15 Best Tennis Academies In The United States
Attending a top-end tennis academy doesn’t guarantee success, but it puts promising young players in the best position to succeed. Most of the all-time greats went off to tennis academies early on in their career and never looked back.
Within the United States, some outstanding tennis academies have bred future grand slam winners. Not only do they bring in the best of the best from the United States, but they recruit internationally as well.
These are the top 15 bringing in aspiring pros and college players on the regular.
15. Tucker Tennis Academy
| Location | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Tennis Courts | 21 (15 hard outdoor, 6 hard indoor) |
| Price (per year) | $20,000 |
| Famous Alumni | Successful college players |
Tulsa, Oklahoma might not be the hotbed for tennis in the United States, but there’s one tennis academy doing a lot to change that to a degree. The Tucker Tennis Academy offers many of the same benefits as other top-level tennis academies out there, and it comes in at a more affordable price.
Focusing mostly on future college prospects, the facility has 15 outdoor courts and six indoor courts. It’s easy to get all the training necessary in one spot.
You can learn more about the tucker tennis academy here.
14. SHOQ Tennis Academy
| Location | Fountain Valley, California |
| Tennis Courts | 23 (all hard courts) |
| Price (per year) | $49,000 |
| Famous Alumni | Succesful college players |
The SHOQ Tennis Academy offers opportunities for intermediate players, but also those wanting to take it to another level. Their full-time training gets results, and it comes with everything a player needs to craft a professional career.
Since the pro-development part of SHOQ Tennis Academy is still developing, it’s all about private training for the most part. This can be much preferred as a boutique-style instead of similar options out there.
You can learn more about the SHOQ tennis academy here.
13. Advantage Tennis Academy
| Location | Irvine, California |
| Tennis Courts | 8 (6 hard, 2 clay) |
| Price (per year) | $25,000 |
| Famous Alumni | Sandra Samir |
Advantage Tennis Academy brings in players from all over the United States, as well as internationally. Located at the Newport Beach Country Club, many players fall in love with the weather.
They certainly spare little expense in building up the academy and allowing players to succeed.
At this point, the only thing keeping Advantage Tennis Academy out of the upper echelon of academies is a lack of pros. That could very easily change in the next few years.
Daily Schedule
You can learn more about their training schedule here.
12. OSSA Tennis Academy
| Location | Rockville, Maryland |
| Tennis Courts | 14 |
| Price (per year) | $36,000 – $48,800 |
| Famous Alumni | Succesful college players |
A lot of great tennis goes on in the Washington DC area. While the best of the best tend to travel away from the DMV once they become good enough, the OSSA Tennis Academy is looking to change that. They offer outstanding programs to allow players to focus on the results they want.
Don’t be surprised to see this tennis academy continue to rise in the ranks as it establishes itself a bit more. It’s never going to be huge since it’s not in a warm climate like many others on the list, but it will do great regionally.
Daily Schedule
You can learn more about their training schedule here.
11. Austin Tennis Academy
| Location | Austin, Texas |
| Tennis Courts | 14 (12 hard, 2 clay) |
| Price (per year) | $14,500 |
| Famous Alumni | Succesful college players |
The Austin Tennis Academy is very close to the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch. They are both outstanding options for players to choose from, with there being some slight differences in coaching styles and overall approaches to the sport.
With a location close to a major city, Austin does not offer boarding for students. That keeps the overall cost down, but it’s frustrating for those looking to travel outside of Texas to attend.
Daily Schedule
You can learn more about their training schedule here.
10. The John Newcombe Tennis Ranch
| Location | New Braunfels, Texas |
| Tennis Courts | 31 (27 hard, 4 clay) |
| Price (per year) | $39,600 |
| Famous Alumni | Lleyton Hewitt, Michael Venus, Ryan Harrison |
Located in the middle of Texas Hill Country, the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch has found ways to bring in some pretty impressive professionals.
Lleyton Hewitt, Ryan Harrison, and Li Na all spent time at the academy. While many live on campus, others will commute from San Antonio or Austin to get the training they need.
Students live in the dorms with a teammate and eat all the meals in the cafeteria. Academy players train about 6 hours of tennis a day + fitness 4 times/week and weight training 2 times/week. On the weekends, they take their players to tournaments.
A lot of the players that live at the academy go to the public New Braunfels HS and take AP classes. Students can also do an online program of their choice, some of the players at the academy work with K12, Laurel Springs, and Texas Connections.
The tuition is about $3,300 a month, but they offer scholarships based on UTR rating.
With a name like John Newcombe connected to it and the history of the academy dating back to 1968, the place isn’t going away anytime soon.
Daily Schedule
You can learn more about the John Newcombe academy here.
9. John McEnroe Tennis Academy
| Location | New York, NY |
| Tennis Courts | 20 (10 hard, 10 clay) |
| Price (per year) | $28,300 |
| Famous Alumni | Noah Rubin |
With a name like John McEnroe attached to it, the John McEnroe Tennis Academy gets a lot of recognition right away. It also blows a lot of people away since it’s located in a sports complex that costs just under $20 million.
The New York location isn’t ideal from a weather perspective, but a lot of the courts are indoors. It’s only been around for a little over a decade, but it’s been able to take off pretty well.
One of the advantages of going with the John McEnroe Tennis Academy is that students don’t have to stay all the time if they don’t want to. There are ways to add on private lessons a few times a week, or have transportation. It’s really up to how serious a player takes it.
You can learn more about the John Mcenroe academy here.
8. Gorin Tennis Academy
| Location | Granite Bay, California |
| Tennis Courts | 7 |
| Price (per year) | $21,300 – $33,175 |
| Famous Alumni | Nikoloz Bashilashvili |
The Gorin Tennis Academy has grown to the point that there are a few different locations in California. The main location is the most notable, and it’s in Granite Bay. Headlined by Vitaly Gorin himself, he’s been able to coach a few top players who have reached top 30 in the world on the ATP and WTA tour.
The academy itself doesn’t blow people away at first, as there are only seven courts at the main location. It’s a good thing for those who want more individualized attention, because the pros are not stretched too thinly.
Daily Schedule
You can read more about their training schedule here.
7. Weil Tennis Academy
| Location | Ojai, California |
| Tennis Courts | 22 (18 hard, 4 clay) |
| Price (per year) | $48,500 |
| Famous Alumni | Grigor Dimitrov, Maxime Creesy |
The California-based academy is great as a college placement program. While they might not have as many pros coming out of their system as other academies out there, they put a strong focus on academics and athletics.
They cost just under $50,000 per year to go, but most of the West Coast feel like it’s more than worth it in the end.
The entire setup looks a lot like an all-inclusive hotel stay in the eyes of many. There are plenty of courts to train on, but it’s a great place simply for education as well.
Daily Schedule
You can read more about their training schedule here.
6. Evert Tennis Academy
| Location | Boca Raton, Florida |
| Tennis Courts | 23 (14 hard, 9 clay) |
| Price (per year) | $30,000 – $48,000 |
| Famous Alumni | Andy Roddick, Madison Keys, Dustin Brown |
One of the most recognizable names in tennis is Evert. The Evert Tennis Academy started thanks to Chris, Jimmy, and John Evert in 1986. With a prime location in Boca Raton, Florida, they bring in players from all over the United States to train.
No training at the Evert Academy could be complete without a focus on clay court play. After all, Chris Evert made a living on clay courts, and she’s always believed that the United States players don’t get enough training on that surface.
The academy is relatively small compared to some of the other bigger venues, but it makes each player feel a bit more special.
You can learn more about the Evert tennis academy here.
5. Van Der Meer Tennis Academy
| Location | Hilton Head Island, South Carolina |
| Tennis Courts | 37 (17 hard, 13 clay, 7 indoors) |
| Price (per year) | $23,050 – $38,800 |
| Famous Alumni | John Isner, Alison Riske |
Outside of Florida, there’s an argument to be made that the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy is the best in the United States. With pros like Billie Jean King and John Isner spending time at the tennis academy, it shows that there’s been a lot of dedication to the game of tennis.
Dennis and Pat Van Der Meer run the facility, and they take full advantage of their location. Near the beach in South Carolina, players can relax when they have some downtime. When it comes to training, there are two different facilities they use that have hard, clay, and indoor courts.
Daily Schedule
You can read more about their training schedule here.
4. Saviano Tennis Academy
| Location | Plantation, Florida |
| Tennis Courts | 28 |
| Price (per year) | From $28,500 |
| Famous Alumni | Sloane Stephens |
Nick Saviano has been in the tennis game for over 40 years. With a history as a coach for players like Sloane Stephens and Eugénie Bouchard, he’s been able to build up his academy to be one of the best in the United States. With a location in Plantation, Florida, players are drawn to the South Florida weather as well.
Another advantage for the Saviano Tennis Academy is that it’s located at the same facility that the junior Orange Bowl takes place every single year. Reaching the Orange Bowl is a goal of most young tennis players, and getting the opportunity to compete against the best is often the launching point for future grand slam winners.
Keeping class sizes small, the Saviano Tennis Academy has found quite a bit of success overall. As long as players are willing to put in the work, there’s an opportunity to succeed.
Daily Schedule
You can learn more about their training schedule here.
3. Academia Sanchez-Casal
| Location | Naples, Florida |
| Tennis Courts | 38 |
| Price (per year) | From $59,000 |
| Famous Alumni | Grigor Dimitrov, Andy Murray, Johanna Konta |
Located in Naples, Florida, the Sanchez-Casal tennis academy is a relative newcomer to the scene compared to other top-level options. It was founded in 1998 by a pair of former pros, Emilio Sanchez-Vicario and Sergio Casal.
With a big focus on the technical aspects of the game, this tennis academy tries to be a little bit different than the rest. They also purposely keep their numbers low so that players get more individual attention.
It might not ever reach the levels of the top academy in the United States, but doesn’t seem to want to be either. It’s an alternative in a good location that brings in players serious about the game.
Weekly Schedule
- School: 30h/week
- Tennis Training: 10-17h/week
- Pshycial Program: 4h/week
- Mental: Every day on court and 1 hour a week in group
You can learn more about the Academia Sanchez-Casal here.
2. Saddlebrook Tennis Academy
| Location | Tampa, Florida |
| Tennis Courts | 45 (All Surfaces) |
| Price (per year) | $44,260 to $63,560 |
| Famous Alumni | Alexander Zverev, Pete Sampras, John Isner |
The history of Saddlebrook Tennis Academy has it high up in the rankings. They have fallen off a bit in recent times, but only IMG can match their level of successful pros.
Players such as Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis, and Jim Courier have all passed through Saddlebrook Tennis Academy at one point. It’s an entire resort for players to learn the game and start to excel as a player.
Saddlebrook is one of the few tennis academies in the United States that has hard, clay, and grass courts. Getting a chance to train on the grass at an early age gives players an edge if they are trying to become a pro.
That played at least some role in Sampras becoming arguably one the greatest grass-court player of all time.
Daily Schedule
You can learn more about their training schedule here.
1. IMG Academy
| Location | Bradenton, Florida |
| Tennis Courts | 55 (34 hard, 17 clay, 4 Indoor) |
| Price (per year) | $66,400 to $88,900 |
| Famous Alumni | Kei Nishikori, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi |
There is no better tennis academy in the history of the United States than IMG Academy. They have been able to take their early success with Nick Bollettieri and turn it into a full academy that serves several other athletes in different sports as well.
Now over 40 years old, the Bradenton, Florida-based training facility has 55 tennis courts. Players get the opportunity to train on hard and clay courts, as well as a few indoor courts.
They also have all the other resources they need to be a great athlete. Many future pros have come through IMG Academy, and just about everyone has success at the collegiate level at the very least.
Highlighting names such as Maria Sharapova, Andre Agassi, and the Williams sisters helps out tremendously when landing new clients. It’s not cheap, but the best players receive full scholarships to attend.
Daily Schedule
- Breakfast: 6:00-7:00
- School: 7:45-12:20
- Lunch: 12:30-1:30
- Athletic & Personal Development: 2:30-4:00
- Tennis Training: 4:00-5:30
- Dinner: 6:00-7:30
You can learn more about the IMG Academy here.
Comparing The 15 Best Academies In The USA
| Academy | Location | Tennis Courts | Price (per year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. IMG Academy | Bradenton, FL | 55 | $66,400 – $88,900 |
| 2. Saddlebrook Tennis Academy | Tampa, FL | 45 | $44,260 – $63,560 |
| 3. Academia Sanchez-Casal | Naples, FL | 38 | $59,000 |
| 4. Saviano Tennis Academy | Plantation, FL | 28 | $28,500 |
| 5. Van Der Meer Tennis Academy | Hilton Head Island, SC | 37 | $23,050 – $38,800 |
| 6. Evert Tennis Academy | Boca Raton, FL | 23 | $30,000 – $48,000 |
| 7. Weil Tennis Academy | Ojai, CA | 22 | $48,500 |
| 8. Gorin Tennis Academy | Granite Bay, CA | 7 | $21,300 – $33,175 |
| 9. John McEnroe Tennis Academy | New York, NY | 20 | $28,300 |
| 10. The John Newcombe Tennis Ranch | New Braunfels, TX | 31 | $39,600 |
| 11. Austin Tennis Academy | Austin, TX | 14 | $14,500 |
| 12. OSSA Tennis Academy | Rockville, ML | 14 | $36,000 – $48,800 |
| 13. Advantage Tennis Academy | Irvine, CA | 8 | $25,000 |
| 14. SHOQ Tennis Academy | Fountain Valley, CA | 23 | $49,000 |
| 15. Tucker Tennis Academy | Tulsa, OK | 21 | $20,000 |
Do Tennis Academies Make a Difference?
Whenever young players goes to a tennis academy, they look for an opportunity to focus on their game and have limited distractions. Other than playing tennis, the focus is on the academic side of things.
With tennis being such a specific sport that requires a lot of training to be great, most simply will be unable to reach the highest levels unless they put in the extra work. That’s why tennis academies continue to have success.
Also Read: 16 Best Tennis Academies In The World
