A First Look at Lake Nona
Chris Lewit
I recently had the good fortune of being invited by Jose Higueras to observe Player Development preseason training at the new Lake Nona, Florida USTA National Campus. It's one of my very favorite times of the year to study with the USTA national coaching team as they prepare the best American junior and professional players for the Australian Open and the beginning of the new year on tour.
I arrived in December on the first day the facility was opened to players and coaches, even before the scheduled January 2nd public opening. The campus was still undergoing some construction and it was exciting to see the new "Home of American Tennis" in its infancy, before the throngs of players would arrive to play on the 102 tennis courts at the facility.
Yes--102 courts! It's the largest single installation of tennis courts I have ever seen, sprawling over 40 plus acres, on a parcel adjacent to the Orlando airport. It was a very smart move by the USTA to situate themselves near a large international airport because ease of access by travel-weary professionals and the public is one of the most important aspects of the facility.
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Chris Lewit is a leading high-performance coach, author, and educator. He is the author of the best-selling book Secrets of Spanish Tennis 2.0, which is now available, and a new technique book, Winning Pretty, which will be published by New Chapter Press in paperback in 2026. He is also a contributing editor for Tennisplayer.net magazine and a long-time member of the RSPA and PTR. As an educator, he has presented at several large conferences, including the PTR International Tennis Symposium. Chris studied religion and literature at Cornell, Harvard, and Columbia, and is currently pursuing a PhD in kinesiology and biomechanics. As a player, Chris Lewit played No. 1 for Cornell University and competed on the USTA and ITF pro circuits. As a coach, he has recently worked with several No. 1 junior players in the US and has trained hundreds of nationally ranked juniors. He directs a boutique full-time academy for homeschool/online players and a high-performance summer camp program, as well as high-performance training for all ages and levels, all at his club in the beautiful green mountains of Manchester, Vermont. Chris Lewit has a popular YouTube channel, Youtube.com/ChrisLewit, and you can follow his writing portfolio at https://medium.com/@ChrisLewit.
Chris Lewit Tennis Contact Chris directly by phone/WhatsApp at 914-462-2912 or chris@chrislewit.com. |
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