Good to Great Tennis Academy

Good to Great Tennis Academy

If you grew up on stories of Sweden’s tennis dynasty, Good to Great feels like stepping into a living chapter of that tradition. Founded in 2011 by Magnus Norman, Nicklas Kulti, and Mikael Tillström, the academy was built around a simple idea that requires uncommon discipline: keep the program small, keep standards high, and let players work every day with coaches who have actually walked the road from junior hopeful to world class professional. After an itinerant start, the academy established its permanent base in Danderyd, just north of central Stockholm, and opened its current arena in 2018. The result is a compact, purpose built environment where training, recovery, meals, and boarding live under one roof.

Why Stockholm and why Danderyd

Danderyd sits a few metro stops from Stockholm’s city center and about a 25 minute drive from Stockholm Arlanda Airport. That proximity matters for both juniors and visiting professionals, because it makes arrivals, tournament hops, and family visits simple. The climate is a training advantage as much as a logistical factor. Winters are cold and daylight is short, which places a premium on reliable indoor infrastructure. Good to Great’s arena provides exactly that, so volume and quality do not depend on the weather. As spring opens, players transition to the outdoor courts, using the change in surface and conditions to sharpen footwork and decision making. The arena’s front of house is open to the public, which keeps league matches and casual play swirling in the background. Squads train in dedicated blocks, so players get the benefits of a genuine academy bubble without the feeling of isolation.

Facilities that remove excuses

The tennis footprint is clear and specific: seven indoor hard courts, five outdoor clay courts, and one outdoor hard court. For crossover and coordination training, the arena also includes padel courts, with both indoor and outdoor options. A 350 square meter performance gym sits at the heart of the facility, equipped for strength, speed, and power work. An on site osteopath and chiropractor support day to day niggles, and a sports clinic handles treatment, massage, and rehabilitation. There is a professional stringing service run by a tour experienced stringer, a pro shop for essentials, and a full restaurant and café that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Boarding is on site and intentionally simple. The arena provides full board accommodation in 21 double rooms with shared corridor bathrooms, plus a players lounge that acts as a living room between sessions. That proximity turns recovery into a controllable variable. You leave fitness, walk thirty seconds, eat a hot lunch, and you are back on court for the afternoon block without a commute. Parents who visit for a week or two will find the café terrace and common areas make the space livable, and when capacity allows, limited on site hosting can be arranged.

Coaching lineage and how they work

The academy’s coaching culture is traceable to its founders. Magnus Norman reached world number 2 in singles and later coached Stan Wawrinka to three Grand Slam titles. Mikael Tillström climbed into the top 40 in singles and top 15 in doubles, later working with players including Gaël Monfils and Maria Sakkari. Nicklas Kulti was a Davis Cup stalwart who carried top tier rankings in singles and doubles. Their leadership group includes Johan Hedsberg, former Swedish Davis Cup captain, alongside a supporting staff of tour and federation coaches plus performance specialists in strength, conditioning, and therapy.

The working model is deliberately intimate. Training groups run at roughly one to three players per court per coach. A typical academy day includes two 90 minute tennis sessions plus one hour of fitness. That ratio and structure create the time for real improvement: footwork patterns that hold up under pressure, serve and return repetitions at match speed, and point construction blocks that are long enough to learn yet short enough to sustain quality. Coaches make frequent use of situation based drills and constrained scoring to anchor tactical habits. The tone is professional but direct, with feedback delivered on court and reinforced in the gym.

Programs and pathways

Good to Great offers multiple on ramps with clear expectations and published pricing.

• Annual Academy Program. This year round, all inclusive option with full board is built for players who want a true base. The stated price is €44,500 per year. For families mapping a multi year pathway, the clarity helps with budgeting and comparing against other European academies.

• Weekly Academy Program. A one week immersion that runs two daily tennis sessions Monday to Friday, a Saturday hit, and group fitness through the week. Weekly access to the performance center and medical support is included. Price is listed at €1,200 per week, with accommodation optional. This serves well as a tryout, a tune up, or a focused block during school holidays.

• Semester Program. A 16 week term with boarding and study support twice a week. For the current cycle, guidance is ages 14 to 19 with a minimum Universal Tennis Rating of 8, and the fee is published at €17,000 for the term. The semester format mirrors how many juniors plan a European season and balances training volume with competition.

• Performance and Kids Camps. Performance Camps run as five day blocks for competitive players, typically with a minimum Universal Tennis Rating of 3, and include on site boarding and meals. Kids Camps blend tennis and padel for younger athletes, usually eight to fourteen, with daily lunch and plenty of movement variety.

Applications are straightforward. Families share age, ranking, and target program, then the staff follows up with placement guidance. For athletes testing the waters, a Trial Week option makes it easy to experience the routine and training load before committing to a longer stay. All details and fees are subject to periodic updates, but the academy’s practice is to keep main prices public.

Development model in practice

The technical anchor is simple and ruthless: repeatable movement, a serve plus first ball foundation, and clean contact through pressure. Coaches build out patterns that fit a player’s physical profile rather than forcing a template. Tactically, the weekly plan cycles between situation drilling, constrained points, and full sets. A given day might start with short court rhythm, shift into serve plus one forehand patterns, then close with first to four games that demand front foot intent. Coaches are explicit about intentions for each block so players know what success looks like.

The fitness hour is not window dressing. Speed and acceleration work is paired with medicine ball throws, split step timing drills, and jump training to reinforce elastic power. Strength sessions address robustness in the shoulders, hips, and ankles, with regular screening to catch small issues before they become setbacks. Because therapy and clinic services are on site, niggles get same day attention and training plans are adjusted rather than cancelled.

Mental skills are woven into daily habits. Players learn pre point routines, basic breathing protocols for tight moments, and simple journaling to capture lesson carryover from practice to tournaments. The coaching staff’s background with touring pros keeps the message grounded in what travels under pressure, not in slogans.

Education is addressed practically. Good to Great does not run a formal in house school. Instead, players manage their own education programs, and the academy provides a tutor on site three times per week for general homework and study support. English and Swedish are spoken daily, and the player group is international enough that juniors learn to communicate across accents and styles, a subtle but real advantage when competing across Europe.

Alumni and role models

Because the founders have coached top professionals, high level players often cycle through the arena, especially in off seasons. The player wall has featured names such as Stan Wawrinka and Denis Shapovalov, along with current professionals and promising juniors in the system. For a teenager, sharing a hallway or gym block with a touring player resets what normal looks like. It also keeps the coaching staff honest about standards, since their work is stress tested by the professional game on a regular basis.

Daily rhythm and culture

A typical day begins with breakfast at the arena, the morning tennis block, lunch, an afternoon tennis block, a fitness hour, and dinner. The presence of a public facing café and terrace keeps family visits pleasant and gives the environment a lived in feel. The players lounge and compact dorm layout help athletes settle quickly. The aim is not to wall off juniors from the world. The aim is to place them in a functioning tennis ecosystem and then set clear, enforceable habits inside that ecosystem. Expectations are stated up front: punctuality, court discipline, respect for teammates and staff, and consistent effort. It adds up to a culture that feels professional without being joyless.

Access, logistics, and costs

Location is often the deal maker. The arena sits at Rinkebyvägen 20 in Danderyd and is roughly 25 minutes by car from Arlanda, Sweden’s main international hub. Compared with spread out campuses, the single site setup reduces friction. Players can move from court to gym to meals to recovery without lost time. Costs are visible for the major programs, which is not always the case at top academies. Weekly and annual options list €1,200 per week and €44,500 per year respectively, while semester blocks publish a flat €17,000 for 16 weeks including full board. Visa support is informational only, so non European Union families should plan accordingly for lead times.

Scholarships are not advertised as a formal program. The arena does work with sponsors and partners, but families should expect to pay listed fees or ask about case by case support when relevant. Capacity is intentionally limited, and selection leans on age, current level, and program fit rather than simply filling beds.

What sets it apart

• Founder access and continuity. Norman, Tillström, and Kulti are not names on a wall. They are visible and hands on, ensuring vision connects directly to daily coaching.
• Reliable indoor infrastructure. Seven indoor hard courts, an in house gym and sports clinic, and on site boarding mean training blocks run on schedule all winter.
• Small ratios with a real day plan. One to three players per court per coach and a standing schedule of two 90 minute tennis blocks plus fitness convert ambition into repeatable habits.
• Transparent pricing and clear pathways. Weekly, semester, and annual options are easy to compare and plan around, with public criteria for entry.
• A European base with tournament flexibility. Stockholm’s transport links make it straightforward to reach Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the UK for competition.

How it compares within Europe

Families often look at a short list of European options before committing. If winter training and indoor reliability are the priority, the northern model here pairs well with a look at the Jarkko Nieminen Areena in Finland. If you prefer a sunnier climate and a larger campus, consider the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy on the Riviera. For a boutique feel at a comparable scale in a different setting, the Piatti Tennis Center on Lake Garda offers another reference point. These comparisons help clarify whether you want a compact, founder led environment or a broader campus experience.

Future outlook and vision

The arena’s original project broke ground with a major corporate partner and has since evolved under a new naming sponsor, a sign of stable investment around the complex. Recent communication from the academy emphasizes selective growth rather than scale. Expect more targeted semester blocks, visiting federation camps, and continued overlap with touring professionals who base in Stockholm for pre season or recovery blocks. The leadership seems intent on preserving the core advantage of the place: access to experienced coaches in a setting small enough that no one gets lost.

Is it for you

Choose Good to Great if you want a compact, no nonsense program where court time, fitness, recovery, and meals live under one roof and the people in charge have personally navigated the jump from junior to pro. It suits 14 to 19 year olds with clear goals, families who value transparent pricing and on site boarding, and players who respond well to small training ratios and a daily plan that repeats until it sticks. If you need a formal in house school or a large campus with sprawling entertainment options, look elsewhere. If you want a high touch environment near a major European hub that treats development like a craft, this Stockholm base is worth a serious visit.

Bottom line

Good to Great delivers exactly what its name promises: a rigorous pathway from solid to excellent built by coaches who have done it themselves. The arena is modern without being flashy, the program is structured without being rigid, and the culture is ambitious without losing its human edge. For the right player and family, that combination is hard to beat.