Long Island native, recent ATP Tour professional player and Junior Tennis Champions Center alum Phillip Simmonds has joined the staff at the SPORTIME location in Syosset, N.Y., and at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy Annex at the SPORTIME location in Bethpage, N.Y., it was announced by SPORTIME CEO Claude Okin. Fresh off a successful junior and pro career, Simmonds joins fellow ATP player Robert Kendrick, who has been Director of Tennis at SPORTIME Syosset since September 2012 and who helped bring the 28-year old into the Sportime fold.
Born in Selden, N.Y., Simmonds won nine ITF Futures and three USTA Challenger titles while achieving a career-best rank of #200 in the world. He played in the US Open main draw singles in 2006 and in US Open main draw doubles in 2004, 2006 and 2007. A member of the 2002 U.S. Junior Davis Cup team that reached the finals, Simmonds was semi-finalist at the French Open and Wimbledon juniors and won the prestigious Orange Bowl in 2002 and the Australian Open Junior Doubles in 2003.
“Adding a new, young coach, with junior and professional experience and accomplishments of Phillip Simmonds is a big boost for SPORTIME Syosset and for the John McEnroe Tennis Academy,” said Okin. “He has already shown us that he is a great teacher and motivator. He is a great guy and a great colleague and, best of all, he is a native Long Islander. We are pleased and fortunate to have Phillip at SPORTIME.”
“I am excited about the opportunity to return home and to start taking what I have learned from my decades of experience as a tournament player and sharing it with students at SPORTIME and at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. Of course I can’t wait to work with our juniors, but I am also having fun with our adult and recreational players,” said Simmonds. “So far I am very excited about this next chapter in my career in the sport.”
About SPORTIME:
Sportime is New York’s leader for tennis and sports clubs and programs. Operating 13 clubs across Long Island, in NYC, in Westchester and in the NY Capital Region, Sportime strives to provide its members with welcoming and comfortable environments and the best instructional programs anywhere. Sportime’s “fitness for real life” philosophy is reflected in clubs that are state-of-the-art, yet affordable, and that offer the best tennis facilities, along with great gyms and every sports or fitness experience imaginable.
Congratulations Phillip!
