London, UK, 11 November 2015 | John Peers

After an excellent year on the doubles circuit in 2015, Australia’s John Peers has qualified for the elite eight-team doubles field at next week’s ATP World Tour Finals in London. This week, he takes us behind the scenes as he prepares for the prestigious event at the O2 Arena, where he will partner Scot Jamie Murray.

The final event of the year is just around the corner. So far, 2015 has been my most successful year to date, and because of that I get to finish the year off with the World Tour Finals. It has been a goal of mine for a couple of years to qualify for this event so I’m excited for it to get underway. I now have a few days left to put in some final preparation and hopefully finish the year off on a high note.

The preparation involved for this week is no different that any other tournament. I have taken three days off after a five-week stretch of tournaments and I’m now back on court and in the gym getting ready for the O2. The next few days we are training at London’s Queen’s Club as the O2 Arena is being set up for the event. We are fortunate that Queen’s Club is the practice venue during the tournament as is an amazing club and a really great venue to train at. We have the same court surface laid there that will be at the O2 and have full access to the gym. Most days involve a session on-court followed by a gym session. Each day I finish with a recovery and stretching session of some kind.

The past few days, in between finishing in Paris and getting back on court in London, I have taken some time away from the court and played some golf at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club. I normally like to do this when I can as it gives my mind a break from focusing on tennis. It relaxes me and is a good chance to catch up with friends socially. Quite a few of the players play golf in their time off as it is a low-impact sport and a great chance to get out in the fresh air with friends. The other two days I was forced to stay inside most of the time as the weather was not great – drizzling rain all day and darkness by 4.30pm isn’t a great combination. Luckily, we play the O2 indoors!

Keep visiting tennis.com.au to follow Peers’ progress as he readies himself for one of the most important events on the men’s tennis calendar.