The Story Behind Tennis Nerd: An exclusive interview with its Founder Jonas Eriksson

Getting Started

Racket Business: Can you tell us a bit about why you started Tennis Nerd and how it all happened?

Jonas Eriksson: “I’ve been passionate about tennis since I was a little boy. I was walking around the living room doing air swings, hitting stuff, and just being obsessed with tennis. Swedish tennis was such a powerful sport back then—Sweden was a powerhouse, like Italy is now. I grew up watching Stefan Edberg, Magnus Larsson, and others. Everyone talked about tennis, everyone played tennis, and there were public courts everywhere. That really got me into the sport.”

“I played other sports too—football and chess, which I actually competed in at a semi-pro level. But tennis was expensive for my family, so I faded away from it when I was younger. About 10 years later I started playing again and fell in love with it all over again. With my background in journalism, it felt natural to start writing about tennis, and that’s how Tennis Nerd was born. At first, I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I got really into gear because I needed a new racket. That’s when the whole rabbit hole of tennis gear started—and it was fun.”

Early Content

Racket Business: So, the first Tennis Nerd content was just a blog about racket reviews? How did it actually start?

Jonas Eriksson: “I started writing little news pieces. But since I was looking for my first racket, I began testing different ones. I wasn’t buying brand new rackets, I was selling and trading through eBay and other sites. You try a racket, if it’s not for you, you sell or trade it, then try another. I did that for many years.”

“I loved how the sensation of the racket changed the way I played. If you play with an Aero, you feel more like Rafa; if you play with a Pro Staff, you feel more like Roger. It’s not great for technique or growth, but I was into the exercise, the social part of tennis, and especially the testing. That’s how it all started. It was a side passion while I worked as a marketing director, but it let me keep writing and stay connected to tennis.”

Growing the Audience

Racket Business: You’ve been full-time with Tennis Nerd for a couple of years, but before that it was part-time, right?

Jonas Eriksson: “Yes, I kept testing rackets and writing for many years. It was my outlet. Slowly, without expectations, the audience started growing because people were interested. I was early with this type of content. Back then, people liked Tennis Warehouse reviews, but there weren’t many others. Now there are so many reviewers and content creators, but at the time I was lucky to be early.”

Racket Business: What’s been the most successful way of building your audience—your written content or social media?

Jonas Eriksson: “Writing was where I started building an audience. But YouTube had a huge impact. I started maybe seven years ago. The old videos were horrible, but expectations were low and people were happy to have something to watch. Now the standard is much higher, with professional production and pro players sharing their journeys. Back then, there wasn’t much competition, and that helped. YouTube has been the biggest platform for me. Instagram and others came later, but YouTube was the thing.”

The Tennis Industry

Racket Business: What do you think the tennis industry doesn’t do very well?

Jonas Eriksson: “Sometimes we’re very siloed. Tennis is a competitive sport—two players across the net, always comparing and measuring. That mindset exists in the industry too: big players don’t socialize with smaller ones. It feels fragmented. I think the tennis community could come together more, and that would help the sport.”

Racket Business: Should tennis work more closely with padel and pickleball?

Jonas Eriksson: “Yes, there are synergies. People may move between sports or play two or three at once. As a racquet-sport community, we’re stronger together. Issues like pickleball lines on courts would be easier to handle collaboratively instead of creating conflict. In Europe, padel and tennis are doing a bit better than in the U.S., but they’re still too separate. We could definitely improve that connection.”

Tennis Gear and Innovation

Racket Business: What changes have you noticed in tennis gear over the last few years?

Jonas Eriksson: “It’s good that smaller brands are pushing new ideas—it’s healthy for the industry and even good for the big brands. Competition breeds better products. Quality control has also improved; years ago you could get rackets with huge differences in weight or balance. That’s much better now.”

“But we still need to improve the racket-buying experience. Golf has custom fitting, simulators, and matched sets. Tennis players mostly buy rackets blindly. We could do better at tailoring equipment.”

Racket Business: What about beginners? Do brands make it easy for them to choose the right racket?

Jonas Eriksson: “No, that’s one of the worst things. There are too many models, and it’s confusing. Sites like Tennis Nerd can help, but if you’re not aware of them, it’s a jungle. Beginners often buy substandard rackets from regular shops, and they don’t know where to start. Even big online retailers don’t always explain why one racket suits a strong beginner versus a weaker one. The same goes for balls—beginners should use softer, easier balls, not heavy ones that can hurt your arm. There’s a lot to improve there.”

Sustainability

Racket Business: Are companies doing enough on sustainability?

Jonas Eriksson: “Not really. There are some small steps, like eco strings, but tennis is a bad sport for sustainability. Pro players restring 8–10 rackets per match, and tennis balls are a huge problem. We need to do more, and we need to do it without sacrificing performance. Bigger steps are needed in the coming years.”

Designing the Perfect Racket

Racket Business: Final question—if you could design your own perfect racket, what would it be like?

Jonas Eriksson: “That’s tough. I’d want something semi-control, semi-powerful—like a blend of the Babolat Pure Aero and Yonex Ezone, but not as extreme or stiff. Maybe a 99-square-inch, 16x20 racket: modern, not too heavy, not too powerful, but balanced. Rackets are getting lighter and more powerful, so it would need to adapt to that trend. But yeah, something in that middle ground would be my racket.”

Checkout Tennis Nerd’s channels:

• TennisNerd.net

• Tennis Nerd Instagram

• Tennis Nerd YouTube