Few players encapsulate the intersection of game and style like Agassi, as one of only eight men to ever achieve a Career Grand Slam, winning all four major tennis tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) over his career. Agassi was also the first male tennis player to complete a ‘Golden Slam’  which included winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and an Olympic gold medal (1996 Atlanta); and he did it all with that infamous mullet and rotation of electric, on-court outfits. Least not, was the line of tennis shoes designed by Nike specifically for Agassi; the Air Tech Challenge series that would become the most iconic tennis shoes ever to exist, matching Agassi's intense persona on the court. Breaking with the convention of traditional tennis attire — basic, white and ‘proper’ — the Air Tech Challenge 2 stood out among the rest, ushering in a new era of self-expression and non-conformity against the historically stiff and tradition-obsessed game. 

Enter, Leo Matthysen — a young, South African player on his way to the biggest of leagues, led by his long-time coach Eitan Adams. As a full time member at the high-performance Anthony Harris Tennis Academy, Leo is currently ranked the 1,363rd best player in the world through the Association of Tennis Professionals. This is huge. At 17 years old, the next decade is critical for Leo, guided by Eitan and his team, to realise his dream of being no.1 in the world. Immensely talented and extremely committed – we’re dedicating this re-release of Nike’s Air Tech Challenge 2 to Leo and Eitan’s story, and the future of South African tennis on the world stage.

On his start in the game, Leo shares that “tennis has been my main sport since I was young. It taught me a lot of life lessons and it's my happy place. I started playing tennis with my dad at the Mitchells Plain Tennis Club – I went with him one day when he was playing with friends, and I just kept going back.” For Eitan, he explains that, “my own journey with tennis began at a very young age when I showed great interest & passion for the game. Unbeknown to me, I had been born into a family which had a long history in tennis. My father’s parents and all his siblings had been involved in the game for many years, and my aunt, Patricia (nee’ Adams) Carolissen had been an unbeaten tennis champ at the age of 23, when she tragically died in a car accident. So tennis is in my genes. I was a top junior tennis player, and had some great success as a junior representing SA on numerous occasions.”

Eitan’s dream had always been to be amongst the top players in the world — not necessarily as a coach. At the time he was coming up, though, there were no structures to support him in pursuing a professional tennis career. After taking a scholarship at UCT, Eitan reminisces that, “I was then persuaded to assist with one of SA’s junior female rising stars, who went on to be top 100 in the world as a junior. Tennis coaching had found me; the rest as they say, is history.”

Eitan has been Leo’s coach since he was five years old. That’s how young, generally, talent needs to be spotted for a professional sporting career; in most cases, kids with such raw talent,never find the one to bring them toward their full potential. As Eitan explains, “It's important to understand that in order to nurture talent, you need to address various aspects of tennis; Firstly, the player must be surrounded by a strong, and experienced team. Then, while processing the talent, you need to look at developing the player holistically; and build the physical aspects, the emotional & psychological aspects, the technical aspects & the tactical aspects. Part of the process is also ensuring that you are working towards realistic benchmarks, while staying focused on improving. Lastly, it's important to not be focused on ranking, but rather to stay focused on improving,” while Leo clarifies that talent is just one part of his inner workings as a player, “I just keep working hard. I never let the skill get to my head – if you’re talented that can happen – so I continue to work hard and I’m always open to learn from anyone, and be receptive to take information in.”

“Eitan and I have a really good relationship, we’ve been together for so long. I trust him completely, and I believe everything he tells me and guides me to do. We’re like family and I think that’s really important, because you need to be close to the people who are with you on a journey like this.”

“As his AHTA team and as part of the MATCH foundation, we have a big vision for Leo,” says Eitan, and “our goal for the next 5 years is to break into the top 100 ATP, play top tournaments and make a living off tennis. So the vision is quite simple; focus on improving , and plan each year according to realistic ranking goals.” For Leo to continue on path to no.1, the motivation and goals are carefully considered from every angle. Eitan’s influence is in part, to shape Leos’ career, making the difference between his good and great performance, and ensuring that Leo can achieve his goals while enjoying a fulfilling and balanced career. As Eitan says, there are key considerations along the way; “currently Leo is ranked 1363 ATP, and we are looking to play 10 more tournaments before the end of this year, to break the first benchmark, and enter the top 1000. A key part of this plan is also securing additional funding and sponsorship, so that Leo can have access to the resources needed to leverage every single opportunity to become an African Champion. Spending 5 years on the tour comes at no easy cost , and could quite easily cost a player up to a million rand per year.”