media designer with expert knowledge in video editing, animations, layout and design. Oliver developed digital schoolbooks for tennis associations and helped the DTB to digitize his complete coaches education as the producer of the DTB Online Campus, the official education platform for the german tennis federation (DTB) from 2015 - 2020, with 15,000 coaches.

He integrated the sports broadcasting analysis tool VizLibero into tennis education and runs a visual coaching course inside the B-level-education in the Badischer Tennisverband (BTV). 

Juergen Mueller

Head Editor and Project Leader Germany
Juergen is a DTB A-certificate coach and won Multiple World and European Championships as freelance coach for the German Tennis Association (DTB). In his role as DTB freelance coach, he has coached world-class juniors such as Nicolas Kiefer, Daniel Elsner, Philipp Petzschner, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Aljoscha Thron.
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More about Juergen Mueller

He is the current BTV tennis centre coach for the Black Forest-Lake Constance region and is Educator in B-certificate training at the Baden Tennis Association. He won Multiple German and state youth titles with youth players from Blau Weiss Villingen and was the Transition Coach (age of 14 to 18) of Dominik Koepfer, #1 US College in 2016. He is the Owner of the regional TennisGate Tennis and Ball School in Villingen, one of the official TennisGate Education Center.

Edgar Giffenig

Project Leader International Platforms

Edgar is a Frequent speaker in coaching workshops throughout the world. ITF, PTR, DTB, ITA, USTA, FMT, TA. He was National Coach in the USA, Germany and Mexico.

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More about Edgar Giffenig

He was a Long-time member of the ITF Coaches Commission and has over 30 years coaching players of all ages and level. In 2016 he ranked 55s in the ITF World Ranking. Edgar is fluent in German, English and Spanish. He is the Author of the Book “Play Tennis with Passion” and “Developing High Performance Tennis Players".

Silvester Neidhardt

Expert for Re-Function and Functional Fitness

Olympic Athletics Coach and Function Training Specialist Silvester Neidhardt is one of the most experienced experts in the field of athletic and functional fitness in Germany. He supported the German Olympic teams in Alpine Skiing (1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer – 2x Gold Medal for Markus Wasmeier), world ranking tennis players such as Stefan Koubek (best ranking in the Woldranking 20) and Rainer Schüttler (best ranking in the Worldranking 5).

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More about Silvester Neidhardt

He proves his competence not only as a personal trainer and athletic trainer, but also as a lecturer (PT A license, mental coaching, Functional Training A license) and Functional Training Specialist. 

 

Silvester planned and structured the fitness and gym area of Therme Gaiberg, one of the biggest 4* Spa resorts of Austria on 102,000 qm area. At Perform Better, he supported with his knowledge, expertise and many years of experience as an expert and speaker for FMS and CFT. Silvester is also the book author of "Get Up Now!: Reboot to Your Natural Functionality, Available in german at amazon 

Silvester works on a daily basis with all people who need help "re-functioning" their bodies (hence the "re-function" in his name). It is not uncommon that in one day Olympic medalists, junior athletes of various sports, world-class soccer players, truck drivers, mother with her 3 children or constantly sitting managers come in and out of his gym.

Eva Birkle-Belbl

Expert Club-Management and Kids Development

Eva is DTB A-certified coach. She has a Diploma in sports science with focus on management. She is Head Coach and Club Manager of the Freiburger Tennis Club. Together with her husband Matthias she is owner of the EMB Tennis school with over 400 students. She is also Head of the tennis programme at the University of Freiburg. 

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More about Eva Birkle-Belbl

Eva was the Club coach of the year 2019 of the German Tennis Federation (DTB). Under her leadership, the Freiburger Tennis Club membership doubled from 450 to more than 900 members from 2018 to current 2023 und wurde zum größten Tennisclub in Baden.

Eva was also a Workshop Speaker at the ITF World Wide Coaches Conference Sofia 2017 and Belek 2015.

Matthias Birkle

Expert Modern Methodology and Junior Development

Matthias is DTB A-certified coach, Sports Manager IST, Certified Swiss Tennis Coach and MA Sports Science and Education. He is the Head Coach at the Freiburger Tennis Club (since October 2017) and Owner and founder of EMB-Tennis (Together with his wife Eva).

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More about Matthias Birkle

He is Head of University Sports Section Tennis at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.  He was Speaker at ITF Worldwide Coaches Conference Antalya 2015. Topic of the lecture: Improvement of the serve through differential training and Speaker at ITF Worldwide Coaches Conference Sofia 2017. Topic of the presentation: Improving the volley through differential training.

Philosophy

Our education goals

First and foremost, we would like to thank the many players and parents who have experienced the highs and lows of this sport together with us. We are proud not only of our successful players, but also of those who have learned to change their goals over the years and adapt them to reality. "Success cannot be coached."

At the end of the day, we just want our players to be happy. That's why we have the utmost respect for all those players who have decided to end their tennis careers, either on their own initiative or on our advice. Even though this is fortunately only the minority, these "dropouts" are still a big part of our experience. TennisGate is committed to making a significant contribution to preventing these dropouts.

ENJOY THE GAME

All of us at TennisGate are coaches (mostly with children of their own) who know from experience that there is one factor critical to success: every player must enjoy the game. This may sound trite or obvious, but it's a weekly topic for everyone who works in player development.

Oliver Heuft

EMBRACE THE LEARNING PROCESS

Tennis is a very complex and demanding sport where failure and frustration are always present. The only way to be successful in the long run is to learn and also embrace the learning process. Whether player, coach or parent.

Jürgen Müller

CHILDREN NEED TO BECOME MORE MOBILE

It is frightening to see the functional condition in which some children come to tennis training. But it is even more alarming that parents are completely surprised by this and assess it completely differently. Of course, children who play sports are usually well above average. But their functional weaknesses still urgently need to be remedied if one wants to favour the future and their development.

Silvester Neidhardt

SET MODERATE GOALS

Education and knowledge are the crucial companions to setting goals in moderation. Unrealistic expectations, along with injuries and coaching mistakes, are largely responsible for players ending their careers prematurely and turning their backs on tennis.

Edgar Giffenig

INVOLVE ALL TARGET GROUPS

If you want to be successful as a club and move safely into the future, then it is important as a club manager to have all the needs of the members in mind - and also to "educate" everyone. Not only the players, but also the parents and ultimately even the whole environment.

Eva Birkle-Belbl

FUN IS THE #1 FACTOR

First of all, it doesn't matter if you are coaching competitive players or introducing beginners to the sport. As a coach, you have to have fun. Enjoyment of tennis and development is the decisive factor, not only for recreational tennis, but also for competitive tennis.

Matthias Birkle
You're in good company

They trust us

TennisGate supports large organizations and federations worldwide with tennis media, training content and visual tennis concepts. We are specialized in member-protected online platforms and coaching as a service.

What other coaches say

What coaches colleagues who are involved in tennis say about TennisGate

Rainer Öhler
Association coach and head of B-coach training at LLZ Leimen in the Baden Tennis Association

I have been integrating TennisGate content into the B coaching program for a long time. The training tips can be instantly understood and are always designed with the needs of top players in mind. The digital TG media is modern and easy to use.

Dave Miley
Former Director of Development. International Tennis Federation

Edgar Giffenig is one of the World’s most experienced coaches of high performance players. He has worked as a high performance national coach with both the USTA and with the German Tennis Federation and during that time had considerable success in developing high level players. Edgar also worked as Technical Director for the Mexican tennis Federation and over the past 10 years he has helped the ITF with our coach education programme and during that time has presented at numerous coaches conferences around the World including the ITF Worldwide Coaches Confererence.

Dan Santorum
CEO, PTR Professional Tennis Registry

TennisGate is not only very well respected worldwide for the quality its tennis media but also for their experience in coaching education and player development. Every coach actively working with players will love this site.

Iñaki Balzola
Head of Development PTR

Edgar Giffenig, Jürgen Mueller and Oliver Heuft have developed many players in their long coaching careers. Among them Dominik Koepfer, who was the number 1 player in college tennis in 2016. Dominik trained at the TennisGate Academy from the age of 6 to 18 before joining Tulane. TennisGate observes and analyses top player and uses this information to design age-appropriate training systems for the next generation of players. Their vast on-court experience working at all levels of the game coupled with their long-time involvement in coaching education makes TennisGate the perfect partner for any coach.

Tom Gullikson
ATP Tour Player, USA Davis Cup Captain, USA Olympic Coach, USA Director of Coaching

In my capacity as a National Coach and later the Davis Cup Captain, I was fortunate to work very closely with Edgar in his capacity as a USTA Coach from 1990 to 1995. Edgar has a great understanding of the game of tennis and was very good at communicating with the player’s. His high level of energy and enthusiasm that he brought to the teaching court everyday had a very positive effect on the player’s and his fellow coaches as well. Edgar also is a tremendous student of the game, and never stops learning interacting with his fellow coaches in his quest to become the best coach he can be.