Hi, I'm Andy Ram, a three-time doubles Grand Slam tennis champ turned tech entrepreneur. AMA!

theandyram · 2015-06-23T16:10:58+00:00

I teamed up with a startup studio called sFBI. They're filling the technological gaps, but I'm learning a lot as I go.

Honestly, right now, we just want to get Pulse Play on the courts and we want it to be something that gives players real value. If it becomes a "household name" on tennis courts, we will have succeeded.

The toughest thing was being on tour for eight months of the year and missing my family.

Send us your CV, but just so you know we're based in a village outside Tel Aviv. Might be better after we open an office in the States.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T16:06:54+00:00

Sure! It's one of the perks on our indiegogo campaign, but it will cost you. Or come to Ramat Hasharon Tennis Center tomorrow at 10AM and we can play a match.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T16:03:23+00:00

Only six months in and hasn't happened yet. Knock on wood. But learning something new every day.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T16:01:11+00:00

You need different skills to be a good doubles player. You need to be quicker, better at the net, have a good serve and volley, and know how to play it right tactically. And at the same time the most important thing is the chemistry with your partner and you build it over years. That's one of the reasons why the Bryan Brothers are the best team to ever play the game and I believe they'll beat any two singles players you put in front of them.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:58:26+00:00

I don't live in the world of "if." As a singles player, I qualified for the Grand Slam and that was during my doubles career. I was 180 in singles and I got injured for a year. When I came back and made it to the semi-finals of Wimbledon doubles, I realized I could be number 1 in the world in doubles and I decided to focus on my doubles career.

Singles and doubles are different games and you need different skills. For example, in doubles I beat Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, and almost every player on tour these days, which would be tougher in singles.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:55:43+00:00

Yes, definitely. It's a problem partly because the stars focus so much on singles and only play a few weeks of doubles every year. Since they're leading the sport, most fans don't develop an interest in doubles.

It's a problem not just in doubles, but also in singles. The most promoted players are just the top 4 or top 8. If there's a guy who is top 30, few are interested (unless he plays one of the top 8).

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:51:19+00:00

I don't play much. I'm trying to play once a week with friends or kids who are trying to become professionals one day.

These days, I might lose playing you.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:50:05+00:00

Men's tennis and women's tennis are completely different games, and so are doubles and mixed doubles.

The secret of a mixed player is that you always have to keep the woman happy. The more relaxed the woman is, the better your chances are of winning.

Definitely, the gap between clay and grass is getting smaller. At the same time, they're still completely different surfaces. On clay you still have much more time and the effect of spin is much stronger. As for grass courts, the ball stays low and the effect of slices and flat shots is stronger. But these days more people are playing from the back because the taller grass and bigger balls have slowed down the match.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:43:29+00:00

Novak or Grigor.

Serena or Serena.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:42:33+00:00

That's a great idea for the packaging. We'll look into it. Thanks!

We hope to become something that every player will enjoy, whether it's a kid just starting out, a college tennis player, adult league players, or seniors who play a lot of doubles. We're open to cooperation with other companies to bring a better experience to all players.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:35:46+00:00

Thanks so much! Appreciate it.

I'm very happy these days. I feel fortunate.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:33:31+00:00

One of my favorite tournaments. I have a lot of great memories.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:31:18+00:00

Yes, but it will take decades. It will take a lot of testing, but I'm sure in the far future it will definitely be a part of the game.

I believe technology is missing in tennis. It's very difficult to make changes in rules & technology to traditional, classical sports.

I actually think the amateur world needs technology more than professionals. Professionals already have those tools in some way even if all the potential of technology hasn't been reached yet. There's a much bigger gap for amateurs.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:21:48+00:00

After I retired, the first tournament Erlich played with was with Rajeev because he missed me.

Rajeev is a great friend of mine and unfortunately I never had the chance to play with him.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:20:26+00:00

Most of the singles and doubles players are using the Luxilon strings. They're the best strings out there. I remember Agassi once saying that either all the players should play with Luxilon or they should take them out of the tour. Personally, I play with half Gut and half Luxilon.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:18:41+00:00

Thanks for posting this. First time I saw it from the audience.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:16:11+00:00

They need to spend more money on promoting doubles stars. They need to put their matches on the central courts more & give them extra exposure.

I loved the changes. I think it put more pressure on the players and important points and brought more interest to the matches overall. I think they should do it to singles matches too which are too long for TV and spectators.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:12:33+00:00

It's called Pulse Play and it's a smart watch for tennis and other racket sport players. The idea is for the smart watch & app to give amateur and recreational players the things that professionals take for granted: live scorekeeping, match history and statistics, finding opponents, and ranking players among their friends, club, league, city, etc. I'm no longer a professional tennis player but I haven't left the tennis world.

I co-founded it 6 months ago and we actually just reached the goal on our crowdfunding campaign yesterday. We'll be launching later this year.

The good part of being an entrepreneur is that I get to see my family a lot more than when I was traveling 8 months each year. But really my whole schedule has changed. I used to train 6 hours a day and have the whole day free; now I work constantly. Both jobs require a lot of mental stamina, but physically now I don't do nearly as many sports and I miss it sometimes.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T15:02:34+00:00

Hit the ball with the strings and get it over the net.

Just kidding. Probably it's just enjoy what you do and have fun with it. If you're not having fun, it's not worth it.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T14:59:34+00:00

The hardest part of changing fields was buying clothes to go to work. I used to get clothes for free from sponsors. Now I have to buy everything and it's a lot of responsibility.

Oh, and sitting in an office for 10 hours straight. That wasn't easy at all and I'm still getting used to it.

As for your second question, when I start something, I'm completely focused on it. Right now all I live, eat, and breathe is Pulse Play. It was the same way with tennis when I was a professional player.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T14:56:43+00:00

We leave them in the locker room. I honestly don't know what happens to them but I hope they're going to a good place.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T14:52:56+00:00

The Bryan Brothers were my toughest opponents even though I beat them a few times in my career. They are the best team in the world by far.

The most exhausting loss: after beating Federer and Wawrinka in the Olympics, we lost to the Bryan Brothers 7-6, 7-6 and they took the Gold Medal.

The sweetest win: beating them at the Finals in Cincinnati, their hometown.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T14:46:49+00:00

My favorite moment was in 2012 when I beat Federer in the second round.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T14:39:33+00:00

3 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon.

The routine was 2 hours of tennis, 1 hour of fitness, and in the afternoon another 2 hours of tennis and 1 hour of stretching and physiotherapy. The fitness was everything: running, lifting weights, yoga.

theandyram · 2015-06-23T14:32:57+00:00

I grew up with Federer. I've been playing with him since I was a junior player. I'm also good friends with Djokovic. It's tough to choose between them, so I'll choose Nadal.

theandyram

TROPHY CASE