• Tennis Lessons for Beginners • Near King's Cross Station and Russell Square Station • New Students are welcome as of May 2026

Find out more about Shin

• What age did you start playing sport? Tell us about this time or moment in your life.

  I remember that when I was 4 or 5 years old, my parents put me into tennis lessons when I lived in New York. I vividly remember our coach telling us to hit the ball against the wall on the other side of the baseline and the ceiling above it, instead of hitting it inside the baseline. Now I can clearly understand why the coach gave such instructions. However, at the time, I was afraid that if the ball went over the baseline, I would lose points, so I didn't follow the instruction and missed out on the candy prize.

• What are your favourite sports; those that you practice at a high level, a simple hobby, and a sport that you'd still like to discover?

  In addition to tennis, I played baseball seriously. In my home country, Japan, baseball is one of the most popular sports. I also learned swimming when I was young. It was good for me that I experienced both individual and team sports in my youth.

• What gives you the motivation and passion to pursue your sport?

  I have two reasons to continue pursuing tennis. One is that it gives me friendship. I feel playing tennis is like having a conversation. I feel that, through playing rallies, we can get to know each other more. The second thing is that it teaches me the way to improve and gives me confidence. Sports teach me what kind of things I need to do and what virtues I need to cultivate in order to become better at some field. Sports provide me with the experience that if I practice hundreds of times in the correct ways with patience, I will definitely improve. And this experience gives me self-confidence.

• Do you have a sporting achievement that you're particularly proud of?

  I have fond memories of winning a mixed doubles tournament. This is a very important memory because I competed in many tournaments with a fixed doubles partner, through which we cultivated our teamwork, and finally managed to win. It was also really fun to win runner-up in the men's doubles team local tournament in Tokyo. Other than tennis, I have fond memories of miraculously winning the last local baseball tournament as an elementary school student. It was miraculous because our team was the underdog for years when I belonged to it. At the final, I got two hits, and after the first hit, I cried with joy on second base, because I was suffering from a long slump.
  
  As a tennis coach, the high school girls and boys teams that I coached made it to the top 32 and top 16 in Tokyo, respectively, in a tournament attended by high schools all over Tokyo. There were about 330 high schools participating in both the boys' and girls' tournaments, and the high school where I worked didn't put much effort into scouting promising players, so these results were the best possible result and a great achievement. I'm proud of all the students, including students who were not included in the match team.

• How have your achievements and challenges made you a better sportsperson?

  I think the accumulation of small things made me a better sportsperson. I faced a lot of challenges, such as the problem of my forehand, backhand, volley and serve. Each time, I practiced thousands of balls for hours with patience and concentration. Each time, I have definitely improved and overcome each obstacle step by step. I think these small processes made my mentality and physical better as a sportsperson.

• If you had to go for a jog with a famous athlete, who would you choose? And what questions would you ask them?

  I would choose Kei Nishikori. I'd like to know, from his perspective, what the difference is between a top 10 player and others, and a top 100 player and others.

• How do you help people stay motivated?

  Two things to mention.
  First, my motto is "No long lectures! Hit hundreds of balls!" I've seen many coaches who take too long to explain things, which made me less motivated. I try to keep explanations short and provide plenty of opportunities to hit the ball. As for how to keep the explanation short, for example, instead of lecturing students to swing wide forward, I have them practice hitting a ball coming from behind. If you try to hit a ball coming from behind, you naturally tend to swing far forward. Using this kind of ideas and secrets, I try to cut my lecture time and keep my students motivated.
  
  Secondly, I try to be fully committed to substantial improvement of student play. Sometimes practice might appear to be too simple or too repetitive. However, I have seen many students stay highly motivated as long as they appreciate that their skills actually improve through practices.

• What makes you a Superprof in sports?

  I think it is my intuition and insight. My lessons are built on insights I had from my past coaches and from the expressions on my past students' faces. Also, insights from my past experiences with meditation, Zen, and yoga are also important components of my lessons. For example, in my lessons, I place great importance on breathing control when hitting the ball. By controlling your breathing, you can easily hit powerful shots and gain a sense of stability in your play. This is also something that all top players do naturally. This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I even want my students to feel like my tennis lessons are a kind of yoga practice. In conclusion, I think my intuition and insight make my lesson a little bit unique.