Rick Crockett Reflects on Saddlebrook’s Lasting Influence of Harry Hopman
Sep 03, 2025
Rick Crockett has been with Saddlebrook and the Hopman Academy since its founding in 1979. Now serving as Academy Director, he has seen the academy grow into one of the most respected training grounds in the sport.
“We’ve had the fortune of a lot of WTA and ATP former players, Grand Slam champions that have called this their home,” Crockett said. “Pete Sampras was here for 10 years… James Blake moved in with Mardy Fish… John Isner for another 10 years… and then a little guy about 11 years old by the name of Sasha Zverev showed up here.” Martina Hingis also owned a home on the property. “These courts have been peppered with Grand Slam success.”
Above: Academy Director Rick Crockett. Source: Saddlebrook Resort.
Crockett credits the academy’s origins to Harry Hopman, the legendary Australian Davis Cup captain who won a record 16 titles. “His success came from the extreme training camps that he would have before competition,” Crockett explained. Hopman brought that concept to the United States in the early 1970s, shifting junior development away from country clubs and into dedicated academies. “He’s pretty much responsible for changing the landscape and starting academy tennis… he was the first one to do it.”
Central to Hopman’s philosophy was discipline and structure. “They need structure. They need disciplined routines,” Crockett said of developing players. “Ours are timed out — we do three blocks a day, 9 to 11, 1 to 3, 3 to 5. Within those blocks is a ton of repetition. Kids need repetition. They need thousands and thousands and thousands of balls.”
Hopman also believed in working with each player’s natural style rather than forcing one method. Crockett recalled a formative story: “There’s going to be a young boy from Ecuador… he’s got an extreme western grip, left-handed… if any of you coaches try to change his grip, you’re fired.” That boy, Andres Gomez, went on to win the French Open, defeating Andre Agassi. “That taught me a lesson… Hop had the eye through experience that could see that was a very natural grip and it turned into quite a weapon.”
Above: Harry Hopman, c. 1931. Original work by an unidentified photographer; derivative work by Vinkje83. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
For Crockett, that philosophy still drives the academy today. “You strengthen those routines, everything about your game gets better. Your UTR gets better, your college value gets better. You’ve got to put in the time, you’ve got to put in the reps, you’ve got to put in the road work.”
Reflecting on his own years training under Hopman’s system, Crockett said, “We’d train for five hours a day, play a match after that, then do fitness after that. That started in the morning and it ended when the sun went down… there’s no shortcuts. You’ve got to put in the time and the work.”
From the early days of Pete Sampras to the current generation of rising stars, Saddlebrook’s commitment to Hopman’s methods remains unchanged — a blend of structure, repetition, and respect for each player’s unique game.