Meet the TennisPower Coaching Team
and our Conditioning & Fitness Coaches
Peninsula Racquet Club has a professional staff that is second to none in the South Bay. We look forward to teaching and coaching you and your family. CONTACT the Club Front Desk to schedule lessons or workouts.
Oliver Messerli
Director of Tennis
Oliver Messerli is a native of South Africa, has been in the International Professional Tennis Industry for 24 years. He is the Director of Tennis at Peninsula Racquet Club in Palos Verdes and has been developing tennis players in the South Bay since 2001.
READ MORE ABOUT OLIVER MESSERLI
Oliver’s professional experience extends from having competed on the ATP Tour himself to having coached, trained and traveled with many players on the ATP and WTA Tour.During his time on the WTA Tour, Oliver helped his clients win a total of 4 Grand Slam Titles, as well as 15 Tier 1 and 2 singles and doubles titles.
While under his watchful eye, Lisa Raymond and Rene Stubbs ended 2000 as the #1 Doubles Team in the World. Some of Oliver’s other clients have been Mary Pierce, Nicole Pratt, Erica Delone and currently Jason Jung. He has also been working with PRC’s Ena Shibahara from age 9 onwards.
Oliver has served as the Head Coach for the CTC South Bay Team for the past two years. Most recently, he was the recipient of the USPTA Coach of the Year (Region 4) for 2016. He was also received the Arthur Ashe Collegiate Sportsmanship of the Year Award for 1997.
Through his experience as the #1 ranked Junior in South Africa, as a NCAA Division 1 player and a player and having worked with the best doubles players in the world, Oliver brings his personal experience to guide all players, from USTA Juniors to Marine League to the Pro Level, to benefit and achieve ultimate success.
Oliver and his TennisPower Team impact and guide many of the top US juniors to help them achieve their goals and prepare them for the WTA and ATP Tour or NCAA Division 1 Tennis.
Marcos Paulo Silvestre
Head Tennis Professional
MARCOS PAULO DE SOUZA SOARES SILVESTRE is a Brazilian tennis player and coach. Coming from a sports family, played soccer as a kid, but found his passion and love for tennis. His tennis path commenced when he was 11 years old, where he played some nationals and state tournaments at Belo Horizonte at 15 and played until 18.
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He then practiced with Bruno Soares in December of 2015, who mentored and taught Marcos more about tennis and doubles.He then came to the United States in the fall of 2016 to study and play for Seward County Community College, located in Liberal, Kansas. After a not successful semester playing for the team, he moved to California where he attended and played for Cerritos College, located in Norwalk. There, he became a California State Champion in 2018, the first time in the men’s tennis team history! His biggest accomplishment so far was winning the title for the Ojai tournament for doubles, and again with Cerritos, he won the Ojai tournament for teams.
Marcos is currently a junior studying at Marymount California University in Rancho Palos Verdes, majoring in Business with a minor in Sports Management.
He started working at PRC in July of 2018 and realized how much he loves coaching young athletes. He hopes to pursue this path for the rest of his life.
Kathy AleX
Tennis professional
KATHY ALEX is an experienced and knowledgeable and driven tennis instructor trained to provide quality tennis lessons in a fun and challenging way. With years of experience teaching, directing and organizing tennis events and programs in different cultures all over the world and at all age levels, she is a world class tennis professional who is passionate about the game and who has taught and coached tennis throughout the United States and Europe.
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Kathy brings a fresh perspective from her European teaching and coaching experience. In addition to playing at the professional level, she has the know-how to help the most advanced player including assisting in the development of Liv Hovde the 2022 Jr Wimbledon champion, and numerous D1 athletes including her sons Petro and Christo Alex.Kathy is happily married for 38 years to Chris Alex and mom of 9 kids. She loves the developmental process of developing players to be the best they can be and enjoys guiding parents through the journey.
Tennis highlights:
・ CIF high school singles champion at La Jolla High School, San Diego
・ 4 Time All American at UCLA
・ NCAA doubles Finalist 1981
・ Played on professional WTA Tour: Highest ranking #158 in singles and #20 in doubles
・ Head Women’s Tennis Coach at Marymount University in Palos Verdes, CA 1987-2002
・ Coached at The Junior Developmental Training Center in Xania, Crete, Greece 2009-2015
・ Performance Coach for 6-18yr olds at InnerCity Tennis, Minneapolis 2013-2022
・ Performance Coach at No Quit Tennis Academy, Las Vegas, Nv 2023-current
・ Director of Tennis at North Oaks E Rec Tennis and pickleball courts 2017-current -summers only
JURENCE MENDOZA
Tennis Professional
JURENCE MENDOZA was born and raised in the Philippines, where he fell in love with the game of tennis when a friend invited him to a local tennis club when he was just seven years old. Since then, he has achieved a career high ranking of #2 National Player and have represented the Philippines at international tournaments such as Asian Youth Olympics, World Juniors (14U), Junior Davis Cup(16U), and Davis Cup. In the years 2019 to 2021, he was the #1 ranked singles player in the Philippines.
READ MORE ABOUT JURENCE MENDOZA
As a junior tennis singles player, Jurence was able to play at the highest level, having been chosen to represent the ITF Travel Team for Asia for 14 and Under tournaments in Paris, Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium. Likewise, he played the 16 and Under tournaments for the same ITF Travel Team in Italy. He reached his ITF Junior career high of being ranked 53rd in the world. In 2012, he played at the Australian Open Juniors and reached the quarter finals as a doubles player.After a very successful junior career, Jurence was recruited to play for NCAA Division I Oklahoma State University, where he attained the highest ITA Division I Men's Central Regional ranking of #4 in singles, ITA Division I Men's Central Regional ranking of #5 in doubles, ITA Men's Singles National ranking of #85, and the National Collegiate Doubles ranking of #31. During his time as a college tennis player, he helped the team reach a national ranking of #4, the highest in Oklahoma State's tennis team history. He was also the captain of the Men's Tennis team in his senior year.
After graduating, Jurence played professional tennis in numerous tournaments in the US, Australia, Africa, and China. In 2019, he achieved his first ATP point in Ghana, and his first doubles ATP point in Guam. Now, he loves to coach young tennis players at Peninsula Racquet Club, where he strives to inspire and guide his students to become the best tennis players they can be.
Bella Nguyen
Tennis professional
BELLA NGUYEN is a Texas native and former NCAA Division I athlete. During her collegiate career, she received a full scholarship to represent her university and played a significant role in her team’s success.
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Bella Nguyen is a Texas native and former NCAA Division I athlete. During her collegiate career, she received a full scholarship to represent her university and played a significant role in her team’s success.Prior to college, Bella was ranked as one of the top players in Texas before moving to California. In her senior year, Bella was the Moore League Singles Champion and was named Long Beach’s Female Tennis Player of the Year. Off the court, Bella graduated as Valedictorian of her high school.
During her collegiate career at New Mexico State University, Bella played in the starting lineup for all four years. She received numerous awards, such as:
- 2019-23 All-Academic Team ITA Scholar-Athlete
- 2021 WAC Singles Player of the Week
- 2021 WAC Singles All-Tournament Team
- 2022 WAC Singles All-Tournament Team
- 2022 WAC Doubles All-Tournament Team
- 2023 All-WAC Doubles Second Team
In the 2022 Western Athletic Conference tournament, Bella was the only player to go undefeated in singles and collect a 3-0 record. She was named WAC Singles All-Tournament Team and WAC Doubles All-Tournament Team. During her last two years with the Aggies, Bella and her partner were the strongest doubles duo in the conference.
Off the court, Bella excelled in the classroom. On top of her B.A. degree in political science, she took specialized classes to graduate with honors distinction at her university. In her honors thesis, she conducted research on autonomous vehicles and its effects on product liability law. Not to mention, Bella also graduated with 5 minors: english, comparative politics, public law, public administration, and creative writing. Her writing was published in the Crimson Thread. Today, Bella’s work ethic is both apparent in tennis and academics. Her journey as an athlete to her current role as a coach is a testament to her commitment and desire to share her knowledge and passion with others in both tennis and pickleball.
Andrew Sarawasi
Tennis Professional
ANDREW SARAWASI, Grew up in Carson and began playing tennis at the age of 6. He trained with other top ranked junior athletes and competed in tournaments throughout his junior career. He adopted a disciplined and rigorous work ethic early on by training every day after school and devoting weekends to matches and tournaments.
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To warm up before training, Andrew rode 5 miles on his bike to the tennis club where he played and back home again after training.Andrew played #2 singles and #1 doubles throughout his four years at Carson High School with teammate JR Sarmiento. In his junior year, he and his partner won the doubles City Individual Playoffs. After high school, Andrew attended El Camino College and joined the tennis team as the #1 singles and doubles player for two years. He proved himself as a doubles specialist after qualifying twice for the doubles state championships for community colleges.
Since his youth, Andrew has always shared his tennis techniques and strategies with friends. His development into a strong tennis player thus contributed to his natural development into a tennis coach. Since then, Andrew has trained adults and aspiring juniors. He also worked with students as assistant coach at the California Academy of Math and Science.
After graduating from El Camino, Andrew continued his education at California State University, Long Beach as a kinesiology major with a focus on fitness. There, he studied the physical and mental aspects of well-rounded athletes and tennis players. Andrew discovered that the skills required as a tennis player can also be used to improve other aspects on one’s life. Andrew hopes to help others become stronger tennis payers so that they can live improved lives.
Clemens Wagner
Tennis Professional
CLEMENS WAGNER, I am a native of Austria growing up in Vienna. I started playing tennis at the age of 4, practicing at a Bulgarian/Russian academy. I moved to the US when I was 19 years old, to play college tennis for Walsh University obtaining a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics.
READ MORE ABOUT CLEMENS WAGNER
Working at PRC for 2 years now, I enjoy the environment we are creating for our players. For me, tennis is not just a game, it is a journey of self-discovery and growth, basically a mirror which reflects your strengths, weaknesses, and character. With that, I see my role as a coach is to not only teach my players the technical skills of the game but also to help them develop an understanding of themselves.I believe that by helping them to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, they can learn to play to their full potential. Tennis has given me a lot in life and taught me to deal with highs and lows. With this experience, I hope to inspire my players to embrace their character and ultimately achieve their goals.
Arturo Cano
Tennis Professional
ARTURO CANO (better known as Coach Art) is a tennis professional certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) with more than three decades of coaching experience. Coach Art can apply both the ITF and USPTA coaching techniques to all student levels from beginners up to advanced and professionals
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Coach Art was the no. 2 ranked Junior in the Philippines before coming to US on a tennis scholarship at the Navarro Junior College in Texas. He then moved to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration major in Accounting also on a full tennis scholarship and played in the Division One Level competition.Moving back to the Philippines, he began his tennis career at the exclusive Manila Polo Club where he spent more than two decades developing juniors and professional players as well as adult club members. He was also involved in the development of coaches for the grassroots tennis program sponsored by Dunlop Philippines.
When he migrated to US in 2015, he became the Head Coach of the Lizardo Tennis Academy formerly at the Southend Racquet Club in Torrance. Later he joined I-Tennis at Arcadia Park in Arcadia City to help the Tennis Director develop the Junior and Adult Program. Doing so he was able to help aspiring tennis players to win tournaments of various levels. He was also the coach of the USTA League (Men and Women) winning Sectionals for three years in a row. Coach Art did a short stint at the Reserve Club in Palm Desert during the first half of 2023 before joing PRC.
Kevin
Tennis professional
Profile coming soon
Profile coming soon