Badminton : Alex Lanier remporte l'Open de Singapour

Bonne nouvelle pour le VfB Stuttgart. Le club et son attaquant international allemand Deniz Undav, 29 ans, ont convenu d’une prolongation anticipée de leur contrat.

Le meilleur buteur allemand de la saison passée est désormais lié à Stuttgart jusqu’en 2029, avec une option pour une année supplémentaire. Une prolongation logique pour le vice-capitaine devenu incontournable à Bad Cannstatt.

Le buteur qui a fait renaître Stuttgart

Arrivé en prêt de Brighton à l’été 2023, Deniz Undav a tout de suite marqué. 19 buts lors de sa première saison en Bundesliga, une 2e place du championnat et une qualification en Ligue des champions. Acheté définitivement en 2024, il a encore haussé le curseur, 25 buts et 14 passes décisives en 46 matchs officiels la saison dernière. Bilan total sur 3 ans,117 matchs, 57 buts, 30 passes décisives. Son profil de faux 9, entre percussion et remise, a fait de lui un joueur clé du projet Stuttgart.

International allemand et taulier du VfB

Ses performances en club lui ont ouvert les portes de la Mannschaft. Première convocation en mars 2024, puis quarts de finale à l’Euro à domicile. 8 sélections, 6 buts déjà. Dimanche contre la Finlande, il a encore frappé avec un doublé et une passe décisive en amical 4-0. Sélectionné pour la Coupe du Monde 2026 au Canada, Mexique, USA, Undav est devenu le visage de l’attaque allemande. A Stuttgart, il porte le brassard de vice-capitaine et incarne la continuité sportive voulue par le club.

Déjà un nom dans l’histoire du club

En mai dernier, Undav a écrit une page du VfB en remportant la Coupe d’Allemagne, la première depuis 1997. En finale contre Arminia Bielefeld, il a marqué le but du 3-0 dans la victoire 4-2. Sur la scène européenne aussi il a brillé, premier buteur du club en C1 depuis 2010 au Bernabéu, et 3 buts + 6 passes décisives en Ligue Europa la saison passée. Avec ce contrat jusqu’en 2029, Stuttgart sécurise son attaquant star pour construire autour de lui.

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Two-time Grand Slam doubles finalist Raven Klaasen sat down with The South African’s Dave Marshall for an exclusive chat at the ongoing French Open at Roland Garros.

Klaasen, now a respected tennis coach, spoke about learning to see the bigger picture and the human side of tennis – among other topics.

Learning to See the Bigger Picture

For many former professional players, stepping into coaching can feel like entering a completely different sport.

The instincts that once drove personal success suddenly need to be redirected toward helping someone else grow.

For Klaasen making that transition, the biggest adjustment has been learning not to overload players with information.

“As a player, your mind is overwhelmed trying to fix everything at once,” he explains.

“A coach has to see the bigger picture.”

That philosophy reflects a growing shift in modern tennis coaching – especially among former tour professionals who understand firsthand how mentally demanding elite tennis can be.

Rather than trying to correct every flaw immediately, successful coaches now focus on prioritising key improvements and helping players absorb information in manageable stages.

Raven Klaasen believes this approach could have helped him during his own playing career. Looking back, he admits there were periods when he was “all over the place” mentally, trying to address too many issues simultaneously instead of simplifying the process.

That lesson now shapes his coaching style.

Coaching Is About Timing

One of the most overlooked aspects of coaching, Klaasen says, is understanding when a player is ready to receive information.

Some athletes thrive on detailed technical analysis, while others perform better with minimal instruction.

“Sometimes you think you’re helping, and you could actually be making things worse,” Klaasen says.

This is particularly relevant in South African tennis, where many young players often work with multiple coaches throughout their development. Building trust becomes essential before meaningful progress can happen.

“In the coaching field, that relationship is important,” he explains.

“It takes time to get trust and buy-in.”

That trust is usually earned during difficult moments – not during comfortable practice sessions. The coach believes the strongest player-coach relationships are formed when strategies discussed off court successfully translate into pressure situations during matches.

“When something works in a crucial moment, that really cements trust,” he says.

The Human Side of Tennis

While technical development remains important, modern coaching increasingly revolves around communication, emotional intelligence, and psychology.

The best coaches understand not just the athlete, but the person behind the athlete.

This is especially significant in South Africa, where players often face additional challenges such as limited funding, travel barriers, and reduced access to international competition compared to their European counterparts.

For Raven Klaasen, the transition from player to mentor has reinforced one key truth: coaching is not simply about feeding information. It’s about understanding personalities, managing emotions, and knowing exactly when to push and when to step back.

And perhaps that is the biggest lesson South African tennis can embrace moving forward – developing not only better players, but smarter coaching relationships that maximise potential over the long term.

About Raven Klaasen

Klaasen, now 43, achieved his career-high doubles ranking of world No 7 in August 2019, and won 19 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including two at Masters 1000 level.

He is a two-time Grand Slam finalist, having finished runner-up at the 2014 Australian Open alongside Eric Butorac, and the 2018 Wimbledon Championships with Michael Venus.

He was also runner-up at the ATP Finals in both 2016 and 2019, partnering Rajeev Ram and Venus, respectively.

Dave Marshall is reporting exclusively from the 2026 French Open at Roland-Garros for The South African.