Doing the Work Right with Harsh Mankad

Summary

Harsh Mankad of Tenicity — 30 years in tennis as player, 10 years as coach — presents a coaching technology platform that integrates lesson plans, match results, video analytics, and goal tracking in one place for coach, player, and parent. His core argument: technology in tennis must start with the problem it solves, not with the tool.

Guest Background

30 years involved in tennis as a player. 10 years as a coach. Founded Tenicity, a coaching analytics platform. Key partnerships: Zoto Tennis Academy in Spain (~75 players, 10-month program) and an Indian state tennis program (~100 players in a region the size of the northeast US). Has a partnership with Enersal (India’s “Gatorade equivalent”) for a 12-vlog + 12-instructional-video content series targeting Indian junior tennis development. Collaborated with ITA on a survey of approximately 12 coaches regarding analytics adoption.

Key Findings

Tenicity Platform: Unified Coach/Player/Parent Interface

Tenicity’s core function: a single platform where coaches log lesson plans, players and coaches log match results and post-match evaluations, video analytics are attached to match data, and goal tracking is maintained across the development timeline. The parent has read-access to relevant portions. This replaces the fragmented combination of spreadsheets, email threads, and verbal debriefs that most coaching relationships use.

Match Evaluations as Institutional Knowledge

One of the most practical features: coaches can log match evaluations of opponents — building a database of scouting information that persists beyond any single coaching relationship. When a coach leaves or a player moves programs, that opponent knowledge travels with the player record rather than disappearing with the coach.

Post-Match Logging Mobile App

A new mobile app for post-match logging allows players to record match evaluations immediately after competition — while the experience is fresh. This captures data that would otherwise be lost between the match and the next coaching session.

ITA Survey: College Coaches Want Analytics

The ITA survey of approximately 12 college coaches found a trend toward wanting analytics — specifically, shot pattern data from specific court positions. College coaches need to evaluate recruits on the basis of tactical execution, not just results. Tenicity is designed to produce this level of specificity: not “won 6-4, 6-3” but “first-strike tennis execution rate on second serve return from ad side.”

Recruiting Differentiator

Mankad’s argument to families: a player with a Tenicity record — documented lesson plans, match evaluations, video analysis, goal progression — arrives at the college recruiting conversation with evidence of development trajectory, not just a UTR number. College coaches can evaluate how the player learns and improves, not just where they currently stand.

”What Problem Are We Solving?”

His technology philosophy: every tool in tennis must start with the problem it solves, not with the technology itself. Analytics for the sake of data collection is noise. Analytics that answers “why did this player lose that match” and “what do we change for next time” is signal. He is explicit that Tenicity is built backwards from coaching problems, not forward from technological capability.

Indian Tennis Development Pipeline

His Enersal partnership targets Indian junior tennis development — 12 vlogs and 12 instructional videos distributed to Indian juniors through an energy drink brand partnership. This is an emerging market play: India has a massive junior tennis base that is dramatically underserved by high-quality coaching content in accessible formats.

Actionable Advice

• Implement a unified coach/player/parent data platform — eliminate the spreadsheet/email fragmentation that loses development data.
• Log opponent evaluations as institutional knowledge that persists in the player record.
• Use post-match mobile logging to capture evaluation data while it is fresh.
• Present development analytics to college coaches as a recruiting differentiator — trajectory evidence outperforms static UTR snapshots.
• Start every technology decision with the problem: “What coaching question does this answer?”

INTENNSE Relevance

Tenicity’s architecture is directly relevant to how INTENNSE should design its player development data infrastructure. The unified coach/player/parent interface, match evaluations as institutional knowledge, and shot-pattern analytics are all features INTENNSE needs at the league level. Mankad’s “what problem are we solving” principle should govern INTENNSE’s analytics build — starting from coaching decisions that need data, not from data collection for its own sake.

Notable Quotes

“Technology in tennis has to start with the problem, not the tool. What question are you trying to answer?”

“A player with a Tenicity record walks into a recruiting conversation with evidence — not just a UTR number.”