About this episode

Sander Gillé shares his unconventional journey to becoming a professional tennis player, highlighting the importance of resilience and alternative pathways to success.

What if you didn’t have to be a top junior to become a professional tennis player? In this episode of Control the Controllables, we speak with Belgian professional tennis player Sander Gille, a Roland Garros finalist, Olympic competitor, Davis Cup player and former World No.18 in doubles. Sander’s journey to the top of the game is anything but traditional. He wasn’t a standout junior, didn’t grow up expecting to turn professional, and at 17 he chose US college tennis simply to continue playing while earning a degree. After college, Sander decided to give the professional tour a try — funding his early career through crowdfunding, league tennis, and relentless persistence. Years later, that journey led him to the Roland Garros final and the top of the ATP doubles rankings. This episode is a powerful reminder that there are many different pathways to success in tennis. In this episode: Growing up playing multiple sports before choosing tennis Why Sander never planned to become a professional player The decision-making process behind his college career in the US and transitioning to professional tennis How crowdfunding helped keep his career going early on. How injuries shaped his…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Kiernan

Guest: Sander Gillé

Topics covered

• professional tennis
• unconventional career paths
• mental resilience
• crowdfunding in sports
• college tennis
• doubles tennis
• success stories

Keywords

• Sander Gillé
• professional tennis
• Roland Garros
• crowdfunding
• college tennis
• doubles
• mental resilience
• success
• Andy Murray
• Davis Cup

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Davis Cup

More episodes of Control the Controllables

• CTC Short: British Doubles Pioneer – Celebrating Jamie Murray’s Legacy · April 17, 2026 · 19 min
• Adam Jones: Inside Life as a Hitting Partner to the World’s Best · April 2, 2026 · 1h 16m
• Australian Open 2026 Review · February 3, 2026 · 1h 31m
• Australian Open 2026 Preview · January 17, 2026 · 1h 38m
• Lloyd Glasspool´s Journey to ATP Doubles No.1 · December 31, 2025 · 49 min
• CTC LIVE: Reaction To Alcaraz & Ferrero Split · December 18, 2025 · 31 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Control the Controllables podcast page.