Week 5 & 6 of summer tennis camp completed.

We worked hard on volleys and overheads in week 5 learning to work with proper grips, touch and feel for the short court is so important. Learning more about offense and defensive shots. Brought in the doubles play for learning more about court positioning and opening up the court to put the ball away.

Week 6 working on lobs and overheads from the front court and the back court. Developing a “serve ritual” to improve our serves and use it as a weapon Finished out the week competitive with a college format of play.

So proud of our kids pushing through practicing in the summer! The heat was quite high this week and humidity thick. They are learning more about nutrition and how to keep the body cool and comfortable in these hot conditions.

Week 4 & 5 summer tennis camp completed

More great tennis working on approach & volley, footwork, overheads and Attacking v. Defending. Kids are hanging in there despite the heat. We are sending two teams to Orlando to compete in the USTA Sectionals Championship end of July.

Week 3 of our summer tennis camp. All student levels represented here celebrating Wimbledon at Creekside High School. 🎾

This is our 11th year at our Saint Johns Tennis Academy.  

Week 1 of tennis camp completed

Theme of this week is on consistency, topspin and back spin, footwork. 

Orange ball tennis ages 9 & 10

Week 2 of our summer tennis camp done.

Theme of the week singles play, switching direction of the ball, positioning in court and recovery in the baseline. We did a Laver Cup tournament. World v. USA 🇺🇸, World won by 3 points! 

Coach Cheryl directing orange ball classes in match play. 

Summer Tennis Camp registration now open!!

Register now and choose any week you want. 

8 weeks of tennis 🎾   All ages and levels

Footwork, strategy for singles and doubles, match play, fun games, stroke production, Wimbledon week, nutrition talks, court positioning and more.  

2nd Red Ball Challenge at Saint Johns Tennis Academy

We had 8 players registered for our 2nd Red Ball Challenge in which all the kids played a singles round robin style of match play and at the end doubles with their partner of choice which were friends, family or favorite tennis pro. We had a blast enjoying tennis, pizza and awards for 2 hours at the tennis courts in which we had a great audience of parents to support their favorite tennis players. Love it!!

Congratulations to Lana and Caroline who earned the most in points and will be moving on to Orange Ball. Followed by Ryan, Davison, Kian and Desmond who did an excellent job with 4 players doing our red ball challenge for the first time.

Red Ball Challenge

Kian going for his backhand.

Caroline reaching for a high forehand return.

Lana warming up before match play.

Ryan’s overhead serve. - Photo credit Mariela Mcsoley Photography

Dynamo Desmond dropping in for Rally Ball.

Davison moving out wide for his forehand return vs. Ryan.

SIGN UP NOW FOR RED BALL CHALLENGE - Saturday, March 16th 10am - 12pm

We will be holding our 2nd RED BALL CHALLENGE in which all 8 & Under tennis players will have a round robin style of match play (1st to 7 points). We will also have courts for target practice and games. Challenge our pro’s and pro’s assistants in match play. $20.00 per player for registration which includes tennis, pizza party and awards.

10am - 12pm - All levels of play are invited to come and participate. We welcome all clubs or individuals to join us. 16 available spots to play.

SJTA Academy student Kyra Gravelle wins finalist in the local Grand Prix.

Kyra played her 3rd Grand Prix and won finalist today beginning her journey into local tournament play here in Jacksonville. This young lady has improved so much in Tennis this past year.  We are proud of you Kyra and Coach Estella DePaula working hard on the tennis 🎾 court! Your persistence paid off today! 

Saturday, December 8th - RED BALL CHALLENGE EVENT

We are excited to announce our very first RED BALL CHALLENGE which will be a round robin style of play in which we will pair the players up to play as many matches as possible. We will also have available stations for target practice and games for a portion of our challenge. We will have pizza and prizes at the conclusion of our challenge.

Hours of play 10:00a.m. - 11:30a.m.

Lunch and Prizes 11:30a.m. - noon

$20.00 registration fee mailed to SJTA before December 5th

You can register on our website under “RED BALL CHALLENGE” - 18 PLAYERS maximum.

All players must wear lace up tennis shoes, bring water and racquet. If you do not have a racquet we have demos to borrow to play for this event.

This event will count toward play points for our 10 & Under Academy SJTA players for skill level evaluation.

8 & Under red ball

Mal Washington Gala & Pro Am Tournament fundraiser.

Each year our pros are involved in the gala for a fundraising event for our youth tennis in Jacksonville.  Thursday we will attend a silent auction and on Friday participate in playing the ProAm tournament at San Jose Golf and Country Club  

www.malwashington.com

Gala dinner fundraiser

Over $200,000 raised for MVWF and their new high school tennis facility, a second edition tennis center for tennis and education.

Tuesday- USTA Junior Team Tennis and Net Generation sign up!

come join us at Mills Field at 5:00 to get your tennis student signed up for Net Generation (10& Under tennis players) and USTA junior team tennis for match play and team challenges now and in the future! 

Camp Weeks 4, 5 & 6

Very important weeks in our Academy in which we celebrated Wimbledon week , themed with wearing all white, strawberries, serve and volley like they do on grass! Singles and doubles strategies. We also celebrated by participating in USTA Orlando Sectionals tournament and won 2nd place in all of Florida! Go SJTA Ace Breakers who played u14 intermediate which was quite competitive and very close in competition. 

Weeks 1-3 summer tennis camp completed

We have worked on consistency, shot tolerance and singles strategy in week 1.  Shot patterns, serves and returns in week 2. All things short court volley, half volley, overheads and drop shots in week 3. We have more work to cover week 4-7!! More room in our Academy classes for July so please come join us at Creekside High tennis courts to learn and have fun!  

Summer Tennis Camp 2018

Greetings! Now is the time to register for our 7 week summer tennis camp for all ages, all levels of tennis. We will start our camp June 4th. Schedule, rates and material we will cover is on this website. Click on the tab for Summer Tennis Camp. Any question as feel free to call Heather Diegan 904-994-3376

10 & Under Orange Ball team takes the courts!

First match to mark this Spring season at San Jose Golf and CC. So proud of our kids 9 & 10 year olds (mostly)  

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Spring Break vacation

Saint Johns Tennis Academy will be closed the week of March 26th-April 1 for Spring Break! We will resume Monday, April 2 for normal programming. Have a fantastic and restful week off! 🎾😎

Swiss Point and Liberty Pines Middle School Tennis Tryouts

Welcome to Saint Johns Tennis Academy at Mills Field!  Tennis Pro's/Coaches for Swiss Point and Liberty Pines are Patrick & Heather Diegan

We will hold the upcoming middle school tennis tryouts at Mills Field for Swiss Point Middle School & Liberty Pines Middle School on the following days and times:

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24TH 3:00PM - 4:30PM

AND

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26TH 4:00PM - 5:30PM

  Swiss Point and Liberty Pines students may come either day during the stated times above and only need to tryout once.  Each school may have multiple teams chosen depending on how many tryout.  Please attend whether you are beginner or experienced! 

Mandatory Practices to play in matches will begin the week of February 6th for both schools.  We will have two practices per week the first two weeks then once a week each week after.

Swiss Point Middle School practices will be Tuesdays/Thursdays 3-4pm the first two weeks, Tuesdays 3-4pm each week and matches played on Thursdays each week.

Liberty Pines Middle School practices will be Wednesdays 3-4pm and Fridays 5-6pm the first two weeks, then each Wednesday 3-4pm practices and matches played on Thursdays each week.

Please call or email If you have ANY questions!  Heather Ann Diegan cell 904-994-3376

All Clinics will start again January 8th. Christmas Tennis Camp pictures.

Below are some pictures from our tennis camp. We had a small group this year but had fun after all the rain cleared. Layered up for a cold day of tennis but warm from our footwork and hitting drills.  

Sean likes his gift he chose from our ornament exchange.  

Lunch break between drills and round robin.  

Christmas Tennis Camp 🎄

December 27th - 29th our Academy will be having our annual Christmas Tennis Camp 9-12 pm for 3 days which will include a tournament and pizza party with ornament exchange on the 29th. RSVP to heather.lester@me.com $100 check made out to "SJTA".  16 available spots. Levels intermediate to advanced only!