After waiting many years for the right opportunity, in September 2010, tennis legend John McEnroe launched the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in his hometown of New York City at the SPORTIME Randall's Island Tennis Center in Manhattan. Sportime Randall's Island is the flagship location for the Academy and for Sportime's 13 clubs. SPORTIME is Mac's partner in the operation of the instructional programs that bear his name.
John McEnroe and SPORTIME have assembled a talented staff of world-class teaching and fitness professionals, who have joined together to make John's vision of a New York based, non-residential tennis academy a reality.
The John McEnroe Tennis Academy exists to:
develop world-class players at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy
excite New Yorkers, especially kids, about the game of tennis
provide opportunities to motivated and deserving NYC area kids - young players who would not otherwise have the resources to reach their full potential as players and/or scholar-athletes
John McEnroe Tennis AcademyJohn's passion and belief is that great players can be developed in urban settings, while still having the opportunity to live at home, pursue their educational goals, and participate in a variety of sports and extracurricular activities. Through community outreach, the Academy will work to recruit the most talented and the most highly motivated young athletes in the Greater New York Metropolitan area and beyond.
Starting in September 2012, the McEnroe Academy will expand its geographic reach to Sportime locations in Westchester and on Long Island: Sportime Lake Isle, a beautiful, 8-court outdoor club that Sportime has just spent $5 million re-building into a state-of-the art year-round facility in Eastchester, New York in lower Westchester; Sportime Bethpage in central Long Island, a 6 court indoor facility that has long been Sportime's high performance training mecca.
Under the guidance of Lawrence Kleger, Sportime's long-time Executive Director of Tennis, now the Director of Tennis of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, and inspired by the vision and presence of Johnny Mac, JMTA will expand its training programs and share its world-class staff of teaching professionals and Assistant Directors with these new JMTA annexes in Westchester and Long Island. Coaches, including former ATP and WTA top 75 professional players Fritz Buehning, Hana Sromova and Martina Sucha,will join with Assistant Academy Directors Bruce Haddad and Karim Balagh to bring the Mac way to promising players from all over the greater NY area.
JMTA professionals will work as a team to deliver a training program that will assure the best possible outcome for serious junior players; a program that will enable JMTA players to make the most of their abilities, while supporting them in their academic pursuits and in living balanced, healthy lives.
Hours:
SPORTIME Randall's Island is open year round, every day:
Weekends: 6:30am to 11:00pm
Saturdays & Sundays: 6:30am to 10:00pm
On holidays, our hours of operation are:
Thanksgiving Day: 7am to 3pm
Christmas Eve: 7am to 4pm
Christmas Day: 9am to 5pm
New Year's Eve: 7am to 4pm
New Year's Day: 9am to 5pm
Easter Sunday: 9am to 5pm
Memorial Day: 8am to 8pm
Independence Day: 8am to 8pm
Labor Day: 8am to 8pm
Directions:
From Long Island: Take the Grand Central Parkway to the TriBorough Bridge. Stay in the right lane and exit for Randall's Island, after the tolls. Once on Randall's Island, follow the signs for the Tennis Center. From NYC: Take the FDR Drive to the TriBorough Bridge. Continue as above. From Westchester/Connecticut: Take the Major Deegan (I-87), New England Thruway (I-95) or the Bruckner Expressway (I-278) to the TriBorough Bridge. Continue as above. Click here to see map.
SPORTIME Members enjoy benefits based on their Membership Type. Benefits posted here are open for all Members to enjoy. Complimentary times may vary each month.
JMTA OPEN TRYOUTS for Fall 2012 Scholarships on July 21st REGISTRATION CLOSES Tuesday July 17th, 5:00pm
2012 JMTA TRYOUT SCHEDULE: 8:00am - 9:00am: Check-In and Registration 9:00am - 10:30am: Players are divided into groups for on court technical evaluation 10:30am - 10:45am: Water/Refreshment Break/Judges for preliminary evaluations 10:45am - 12:30pm: Players are divided into groups for strength/agility evaluation 12:30pm - 1:30pm: Lunch/Judges choose semi-finalists. Non-semi-finalists go home 1:30pm - 3:15pm: Semi-finalists return to courts for further evaluation and point play, and undergo physical performance testing Approx 3:30pm: Evaluation Committee commences final review. Results of 2012 JMTA Tryout Day to be announced by July 24th; all semi-finalists will be contacted and informed of the Selection Committee's decision prior to July 24th.
All interested players will need to pre-register in order to attend the tryout day on July 21th. For more information on registration, or if you have any further questions, please email the Academy at Tryout@SportimeNY.com or call 212-427-6150.
John McEnroe Tennis Academy EXCEL Tennis Camp If your child is a serious tennis player, the John McEnroe Tennis Academy Excel Summer Tennis Camp is where s/he should be next summer! Please click here to download our 2012 summer camp brochure/application.
John McEnroe Tennis Academy Fitness Training Fitness and Tennis go hand in hand. Just ask our Fitness Director, Sophie Scott. Sophie is a trained British Osteopath in charge or our Court Fitness, Conditioning and Injury Prevention program.
Sophie's experience includes six years as an Osteopath for the Fulham Football Club of the British Premier League, and five years as the Lead Physical Therapist for the Lawn Tennis Association of England. Sophie offers group and private personal training sessions to adults and juniors, as well as the small group classes to JMTA students. Call 212/427-6150 for more information or Click here for program application.
If your child loves tennis as much as we do, they're going to love our Tennis Birthday Parties. The birthday boy or girl and his/her guests will participate in a variety of exciting, fast-paced tennis games, activities and a round-robin "tournament". All activites will be adapted to the playing levels of the participants. Book your next party today! Click here for more information.
John McEnroe Founder and Director, JMTA
John McEnroe is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He held the #1 world ranking in singles for 170 weeks between 1980 and 1985, and was the #1 doubles player in the world for a record 257 weeks. He is the winner of 7 Grand Slam singles titles, including 4 US Open titles and 3 Wimbledon titles. He is also widely considered to be the greatest doubles player ever, having won 10 Grand Slam doubles titles and winning his last ATP doubles title just three years ago after a 12 year absence from the ATP Tour. He is the greatest Davis Cup player in history, and he also captained the US Davis Cup Team. John has been the captain of Sportime's World TeamTennis franchise, the NY Sportimes, since 2000, and he is an Emmy-nominated commentator for CBS, NBC, BBC, ESPN and USA. John grew up in New York City, where he graduated from the Trinity School, and later attended Stanford University, winning an NCAA team and singles title his freshman year. He continues to live in New York City, where he has raised his 6 children.
A native New Yorker, Lawrence is recognized as one of the top developmental coaches in the US. He has trained more ranked juniors than anyone in the history of the USTA/Eastern Section. Lawrence is also the personal coach of Noah Rubin, who trains at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and who has been Lawrence's student since the age of 7. Noah is a top American tennis prospect reaching a career-best #14 ITF junior world ranking for boys 18 and under, #1 in U.S. Boys16 and under standings, and reaching the quarter finals of the 2012 Junior French Open. His students have won numerous National and regional Championships and 18 USTA Eastern Year-End Sportsmanship Awards. He is the Director of Tennis of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, which makes its home at Sportime Randall's Island in Manhattan.
Karim Balagh Assistant Academy Director
Karim, a native of Morocco, was the #2 ranked junior in his country and played on the Moroccan Junior Davis Cup Team and on the Moroccan National Team. Karim attended Georgia Southern University where he played #1 singles and doubles. His professional teaching career began in New York at the East River Tennis Club where he established and directed a comprehensive junior program. Karim has more than 20 years experience teaching and coaching tennis throughout the United States and Europe, and is USPTA certified. From 1998-2000, Karim was the technical director for the Moroccan Davis Cup Team. From 2000-2008, he was a touring coach working with professionals, including Karim Alami (ATP Rank #21), Fredrik Jonsson (ATP Rank #108), Greta Arn (WTA Rank #81) and Tiffany Dabek (WTA Rank #211). After moving to Florida in 2003, Karim spent 3 years directing and managing the tennis program at The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort in Longboat Key, Florida. Most recently, during the summers prior to joining SPORTIME, Karim was the Tennis Director at The Coveleigh Club in Westchester County, New York.
Fritz Buehning Associate Academy Director
Fritz, a New Jersey native, has had a long and distinguished tennis career; from top junior, to successful ATP Tour Professional, achieving a career high ranking of #21 in singles and #4 in doubles before suffering a career ending foot injury at the age of 25. During his professional career, from 1979-1985, Fritz won one singles title and was a finalist in two other ATP Tour events, posting victories over top 10 players including Cash, Gerulaitis, Gilbert, Gomez, Kriek, and Wilander. As a doubles player, Fritz won 12 titles and was a finalist in 15 other events. In 1983, Fritz was the U.S. Open doubles runner up with partner Van Winitsky, losing to John McEnroe and Peter Fleming. Fritz was a top 50 USTA nationally ranked junior from the age of 10, and was the #1 ranked USTA junior in the 18s. As a college sophomore, Fritz led UCLA to the 1979 NCAA Team Championship, playing #1 singles and #1 doubles. He was the 1979 Pac10 Tennis Player of the Year and an All American. He has over 20 years experience teaching tennis and is an accredited USPTR Professional (1995), ATP Tour Teaching Professional (1995), and European Registry Professional Coach (2000).
Bruce Haddad Assistant Academy Director
Bruce, born in New Jersey, was a standout junior player, reaching the #1 ranking in the USTA Eastern Section, and achieving national top ten rankings in the boys 12's, 14's, and 16's divisions. As a junior, Bruce was the national clay court champion in singles and doubles and the national indoor champion in the 14's, before winning the prestigious Easter Bowl in the 16's. Bruce attended the University of Florida and graduated from Arizona State University, where he achieved a national collegiate ranking of #9 and was a two-time All-American, earning a degree in communications. Bruce competed professionally, achieving an ATP ranking of #888 in the world. Bruce was the co-owner and founder of Knickerbocker Sports Tennis, was a professional coach on the WTA tour and was manager and director of the Columbus Racquet Club in NYC. He brings extensive coaching experience at both the national and international levels to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.
Harel Srugo Assistant Academy Director
Harel, a native of Israel, completed his education at UCLA receiving a degree in psychology. Before arriving at UCLA, Harel played at Old Dominion University where he achieved his highest collegiate rankings of #7 in singles and #4 in doubles. During his two years at UCLA, he played #1 singles and was captain of the team, leading UCLA to two PAC-10 titles and two final four appearances in ‘08 and ‘09. He also worked as the personal coach of Thomas Pura, who reached #1 in Southern California and #5 nationally in the 14s. After graduating from UCLA, Harel spent a year as an Assistant Coach there. Before college, Harel was a member of the Israel Defense Force for three years. Prior to his military service and collegiate career, Harel competed on the ATP tour, reaching career high rankings of #703 in singles and #460 in doubles.
Adriano Biasella Touring Professional, JMTA
Adriano, a native of Italy, spent 2 years in Barcelona, Spain at the Sanchez-Casal Academy where he learned the Spanish methods of tournament training. In 2001, he was named NJCAA Men's Tennis Player of the Year while attending the College of the Desert (Palm Desert, CA). Adriano transferred to the University of Southern California where he played #1 in 2004, was a finalist in the PAC-10 Individual Championships, and represented USC in the NCAA Division I National Singles Championships. He reached collegiate rankings of #29 in singles and #41 in doubles. Adriano received his degree in International Relations from USC in 2004. Professionally, Adriano competed on the ATP Tour for 4 years, reaching career-high ATP rankings of #389 in singles and #342 in doubles. As an ATP Tour coach, Adriano has worked with Potito Starace (ATP Rank #27), Andrey Golubev (ATP Rank #37), and Flavia Pennetta (WTA Rank #10).
Felix, a native of Venezuela, was a top ten ranked junior tennis player in his home country, while participating globally on the ITF circuit. He moved to North Carolina to attend Pfeiffer University, where he earned his MBA and competed on the men's tennis team, while playing #1 singles and #1 doubles. Felix served as the assistant coach of the women's tennis team at Pfeiffer after graduation and later spent 4 years at Total Tennis, a top 20 ranked resort, as an instructor and manager. Felix is a certified USPTA Professional 1 and is the Assistant Director of Tennis at SPORTIME Randall's Island. Felix is a Master Plus Professional.
Ted, grew up playing tennis in California, has had a long and distinguished career as a ranked player, instructor, tennis club director and coach. Ted played #1 for Foothill College before competing on the satellite circuit in Europe and earning a premiere series ranking in France. Ted spent 10 years playing and teaching in France and is certified by the French Tennis Federation. He has been the director of tennis at a number of tennis facilities and in 1998 he earned the award for top tennis professional in Westchester County. Ted has been the Director of Tennis at SPORTIME Randall's Island since 2004, and is also the Director of Tennis for SPORTIME Amagansett. He is a Master Professional at Sportime Randall's Island and is USPTA certified.
Andre, a native of Chile, was the #1 junior player in the 18's in his home country, notching a win over Jose-Luis Clerc and representing Chile as a member of the South American Championship Team. Andre attended Stephen F. Austin University where he played #1 singles and doubles. He competed on the ATP Tour, reaching a ranking of #724 in the world before moving to Westhampton Beach, NY to open his own tennis club. He spent 23 years operating that club and coaching many players of all skill levels along the way; most notably Paul Annacone (former ATP #12 in singles, #3 in doubles, and coach of Pete Sampras and now Roger Federer).
Jordi Ballester Staff Professional
Jordi, a native of Spain, was ranked top 10 in juniors 12's, 14's, 16's and 18's division. As a junior, he played against high ranked players including Rafael Nadal in 2002. He became a hitting partner with Spanish WTA player Silvia Soler and traveled to Wimbledon with top player Nicholas Almagro in 2008. He transferred from Fresno State to Jacksonville University to play #1 singles and doubles, and graduated with a Masters Degree in Sport Management in 2009. Jordi remained in Florida for an additional 2 years to serve as the Assistant Coach for the Men's and Woman's Tennis teams. He continued coaching nationally ranked players in both Spain and the US.
Santo Castillo Senior Plus Professional
Santo, a native of the Dominican Republic, began playing tennis while working as a ball boy at Casa De Campo Resort. He reached top 10 in the country as a junior. After studying tourism at O&M College in the Dominican Republic, he came to the United States to teach at a number of summer camps before joining Tennisport in Long Island City, NY, where he taught for 9 years.
Antonio DeAza Senior Plus Professional
Antonio, a native of the Dominican Republic, started playing tennis while working as a ball boy at the Casa de Campo resort in his home country. He became one of the highest ranked junior players in the Dominican Republic before beginning his coaching career in 1998. During that time he studied at UCE in the Dominican Republic, majoring in computer engineering. He came to the United States in 2005 and 2006 to work at Offense Defense Nike Tennis Camp in Boston, Massachusetts, before joining the staff at Tennisport in Long Island City, NY.
Taylor Dupre Senior Professional
Taylor grew up in Westhampton Beach, NY where he competed in the USTA Eastern section, representing the section in the inter-zonal competitions in 2002 and 2003. As a junior, Taylor traveled across the country to compete in national tournaments, and he played Division I tennis at Stetson University in Florida. Taylor has been teaching tennis since 2003, working at Westhampton Tennis and Sport before joining SPORTIME Randall's Island in September 2009.
Shaun Ellison Senior Professional
Shaun, a native of South Africa, reached a high ranking of #2 in the nation in the age divisions 12-16's, and also reached the top 200 in the ITF junior's 18 and under division. Shaun graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he helped lead the team to two NCAA appearances. He stayed for a 5th year as an assistant coach after earning his degree in business and philosophy. Shaun began his coaching career while still in college, and worked as a pro during the summers before moving to New York to teach full-time in 2007.
Nathaniel Emge Master Professional
Nate, a native of Evansville, Indiana, was a top 25 ranked junior tennis player in the country and participated on the ITF circuit reaching the finals in doubles at the International Hard Courts. He also was the Florida 3A singles and team champion in 2001. Nate graduated from the University of Kentucky where he played as high as #1 and was ranked as high as #41 in the nation. During his time at UK, he also played several futures events on the Pro Circuit earning an ATP doubles ranking. After college, Nate was an Assistant Coach at Michigan State University from 2008-2009 before moving to New York and joining the Sportime staff.
Gregory Evans Ass't Tennis Director & Camp Director
Gregory, a native of South Africa, has seven years of coaching experience in South Africa, England and the United States. After competing as a nationally ranked junior, Greg moved to London where he transformed his love for tennis into a successful coaching career. Prior to joining the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, Greg worked at Los Gatos Tennis Academy in California, where he was the Head Professional, serving as both the head coach for the junior performance academy and as the assistant coach for the Los Gatos Boys High School Team. Greg has also coached at the Meadow Club in Southampton and the Will to Win Tennis Academy in London. He has been a certified USPTR professional for six years, and has had extensive training in the Quickstart based approach to tennis.
Iris Ichim Staff Professional
Iris, a native of Romania, started playing tennis at the age of 4 years old. As a junior player she was ranked #1 for divisions 14’s, 16’s and 18’s. Prior attending college, she turned pro at age 17 in 2004 and toured with other circuit players for 2 ½ years reaching #235 ranking in the world. Due to injury, she stopped competing and became a teaching pro at the Ivan Lendl’s Tennis Club. In 2008, Iris continued teaching young tournament players at the Old Greenwich Tennis Academy and in 2011 she joined SPORTIME Randall’s Island.
Jelena Krivacevic Senior Professional
Jelena was born in Serbia and grew up in Hungary, where she was a top 20 ranked junior player competing globally in ITF tournaments. Prior to attending college, Jelena played one year of professional basketball in Hungary for Savaria BC. In the U.S., she attended the University of South Alabama where she played #1 singles and #2 doubles while earning her degree in Business - General Management. Jelena coached for three summers in the Hamptons before joining Sportime Randall's Island and the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. In addition to coaching, Jelena was a member of the front office for the New York SPORTIMES World TeamTennis franchise,. Jelena is a certified PTR professional.
Javier Lattanzio Master Professional
Javier, a native of Argentina, reached junior rankings of #3 in his home country and #18 in the world before beginning his coaching career in Buenos Aires with Tony Pena. He spent time there as a hitting partner for Franco Davin (former ATP #30 and currently coach of Juan Martin Del Potro) and worked with Jose-Luis Clerc coaching both juniors and adults. In 1993, Javier was hired by the Italian Federation to work in Sicily, Italy at the Circolo di Tennis Palermo, where he was in charge of the junior development program. Since moving to the U.S., Javier worked at Tennisport, and with professionals such as Guillermo Vilas, and John and Patrick McEnroe. Javier is a certified USPTR coach and AAT (Argentinean Tennis Association) coach with more than 18 years of coaching experience.
Ryan Lloyd Senior Professional
Ryan grew up and trained in Vero Beach, FL. He played USTA National and ITF events throughout his junior career and won the Florida State doubles championship in 2003. He played #1 singles for Lehigh University while earning a degree in supply chain management business. After graduating from Lehigh, Ryan was Director of Junior Tennis for the Wholistic Tennis Academy in Westhampton, NY in the summers, and was a Pro at Ocean Village Resort in Fort Pierce, FL in the winters. During 2007, Ryan taught in Pune, India, and in 2009, he taught in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ryan joined SPORTIME and the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in January 2010. Ryan is a certified USPTA Professional 1.
Eddie Majcher Staff Professional
Eddie, a native of Florida, was ranked top 20 in the state and top 100 nationally as a junior. Eddie attended Florida Atlantic University where he reached a ranking of #49 nationally in doubles while earning degrees in both Finance and Marketing. As a coach, Eddie has traveled with top 5 nationally ranked junior who now attends the University of Florida. Eddie has taught tennis at the Montclair Golf Club in New Jersey for the past 5 yeas before joining SPORTIME Randall's Island and the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.
James Moore Senior Plus Professional
Originally from Plainfield, N.J, Jamie Moore has been a tennis coach and teacher for over 15 years. Jamie trained at the prestigious Arthur Carrington Tennis Academy in Amherst, Massachusetts and attended Hampton University in Virginia. As a player, Jamie was ranked as high as 31 in the US and 5 in the East. Jamie played satellite tournaments around the world and competed in USTA and ITF tournaments. Jamie's students have played Division 1 college tennis and on the pro tour, and include top ten WTA player Vera Zvonareva. Jamie also helped develop one of the first USTA Area Training Centers in Woodbridge, N.J., coached an AAU championship team, and worked with children at the not-for-profit Hackensack Enrichment and Learning program.
Delio Pacifici Senior Professional
Delio, a native of South Africa, played college tennis at Wits University in Johannesburg. He finished his education at the University of Miami where he earned his degree in communications. As a coach, Delio has worked with top South African Davis Cup players such as Chris Haggard, Robbie Koenig, and Wesley Moodie. Coaching took Delio around the world before he landed here in New York, where he began working at the Kaplan Tennis Academy prior to joining SPORTIME.
Ricardo Pena Senior Plus Professional
Ricardo, a native of the Dominican Republic, started training for tennis while working as a ball boy at Casa de Campo resort. He reached a national ranking of top 10 juniors. Ricardo began his teaching career at Casa de Campo while also working as tournament director. In 1997, he arrived in the United States and began teaching at a number of tennis camps before becoming a full-time tennis pro at Tennisport in Long Island City, NY. He has also studied computer engineering at O&M College in the Dominican Republic.
Iciri Rai Senior Professional
Iciri was a top ten ranked junior tennis player in her home country of India. As a junior, she was selected to train in Italy under legendary coach Bob Brett, to whom she attributes her playing and coaching skills. She also trained under Mahesh Bhupathi, a multiple grand slam doubles champion, and his father Krishna Bhupathi, a former Indian Davis Cup player. Iciri attended the University of South Florida, where she played for the Division I Women's tennis team (ranked #16 in the nation) and led the team to the Big East Conference championship in 2007. Iciri was team captain, Big East 1st All-Team for 3 years, and earned ITA all academic honors for all four years (2005-2009) while double majoring in Business and Advertising, and graduating with honors and a 3.89 GPA. As a professional, Iciri reached a career high of #680 in the world in the WTA rankings. At Sportime Randall's Island, she was also a member of the front office for the New York SPORTIMES World TeamTennis franchise.
Sophie is a United Kingdom trained Osteopath and Performance Enhancement Specialist with over 12 years experience working in professional sport. For the past 5 years, Sophie has worked at the Lawn Tennis Association with top British tennis players, including Andy Murray and junior Wimbledon champion Laura Robson. She has traveled internationally to all the Grand Slams, as well as many of the other major tour events and the Federation Cup. Sophie was instrumental in the design and set up of the musculoskeletal screening programme for all the elite British players at National Tennis Centre in London. Prior to her time with the LTA, Sophie worked as part of the multidisciplinary medical team at Fulham Football club in the UK's Premier League for 7 years, working with international soccer players including Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride, Clint Dempsey and Edwin van der Sar.
Hana Sromova Touring Professional
Hana, a native of Czech Republic, was a top ranked junior tennis player in her home country, while competing globally on the ITF circuit. She turned pro in 1997, where she earned 8 ITF singles titles and 35 doubles titles. In 2006, Hana reached her career high rankings of #87 in the world in singles and #63 in doubles. Hana competed in the U.S. Open in 2006 and 2008, reached the second round of the French Open and Australian Open in 2006 and the second round at Wimbledon in 2007. Hana was a member of the NY Sportimes World TeamTennis franchise in 2007 and 2008. After retiring from the professional circuit in 2008, Hana joined Sportime as a teaching professional and the Co-General Manager of Sportime Amagansett.
Martina Sucha Touring Professional
Martina, native of Slovakia, turned pro in 1996, reaching her career-high singles ranking of #37 in the world in singles in 2002. Martina won 2 WTA singles titles (Hobart, Australia and Quebec, Canada) and 7 International Tennis Federation titles (5 in singles and 2 in doubles). Her best Grand Slam singles results were a 4th round appearance at the Australian Open in 2002 and a 3rd round appearance at the 2001 US Open. She was a member of a Slovakian Federation Cup team in 2002, 2004 and 2005, and she represented Slovakia in the 2004 Athens Olympics. She retired from the WTA circuit in 2008 and began her work as a coach. From 2009-2010, Martina worked with a top Slovak junior player, Chantal Skamlova, helping her reach a #22 world junior ranking.
Matthew, born and raised in NYC, was a sectionally ranked player in the East as a junior and played on 3 city championship teams for Benjamin Cardozo High School. A product of the NYJTL and REEBOK scholarship programs, Matthew was the inaugural recipient of the Brian Watkins Scholarship, awarded by the Mayor of New York to the hardest working player on a city championship team. While attending SUNY Albany and playing for its tennis team, Matthew earned a BFA from the School of Visual Arts. He spent 6 years working in the field of advertising and running his own gallery/multi-media agency. Matthew has taught tennis since high school, including at the Randi Mani Tennis Academy and at the Roosevelt Island Tennis Center, and has worked with a number of sectionally and nationally ranked players. Certified by the USPTA, Matthew coached the USTA Eastern's boys and girls 12 and under Zonals team in the summer of 2010.
Alexis Ubiera Senior Professional
Alex, born in the Dominican Republic, started playing juniors at the age of 8. He held a #1 ranking in boys 10’s, 12’s, 16’s, and 18’s division reaching top 14 in ITF juniors 16’s and under. He achieved the MVP award for his country in 1998 and later represented the Dominican Republic in Davis Cup play from 1993-1994. Before joining SPORTIME in 2009, he worked at the Nike Offense Defense facility as the Tennis Camp Director and Tournament Organizer. Alex is USPTA certified and has over 10 years of teaching experience.
Joselo Zapata Staff Professional
Joselo, born in the Dominican Republic, started playing tennis while working as a ball boy at Casa de Campo Resort. He was ranked top 8 in the country as a junior player. From 2007 – 2009, he held the Doubles Open International Championship title in the Dominican Republic and later moved to the United States as a teaching pro at The Club of Riverdale, New York. He later taught summer camps at SPORTIME Amagansett in 2011.
