Rick Macci (born December 7, 1954) is an American tennis coach and former player. He is a United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Master Professional, and seven-time USPTA national coach of the year who has trained five number one ranked players: Andy Roddick,[1] Jennifer Capriati,[2] Maria Sharapova,[3] Serena Williams,[4] and Venus Williams.[5]
Rick Macci | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 7, 1954 Greenville, Ohio, U.S |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | USPTA Master Professional |
| Years active | 1970-present |
In 2010, he was inducted into the USPTA Florida Hall of Fame.[6] He serves as a consultant on the USTA Player Development Program in Boca Raton, Florida.
In 2017, he was youngest ever to be inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame.[7]
Education
editBorn in Greenville, Ohio, to parents Norma Macci and Santi Macci, Macci attended Greenville Senior High School and graduated in 1973. After two years at Wright State University, Rick was ranked as the top under-18 tennis player in Ohio. Macci went into the Hall of Fame induction honors for his accomplishments in basketball and tennis in his hometown.[citation needed]
Career
editIn the early 1970s Macci started his career as the tennis pro at Bob Schul's Sports Complex in Troy, Ohio. In the late 1970s he became the tennis professional at the Sinnet Indoor Tennis Club in Vineland, New Jersey when in 1979 he achieved the #1 Ranked Adult player in New Jersey.[citation needed]
He started the Rick Macci International Tennis Academy in 1985,[8] in Haines City, Florida, at the Grenelefe Golf & Tennis Resort, where two of his students were Tommy Ho and Jennifer Capriati[citation needed] In the summer of 1992, the Macci Academy moved to Delray Beach.
Over the course of his career, he coached many tennis players such as Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Tommy Ho, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati, Anastasia Myskina, Mary Pierce, Vince Spadea, Tornado Black, Sofia Kenin, Hurricane Black, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Vicky Duval, Karim Alami, Christian Ruud, Sofia Belinksi, Vlada Hranchar, Darwin Blanch and Alycia Parks.[citation needed]
Macci has appeared on several TV shows, such as Sixty Minutes, Today Show, Good Morning America, Inside Edition, Day One, and many major networks, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN,[9] USA, ESPN, Tennis Channel, BBC and sports talk radio shows around the world. He is the featured teaching pro on the award-winning instructional tennis videos (produced by the USPTA) that airs on the Tennis Channel.[citation needed] He has worked as tennis consultant for Donald Trump and T. Management.[10]
Macci the recipient of the 2005 Alex Gordon Award for USPTA Professional of the Year.[11]
Honors
editIn 2010, Macci was inducted into the USPTA Florida Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
On 13 October 2017 Macci was inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame USPTA Professionals to become the 19th professional honored, and youngest ever to be inducted.[12]
Family
editMacci has three daughters. Ginger Macci, Lisa Macci & Farrah Macci.
Popular culture
editIn the movie King Richard, about Venus and Serena Williams's father, his character was played by Jon Bernthal.
References
edit- ^ "Young Andy Roddick with Rick Macci". YouTube. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
- ^ "Rick Macci On Evaluating Talent". worldtennismagazine.com. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
- ^ "How Close Maria Sharapova Was To Being A Left-Handed Player". worldtennismagazine.com. March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
- ^ "Serena Williams' Childhood Coach". complex.com. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ "Rick Macci Williams Sisters Tennis on ESPN". YouTube. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
- ^ "2010 USPTA Florida Award Honorees". uspta.com.
- ^ "Rick Macci Inducted into USPTA Hall of Fame". tennisviewmag.com. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Rick Macci doesn't make the talent; he makes it better". addvantageuspta.com.
- ^ "Tennis Coach Rick Macci on CNN". YouTube. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
- ^ "Boca Lago Country Club & View Library Document". bocalago.com.
- ^ "USPTA show, "Mechanics of the Serve," premieres on the Tennis Channel". usptafindapro.com. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
- ^ "Macci inducted into USPTA Hall of Fame". tennis.life.