A Strong Serve: High Performance Tennis

Aiglon is growing its High Performance Sport programme beyond the ski slopes. Tennis has become one of Aiglon’s target sports, with the long-term ambition to develop nationally ranked athletes and support students who aspire to scholarships and university opportunities through sport.

That ambition is backed by year-round indoor and outdoor training in Villars, supported through Aiglon’s collaboration with the Villars Sports Centre. The result is a high performance tennis programme for students who want to train seriously while staying fully engaged with academics and school life.

It is the next step in a programme that has been building momentum for years.

Jamie Wilcocks, Head of Competitive Snowsports and Performance Athletes, says the programme is becoming more intentional in the way it trains, develops and supports players over time." We’ve already got a strong base and we’re now putting a clear structure around it,” Jamie says. “We want tennis to go beyond PE and become a genuine pathway for both elite and amateur athletes.”

Starting young, building skills early

Tennis at Aiglon begins with fundamentals that are built as early as Junior School, where students hone coordination and racket skills through games and racket-based activities like pickleball and paddleball; that develops further through tennis activities in Senior School PE. By the time students reach the later years, the programme can support a wide range of experience levels. 

Andy Moore, Professional Tennis Coach, works with Aiglonians through the Villars Sports Centre. “The tennis centre has kids starting from four or five years old,” says Andy who has been coaching in Villars for more than two decades and has helped shape the area’s tennis culture. “Some students arrive at the school already training regularly and are happy to find an intense programme that matches their ambition.”

Professional Tennis Coach Kazem Huber, also President of the Lausanne-Sports Tennis and Administrator of Villars Alpine Tennis SA, says many younger players are highly motivated be part of the team. “They either join because they are very keen, or because they are already very good players,” he says. 

Training that matches the player

The high performance tennis programme counts its earliest beginnings in 2018, when a small group of talented students started training regularly in Villars. The programme currently has 20 competitive players, with nine in the performance squad and 11 in the development programme. A third junior performance squad is also in the works. Competitive participation is expected throughout, with tailored coaching and tournament experience built right into the programme. 

A typical week includes both private lessons and team trainings, as well as competitions. The school strongly supports the local competition scene by sponsoring prizes for Sunday tournaments that are organised by Villars Sports Centre. Higher-level players then also compete both regionally and nationally.

“We run evening team trainings twice a week for 1.5-2 hours,” explains Jamie, emphasising that training sessions are more than just general team play and each is planned with a clear objective in mind. “Each session has its own purpose,” he says. “We train as a team, but we’re also constantly observing where students are strong, where they need support and what will help them progress most efficiently.”

A ‘mind, body, spirit’ sport

Aiglon’s vision for education centres on the balanced development of mind, body and spirit. Tennis fits naturally within that philosophy because it develops more than physical skill. The sport demands conditioning, but it also asks for concentration, judgement and self-control. Players learn to manage their energy and stay composed through small swings in momentum. They must make choices constantly—sometimes the best option is to stay patient, sometimes it is to change pace. 

“Aiglon has a holistic approach, and tennis fits that in its essence,” Kazem says. “It’s a multidimensional sport. It’s never only the most passionate, or the fittest, or the smartest. It’s a fine balance that makes a great tennis player.”

Playing the big points

Tennis matches can turn on a handful of moments, and patience and nerve matter as much as technique. “All points don’t have the same value,” Kazem says. “Match point, pressure points—those moments are different.”

Jamie describes the role of tactical discipline and mindset support within training. “We want students to develop tactical discipline,” he says. “They need to understand when to play with patience, when to take calculated risks and how to adapt under pressure.”

That support makes a difference for students balancing training with school expectations. Kaiyee, a student in the performance squad, has seen the programme become more competitive, with more opportunities to play. “I’ve been at Aiglon for five years and I’ve seen the development of the programme,” Kaiyee says. “It didn’t start out very competitive, but Jamie helped us to grow and it’s been a great opportunity to compete in Switzerland. Being in the team is something that I really appreciate. The level has been raised quite significantly, and it’s helped everyone to improve.”

The results speak for themselves—in 2025, Aiglon delivered a standout performance at the SGIS Doubles Tournament, winning all four titles across categories A and B. Jamie says the High Performance tennis programme now has the foundation to keep heading toward greatness. “We want Aiglon to be the first school people associate with tennis in Switzerland, and we now have the structure to support ambitious players properly.”