Tuesdays with Junior | Ep 11 | March 17, 2026

Back on Clay: Sharpening the Edge

It’s been a while since Junior played on clay — and the surface has a memory. Clay doesn’t forget who’s been away. It asks questions with every point: Can you be patient here? Can you construct the rally, not just hit through it? Junior has been getting the answers back in training matches this week, logging the footage, adjusting the approach. The clay-court tournament is one week out, and the preparation is deliberate.

This is what the Mouratoglou Academy does exceptionally well — the transition. Not just physically adapting to a surface change, but recalibrating the mental model of how tennis is played. Hard court thinking and clay-court thinking are different architectures. Junior is doing the cognitive work of switching between them, under coaching, with real match time to accelerate the reset.

The Focus Block

Alongside the clay prep, Junior is also carving out focus time — not tournament focus, but training-block focus. The kind of concentrated technical work that gets harder the closer you get to competition. He’s doing it anyway. That discipline — prioritising the process in the week before the pressure — is a hallmark of players who make consistent progress. The tournament next week will reflect this week’s work. Follow along.

“I think I’m ready for the tournament next week. I can’t wait — I’m very excited. — Junior Hakizumwami”