Tennis Elbow 4 Media

Exclusive Stan Sport Interview with Dani21

09.01.2026


Interviewer: We are here down under, with World No.2 Dani21, winner of 10 titles on tour, which includes an incredible run to the Madrid Masters. He also recently lifted the Davis Cup with Romania.

Dani21: Good evening,it's a pleasure to be here.

Interviewer: It’s nice to have you Dani, we’ve been trying to get an interview with you for so long, glad we finally managed to catch you. So you just recently lifted the Davis Cup, how was that experience? I’m sure you’ve been celebrating that with your teammates

Dani21: I have to say, starting Davis Cup I did not expect us to go on to lift the title. Team USA had two great singles players who can both beat anyone on tour at their best so the result was an unexpected surprise. Getting that win over Debuffy after 1 year and a bit and around 10 matches was a really good feeling and I was ecstatic about it. I really have to thank my teammate Luc. In the match vs Japan he really saved us with his win over Yukihiro, that was the crucial match for us.

Interviewer: Yeah it was a very long and challenging event with 29 nations involved, you really had to be the best TEAM to contend for the title, especially with the format and you were able to beat the favourites in the final. Your team seemed very passionate about the event and representing your nation. Is this a tournament you dreamt of winning? And where would you rank this in your list of achievements?

Dani21: Before the tournament I absolutely didn't think we would have a shot. However, i love playing in team events, i always perform my best in them and it's always loads of fun. Luc was also a brilliant teammate, very helpful and encouraging and this is his win as much as it is mine. As to my achievements list i don't really have a list to be fair, I just play and see what happens. Objectively speaking however i think it would probably be just beneath reaching the four slam finals and winning a masters, just due to the fact that the Madrid win was really unexpected at that time. So probably top 3 (if you count the slam finals as one achievement).

Interviewer: Yeah you seem inspired in team events, you also guided Team Dani to a commanding win vs Team Buffy in the inaugural Mystery Cup, with some fine performances of your own on the court. If the majority of the year was team events maybe you’d be no.1 ???? They say history always remembers the winners, but you have been in an incredible number of finals, 29 total, including the final at all 4 slams on wtsl. Despite the losses you’ve been involved in some epic matches and those are solid achievements. But why do you think you’ve lost so many finals? Is there anything you think can be done to reverse that trend?

Dani21: Well, with regard to the team events there s a reason i won my first slam event in competitive doubles right? ???? . Cosnidering the finals in my opinion it's about me starting to care about the match. I start really wanting to win and that makes me play worse leading to more mistakes. It's easier to win a semifinal than it is to win a final. But i don't think there's a secret recipe with regard to winning the match, i feel like i just have to think less about the tournament or the relevance of the match and i will do better. There's a reason i performed better in the finals i didn't expect to have too much of a shot in (like AO last year or Madrid 24') than in the ones where i expected myself to win (Madrid 25' for example).

Interviewer: Yeah sometimes wanting it so much can backfire, but you’ve always been a very passionate player on the court. Do you think it has positively impacted your evolution and success as a player? There’s also one more factor you might be loathe to mention, but you’ve faced one player in many of those finals, the guy above you in the rankings, Debuffy, with limited success. However your 2 wins vs him were in finals. How would you describe this rivalry with Debuffy?

Dani21: It's not a rivalry if he always kicks my ass is it? Jokes aside I think the Debuffy match up is particularly painful for me tactically because his strengths usually target precisely my weaknesses and my strengths are usually more neutralised. For example I have a really good second serve return but i rarely get to take advantage of it and play on the front for because he gets 80%+ 1st serves in. However i think the head to head is more a consequence of playing in the finals than the other way around. I have also done poorly vs other players in finals (see qoodL in 2025 , insane year he had by the way) while in semifinals i performed better (i beat him in Wimbledon SF). If the matches were played in neutral conditions i think it would be closer. About passion, I am passionate but I think it hurts me. I do my best when being calm and almost not caring. The moment i start really wanting to win i start overthinking and trying too many different things none of which are consistent. Then my game just breaks down. This is literally the epitome of my clay season last year (which was not great after the Madrid final).

Interviewer: Do you have a coach at the moment? Perhaps he could help you make the tactical and mental adjustments necessary to beat Debuffy and win finals? However as you said there are lots of threats on tour and this past year was probably the most competitive year in wtsl’s history. You’ve come a long way from where you were in 2022, what would you credit your meteoric rise to?

Dani21: Well, let's take it from the begining. There are three aspects which lead to me becoming better. Changing laptop in 2023 in the summer. Laver Cup 2023. Playing doubles practice and sometimes singles with Mystery back then as well. The first was really important because the frames per second difference was absurd between old and new. Due to my newer laptop breaking last year i had to play the US Open 2024 Final on the old laptop. And the result was dreadful. The difference is really immense it felt like going from a pager to using a smartphone within the game. Laver Cup 23' was really the moment i first became competitive. I have to credit former no.1 Fractals for that. We played doubles together on day 1 so we trained a lot for it. The sheer volume of practice sets we played taught me a whole lot about the game and he also explained some basic strategies. My first good character, Musetti, was also his idea and suggestion. He really helped me all around for that Laver Cup and with his intervention and help i rose 800 Elo in one month. Also, playing with Yale is self explanatory. Just watching him play and seeing some patterns gave so much insight into his way of playing the game. He is so impressive to watch but believe me playing with him in doubles was even more impressive, he has such an unbelievable game sense. While mechanically there may be other players who were close to him, his game intelligence and shotmaking is literally unmatched. He could always read how to play. With regard to a coach i do not have somebody dedicated for it. However i do sometimes discuss strategies with Yale and some small details. He really helped me reset after Roland Garros last year when i was in a slump, the surprising Wimbledon run that came after is also in part his merit.

Interviewer: So Yale is your de facto coach, I’ve heard his services have been sought by many players heheh, but yeah he’s the goat so being coached by him is a blessing. You were voted trickiest player this year, and many people have remarked about your unconventional playstyle and mannerisms over the years, how do you reconcile this with the advice you’ve received from Yale and the playstyle of others on tour? Do you think that playing the way you do, you can ultimately still win the biggest prizes? You mention doubles practice with Yale, as essential to evolving as a player, and ultimately that helped you win the Davis Cup, and you’re a former number 1 in doubles. We currently have one player, Arv, absolutely dominating the doubles tour, having gone the year undefeated, do you think you or others can present a sterner challenge to him next year? And aside from coach Yale, do you have other friends on tour?

Dani21: Well, I think mechanically I am not as good as the other players on tour. Maybe I am too self critical but I always thought i had to win using my brain way more than using my technical skills. Most matches are like a puzzle, some easier to solve and some more difficult. That's why i use so many different strategies like dropshots, net play, serve and volley, I always try to figure out which strategy plays to my opponents weakness' in order to hide my own. And I 100% think that with some adjustments which i won't mention here I can win. My wins last year in the slams were proof that i can adapt my way to winning (in the Wimbledon QF match vs Lala i came to the net 136 times for example). With regard to Arv in doubles i am very doubtful. I was undefeated in doubles in Davis Cup for example but i never even took a set from Arv. He really understands how to play the AI especially and get small advantages. I hope people can get closer to his level but i have my doubts. As to other friends, I d mention Madferit first and foremost, we talk quite a bit. Of course there's Luc as well, with whom I played Davis Cup. I d also like to mention Unicah, as well as KingBarboza. Lastly, while I do love pushing his buttons a bit I really feel like I have a good connection with Debuffy and we get along pretty well. Shoutout to the other teammates in Mystery Cup as well as the coaches of Team Dani, that group was unbelievably cool and the atmosphere was great throughout.

Interviewer: Well you are definitely quite adaptable and astute tactically, able to maintain a high level in atp wta and comp dubs which require different skill sets atop your mechanical base. But yeah it’s so far been difficult for anyone to win consistently at the highest level without being predominantly solid from the baseline, offensively and defensively. That match vs Lala at Wimbledon was incredible as you beat him strictly with serve and volley, something only Barboza has managed to replicate at the top level. And it’s good that you have other friends on tour, they can help push you and elevate your performance and make the tour life more pleasant. Do you have any other interesting rivalries on the tour? And are there any players who you admire, past or present?

Dani21: Well, let's start with who i admire as players around. I'd start with Yale and Jijo because they were always around and they always performed. Debuffy as well is another incredible player and I d mention Fractals alongside him. But I want to mention somebody maybe unexpected here as well. I admire Gifu(ML)'s meteoric rise as well. His level improvement is way above anything I expected and i don't think it can be repeated. His defensive game is top notch and winning the WTSL Finals is a confirmation of his impressive talent and improvement. With regards to my rivalries I ll mention the following rivalries besides Debuffy: Unicah. He managed to beat me in Wimbledon WTA. That was really frustrating at the time cause my only losses came in slams in WTA. Plus he knows how to get under my skin with his gamestyle so our matches usually are really good. KingBarboza. We play rarely but they are bangers usually, that Washington match was one of the best matches I played. i find the clash of variety really interesting even for a bystander. QoodL. He got me good in 2025. His defense is really consistent and he has a lot of tools. He's definitely a player I want to avoid. Arv. The head to head versus him is way more lopsided than it should be. In two of my wins he had matchpoints (Rotterdam and Shanghai). Additionally he definitely gets me good in Competitive Doubles keeping things on edge. He's also the only player not named Debuffy to have beaten me in a slam since Yale beat me in the RG 2024 final. Cool stat right?

Interviewer: You sure are part of a lot of interesting rivalries on the tour! Have you ever got into any bust ups?

Dani21: Bad matchups? My matches versus Mohd were all terrible. I didn't necessarily enjoy his on court demeanor (which was even worse than mine if that can be believed) and all the matches we played were full of drama and lacking too much skill. Additionally, I would say my matches versus Ptacek aren't that interesting either for whatever reason, I feel neither of us plays to their potential and the results are stale. We played way cooler sets in practice for Mystery Cup where Ptacek was so good in practice I was considering having him play instead of me or QoodL on day 3. My worst match was definitely versus Mohd in the Olympics. I was playing an unorthodox style with dropshots and he paused mid-match to report me for spamming even though I was playing to win. We had a really heated exchange afterwards on the topic. Now I am not the most calm person around, however for officials i try to keep it as tidy as possible. It's one thing to complain in practice and it is another to influence the game in an official match with complaining mid-match, that is unfair to the opponent and I avoid it to the best of my ability. But yes, I have had some intriguing complaints throughout time. A funny example is back when i started i didn't know the etiquete, so i was spamming "Nice shot!" even though the winners were typical. I just didn't know how good the shot was back then. It took a while till' somebody told me why people were chat blocking me ???? As it is clear though, playing Mohd was always the no.1 experience i dreaded.

Interviewer: So what did you think of your 2025 season and what are your goals for next season?

Dani21: The 2025 season was really interesting. I got to 3 slam finals and the only slam in which I didn't make it was the slam I expected to win. It was a mixed bag to be honest. But I have to be happy with how I bounced back from the clay season. In this season my goal is to improve a couple of weaknesses that keep getting exploited in some big matches and to try to have a better playing level in the finals. I don't have a goal of winning a particular title because the only time I did that (wanting to win RG 2025) it ended miserably. It will be a tournament by tournament year and I'll live and learn and we'll see what happens

Interviewer: Yeah you had some big upsets but also some big wins. You never know, that approach might bring you some beautiful surprises. You are entering AO as one of the top favourites for the title, after reaching the final last year playing 3 consecutive five setters? Who do you think will go all the way? And have you been able to start preparing for it?

Dani21: I have played plenty of practice but my level is very inconsistent. It was the same way last year, there's a reason why I played 3 five setters, so I will just try to play and see what happens, despite the surface no longer being my favorite. At the moment Debuffy is the favorite in my eyes, however I genuinely have no idea who will win it, there's too many variables at the moment and just one fluke match and the whole slam can change.

Interviewer: Did you even have an offseason? Whats your schedule gonna be like this year? You must be really fit to play as much as you do and still perform

Dani21: Well, my offseason was the end of the previous season considering my laptop was broken until Davis Cup started. But this year I will play way more sparingly, it definitely makes me play worse. I will play probably a relatively full season in ATP and then only the slams in WTA and maybe one master or two. Competitive doubles is doubtful for me. This of course is in case my laptop keeps intact throughout the year which of course is not a given.

Interviewer: Ahhh okay well you’re now one of the veterans on the tour, this will be your 5th season so you should have a better idea of how to schedule to ensure you peak at the right moments So off the court, what do you enjoy doing? Do you play tennis irl? And if so, how does it translate to TE?

Dani21: I play tennis since before starting TE, I love the sport it's a shame i double fault more than Coco Gauff. However tennis IRL is a completely different experience to TE, maybe with the exception of game sense and intelligence. Other than that I enjoy reading a lot, especially Science Fiction and detective stories but to be honest I am unsure how that's helpful to Tennis Elbow.

Interviewer: Ohh that’s interesting, it always helps to have a good understanding of tennis either by playing or watching or both, than none at all, for such a deep sim as TE. Well it’s been a very interesting chat with you, before we go, would like to rattle off some quick fire questions: Best Serve on tour?

Dani21: Arv

Interviewer: Best Forehand?

Dani21: I don't know been thinking a lot but don't have a particular player in mind. Jijo let's say. Poland also.

Interviewer: Backhand?

Dani21: Unicah now, Yale all time

Interviewer: Return?

Dani21: Debuffy

Interviewer: Volleys?

Dani21: Barboza

Interviewer: Slice?

Dani21: Ventriloquist(Jirafalox)/ Myself

Interviewer: Mental?

Dani21: Madferit 100%

Interviewer: Attack?

Dani21: Barboza

Interviewer: Defense?

Dani21: Lala_Song/ Fractals

Interviewer: Creativity?

Myself

Interviewer: Friendliest?

Dani21: The End

Interviewer: Funniest?

Dani21: Filipo

Interviewer: So is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans/competitors/in general?

Dani21: Thanks for the chat and thank you for being around and supporting the community. The community is not necessarily the largest but it definitely is one of the most engaging and interesting and I hope we can be around to compete for many more years. I wish you all the best of years, and see you around. Cheers