ZEPHYRHILLS — Less than half a decade after the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis and Wellness Center opened on the western outskirts of Zephyrhills, the facility is poised to become one of the sport’s training epicenters .
Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and former coach of women’s tennis legend Serena Williams, will launch his latest academy at the Zephyrhills facility.
Mouratoglou Academy Zephyrhills joins other similar academies in France, Atlanta and Malaysia, although it will be the first to offer a full tennis and boarding program on American soil. The name of Vande Berg will remain attached to the establishment, which will preserve the statue of Sarah Vande Berg, a former Zephyrhills High girls tennis star killed in a car accident in 2015.
“I always had a vision of expanding Mouratoglou to the United States, and when we discovered the (Vande Berg) center in Zephyrhills, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to bring that dream to life.” , Mouratoglou said in a press release. .
“The potential to establish our first American academy here was clear from the start. This facility is designed to not only accommodate dedicated players from Florida, but also attract talent from around the world, offering on-site boarding.
The academy will include boarding for 90 students, who will follow “an American curriculum designed for local and international participants,” according to the release. Each student-athlete will be fully immersed in the Mouratoglou methodology, a philosophy aimed at providing personalized, tailored training that accelerates each player’s growth.
The facility features nine clay courts, including a stadium court that can accommodate up to 3,000 spectators, and two hard courts. Five additional outdoor hard courts and one indoor air-conditioned court are expected to open next summer.
Mouratoglou’s students have collected 10 Grand Slam titles, 39 singles crowns and two Olympic medals. He has won four Coach of the Year awards, and more than 40 players have reached the top 100 under his leadership.
“There is a real atmosphere in this academy which perfectly matches Mouratoglou’s team spirit,” Mouratoglou said.
“The fact that the city and the region are so motivated, so involved and pushing this project is also a key element in the idea of establishing my first American tennis academy there.
“With a tennis and academic program focused on both academic and sporting development, and a boarding experience similar to that of our flagship in France, my goal is for Zephyrhills to become a world-class tennis destination, as we made it in France.”
