Education: Level 3 Master coaching qualification - Tennis Australia, Graduate Diploma Business Management – Monash University.

Qualifications & Achievements: Tennis Victoria - State Coaching/State Director of Tennis - Top 100 players included Mark Philippoussis, Andrew Ille, Wayne Arthurs, Nicole Bradtke, Kristen Godridge, Louise Field; Octagon Worldwide - Tennis Manager Australia – clients included Lleyton Hewitt, Mark Philippoussis, Jelena Dokic, Jason Stoltenberg; Australian Institute of Sport - Head Coach/Program Manager – Top 100 players included Todd Reid, Casey Dellacqua, Sam Stosur; Australian Open Tennis Academy – Head Coach; Tennis Australia – Head Coach Tennis World

Playing History: John grew up in Yarrawonga and played tennis in the North East and Goulburn Valley and travelled to Melbourne for tournaments/pennant, advancing to college tennis where he played intercollegiate tennis at Oklahoma City University. John was on the ATP World Tour, where he retired at the age of 24 through injury, but not before making the Top 100 ATP rankings and playing in all the Grand Slam events, with the best result at Wimbledon (Round of 16).
 
Areas of Specialisation: While John specialises in high performance coaching through programs and private lessons, he has extensive experience in all aspects of coaching and conducting programs such as Adult groups, Cardio, Hot Shots & Clinics. 

Philosophy: John believes in the need to encourage young players in their development:
- to use the correct grips and get the basics right (which are applicable to all players)
- to learn all the shots in tennis
- to have their own style of play and personality on court
- think holistically i.e. technique, physical, psychological, tactical, etc
- to be respectful, sportsmanlike and have a good work ethic/attitude

For further information, or to make a booking, please contact John via [email protected]

Qualifications & Achievements: Tennis Australia Level 4 High Performance Coach, hitting partner of Serena and Venus Williams, coached WTA and ATP tour players

Playing History: Career High ATP Ranking 470 Singles & 241 Doubles, winner of singles/doubles $15k futures, winner and runner-up $25k/50k ATP Challenger tournaments.

Areas of Specialisation: Mark derives great joy from helping players of all levels improve their tennis skills. Be it for social play, pennant play or for those wish to pursue their tennis to a more serious level.

Mark feels that assisting players to achieve their tennis goals through hard work, both on and off the court, makes the time spent together highly enjoyable. He has spent many years working in the High-Performance space, with young juniors at their infancy of their tennis careers, right through to world number 1 on the WTA tour. He knows that every player will have their challenges, strengths, doubts and roadblocks, and guiding them through those moments, adding to their life skills and experiences, is highly rewarding.

Philosophy: Mark thrives in creating an environment for players to learn, engage, grow and have fun. With enjoyment comes learning, and with learning comes improvement. That feeling of hitting a great shot or fabulous serve, is what drives the great sport of tennis. Mark always teaches with passion, enthusiasm and knowledge and believes that tennis is a wonderful conduit for building relationships and trust. He is eager to forge new relationships with all Members of the Club and looks forward to a developing a lifetime of friendships and memories.

For further information, or to make a booking, please contact Mark via [email protected]

Education: Bachelor of Human Nutrition (Honours) – Latrobe University, Masters of Dietetic Practice – Latrobe University.

Qualifications & Achievements: Tennis Australia Junior Development Coach - 2011, Tennis Australia Club Professional Coach – 2013.

Playing History: A talented junior, Ronan was ranked in the top 10 in Victoria in the under 16-age group. After receiving a scholarship to Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club at the age of 15, Ronan went on to win multiple awards at RSY including the Boy’s U18 singles and the Warren Kennedy pennant player of the year award.

Areas of Specialisation: Ronan has a passion for coaching and loves the challenge of bringing young players through the Hot Shot’s program to competitive junior tournament level.

Philosophy: Ronan believes in tailoring every lesson to get the best out of each individual, no matter their ability, by making it a fun, friendly and engaging lesson.

For further information, or to make a booking, please contact Ronan via [email protected]

Qualifications & Achievements: Jelena completed her level 4 junior development coaching qualification and has been/is coaching some of Australia’s best juniors. Jelena is also a commentator, best-selling author, public speaker and TV host.

Playing History: Jelena’s highest ranking as a player was world #4 - she reached the QF’s or better at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon and has won six WTA singles titles. Jelena also reached the Final at the French Open in doubles in 2001. During Jelena’s storied career, she defeated world #1’s including Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki to name a few.

Jelena will initially work at RSY three days per week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday, commencing from Monday 27 July) from 10:00am – 1:00pm. Jelena is taking bookings on those respective days/timeslots with Members (one hour timeslots only).

For further information, or to make a booking with Jelena, please contact Ronan (bookings coordinator) via [email protected].

Valerio's tennis journey began at 7 years old. He was a young boy who fell completely in love with the sport when for the first time he entered the tennis court.

Tennis was something that he would do every second of his life and slowly through hard work and training Valerio became a promising player who made his way among the best junior players in Italy.

He competed at a good level and travelled mainly around Italy and Europe for tournaments. At the age of 18 Valerio decided to go to Uni and slowly started feeling the necessity to drive the youngers through the amazing journey he went through with tennis.

He coached in Italy for 7 years, working mainly with competitive players who had the ambition to improve their game to compete at a national level, and was lucky enough to work as a hitting partner with Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani (former number 1 in the world in doubles).

Valerio's Australian journey began 8 years ago with his first coaching experience at Doncaster Tennis Club before moving to Tennis World Melbourne Park where he coached for seven years. It was a great opportunity to work with lots of good players, some of which had the opportunity to be part of the National Academy Programs which he has been part of (as a casual coach) over the last couple of years.

For further information, or to make a booking with Valerio, please contact Ronan (bookings coordinator) via [email protected].

Qualifications & Achievements: level two Italian Tennis Coaching Diploma.

Coaching History: Alessandro originates from Italy and has coached players of all ages and abilities. He worked for 8 years in Rome at the Villa Pamphili Club, one of Rome’s finest tennis clubs.

Areas of Specialisation: While at the Villa Pamphili Club, Alessandro was responsible for the Club’s best junior players, most notably bringing through Marco Matteoli from the age of 10 to a #3 Italian national ranking in the U14 age group. Alessandro continues to specialise in junior development.

Philosophy: Alessandro believes his passion, happiness and dedication to tennis will give pupils a great experience on the court which, in turn, will improve their game.

For further information, or to make a booking with Alessandro, please contact Ronan (bookings coordinator) via [email protected]

Education: First Year of Faculty of Sport - University of Avignon, France, Diploma of Education: Tennis, 2011

Qualifications & Achievements: As well as holding coaching qualifications, Gael was the Head Coach in France from 2011 to 2019 and the Creator and Director of Holiday Multisport Campus in France in 2016 to 2017.

Playing History: From the age of 7 to 14 years old, Gael played at a Regional and National level, achieving a top #100 National ranking in France. He played in National 1 elite interclub and participated in the French Junior Championships at 17 years old. Gael has also represented Royal South Yarra, both as a grade one Pennant player and in RSY's Premier League team in 2019. 

Areas of Specialisation: Gael excels when working with children and adults who want to improve their skills and appreciates both individual and group lessons, but he thrives on coaching for competitions.

Philosophy: Gael's philosophy is that our worst enemy is our conception of putting limits on ourselves. Tennis is, before all, a game that becomes a sport where anyone can achieve their desired skill level. It’s important to remember that tennis is a sport where we learn values of life such as respect or transcendence. “Nothing is impossible, just do it”.

For further information, or to make a booking with Gael, please contact Ronan (bookings coordinator) via [email protected].

Aymeric hails from Vanuatu and joins RSY after working for many years at Tennis World, where he was across all programs including Performance Squads, Cardio Tennis, Hot Shots, Corporate Events, Adult Groups, as well as private tennis coaching.

Playing History:
2009 France National Perrier champion (series 3)
5 Davis Cup ties
2 Gold 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in Pacific games
2 Silver medals in Oceania games

Coaching History & Qualifications:
Assistant coach New Caledonia and Vanuatu
8 years Senior Coach Tennis World (Tennis Australia)
French Level 1 and TA Club Pro Level 2

For further information, or to make a booking with Aymeric, please contact Ronan (bookings coordinator) via [email protected]

Education: Diploma Sport Coaching/Administration - Swinburne University

Qualifications & Achievements: Grant is a Level 2 Club Professional Coach who has 22 years of coaching experience, including 8 years in the USA (Houston, Texas, The Hamptons, NY & Miami, Florida).

Playing History: As well as playing Grade 1 Pennant, Grant was also successful in number of junior and senior tournaments throughout Victoria and has always had a keen interest in coaching.

Areas of Specialisation: Grant loves to share his lifetime passion for tennis with all of his students. He likes nothing better than developing players from beginners to competition/tournaments players and coaching them to improve all aspects of their game.

Philosophy: Grant aims to develop each player’s tennis skills in a happy and safe environment; to set and achieve each individual’s goals with their tennis skills, fitness, social development and mental aspects all considered, both on and off the court.

For further information, or to make a booking with Grant, please contact Ronan (bookings coordinator) via [email protected].

Education: Studying Master of Business in Sport Management at Deakin University

Qualifications & Achievements: Juan is an ITF accredited tennis coach and is passionate to share his knowledge with our Members, with a goal to get the best out of them.

Playing History: Juan has been fortunate enough to travel the world as a junior player, and held the No. 1 Singles Ranking in Colombia as a 12U and 14U.

Qualifications & Achievements: Level 1 Junior Development (Tennis Australia), Certificate III in Sports Coaching (Smart Tennis Connection).

Playing History: Sunny's tennis began in Warrnambool where he played competition and various tournaments. He was the Club Champion at Glenburn Tennis Club in 2008 and 2010, the Club runner-up at Glenburn Tennis Club in 2009, part of the B3 Open Singles team at Glenburn Tennis Club that were runners-up in 2012 and he was part of the Grade 8 Pennant team at Glenburn Tennis Club that won the flag in 2017.

Areas of Specialisation: With over ten years' experience coaching tennis, Sunny has a tremendous ability to work with players of any age, standard and ability. He particularly thrives when working with junior competitors, which he has demonstrated through his time with Fit 4 Kids Co (2 years), Techno Tennis (5 years) & Darranggeeyt Aboriginal Tennis Clinic (3 years).

Philosophy: Sunny is driven to inspire and offer a positive, high quality approach in all of the tennis related areas: physical, technical, tactical, strategic, mental/emotional, and environmental in a stress-free setting. He believes in collaborating with his students and tailoring the training structure to suit the play-style and flair of each individual.

For further information, or to make a booking with Sunny, please contact Ronan (bookings coordinator) via [email protected].