Background:
John was born in Sydney, Australia. As a child of an expatriate, he spent his childhood years in Brunei, Holland, Hong Kong, Texas and Sydney. It was in Hong Kong that he really got hooked into tennis, inspired by watching the legendary Pete Sampras at his ferocious best on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon on TV.
His first coach, Roberto Lopez, at the Discovery Bay Residents Club in Hong Kong, had the difficult task of teaching a stubborn but passionate kid the finer points of tennis and self-control. Surely he must have breathed a sigh of relief when John departed Hong Kong for the searing heat of John Newcombe’s Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas in 2000.
After a 6-month sojourn in Texas, John returned to Sydney to finish his schooling and continued his tennis education under John Eldridge from Marsfield, Sydney who gave him an extensive knowledge of the technical and tactical aspects in tennis.
In 2009, John graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Social Sciences/Bachelor of Laws but decided to pursue his coaching interests. In 2013, he became the first cochlear implant recipient to become a Qualified Tennis Australia Club Professional Coach.
Coaching experience:
- Qualified Junior Development Coach 2011 (Tennis Australia)
- Qualified Club Professional Coach 2013 (Tennis Australia)
- 2012 10s and Under State Tennis Team Championships, Cessnock – Metropolitan Serves Team Manager
- 2012 12s and Under State Tennis Team Championships, Bathurst – Metropolitan Serves Team Manager
- 2013 12s and Under State Tennis Team Championships, Bathurst – Presidents Team Green Manager
Former clients include:
- Kyle Stoker, formerly ranked No.37 in Australia and 1034 in the world.
- Ross Lalic, formerly ranked No.91 in Australia
- Kelly Blake, formerly ranked No.48 in Australia
- Eleni Lagoutaris, formerly ranked No. 208 in Australia
Recent achievements:
International representation:
- No.1 in Australian Team at Dresse-Maere Cup, Turkey 2011 – Placed 6th out of 12 teams
- Quarterfinals of Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles at USA Deaf Open, Las Vegas 2010
- Represented Australia in Melbourne Deaflympics, Australia 2005, Taipei Deaflympics, Taiwan 2009, Bulgaria 2013
- Represented Australia in Dresse-Maere Cup, Munich, Germany 2007 and Izmir, Turkey 2011
- World No. 7 in Men’s Singles for International Deaf Tennis
- World No. 13 in Men’s Doubles for International Deaf Tennis
Domestic achievements:
- Ranked No.1 in Australian Deaf Tennis
- No. 1 in NSW for Deaf Tennis
- Finalist in Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles of Australian National Deaf Tennis Championships, Canberra 2011
- NSW Deaf Tennis State Champion 2010
- Silver Medallist in Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles at Australian Deaf Games, Gold Coast 2008
- Represented Macquarie University in Eastern University Games and Australian University Games 2003-2009
- St Andrews Cathedral School Champion 2002