Pro Staff

Learn the sport of a lifetime from the Yakima Tennis Club's pro staff.

Stephen is a USPTA P1 professional and five year veteran as Director of Tennis at Mission Hills Country Club. Stephen also spent two years coaching internationally at the Israeli National Tennis Centers in Arad, Israel. Four years coaching at the acclaimed Evert Tennis Academy home to the USTA Player Development and four years coaching former world top 100 and number one Canadian player Jana Nejedly on the WTA tour. Stephen brings a vast wealth of experiences, technical and strategic knowledge, and a strong vision and passion for all the programs at Yakima Tennis Club.

Trevor is a USPTA P2 professional born and raised in Texas where he attended college.  He has his associate’s degree in professional tennis management and is also certified in Quick Start Tennis.  Trevor previously worked as the Head pro/ asst director at Abilene Rose Park Tennis Club before making his long journey to Yakima. Trevor brings many skills to the table as far as technical , mental, physical, and is looking to help our clubs players grow stronger.

Tyler has been playing tennis since he first learned how to walk. He grew up taking lessons at the Yakima Tennis Club each and every summer. In high school, Tyler played four years for the varsity tennis team at West Valley. He then went to Whitworth University in 2000 where he played another four years on their varsity tennis team. In 2004 Tyler started teaching tennis lessons at the Yakima Tennis Club, then became the head coach of the East Valley boys team in 2005. He coached at East Valley for two seasons and then switched over to being assistant tennis coach at Davis in 2007 where he stayed for three years. Since then, Tyler has helped with group lessons at the club and taught many private lessons as well. Tyler is excited to help the Yakima Tennis Club continue to be a place where people fall in love with the game of tennis and learn to play the game better.

Played on the WTA tour for ten years. Her highest ranking achived was 64 in the world. She reached the third round of both the Australian Open and the US Open with wins over the likes of Chanda Rubin, Lisa Raymond, Barbara Schett, Daniella Hantuchova and 2010 French Open winner, Francesca Schiavone. Jana represented Canada in both the Olympics and in the Federation Cup. After retiring in 2003 Jana taught in Boston, North Carolina and Southern California. Jana is still passionate about competitive tennis and is plannng on getting involved with the junior program as well as teaching some private lessons.

USPTA P1 professional. Kathleen played college tennis at the University of Minnesota. Formerly, Kathleen was the Pro Manager at Sunset Tennis Center, St. Louis, MO. She also was the owner of St. Louis Tennis & Fitness, and the director of NIKE Tennis Camp at Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Kathleen has experience teaching all levels with an emphasis coaching junior tennis including local, sectional, inter-sectional and zonal teams. She has also coached national caliber players at European ITF tournaments through Tennis Europe.

Playing background:

- 4 year Varsity Letter winner at Mountlake Terrace High School (1994-1998)
- 3A Wesco Doubles Champion in '97 & 4A Wesco Doubles Champion in '98
- Two-time State competitor in Doubles (Placed 5th in 4A tournament in '98)
- Played #1 Singles & #1 Doubles at Shoreline Community College ('99 & '00)
- NWAACC #1 Doubles Flight Champion in '00 (Placed 2nd in the #1 Doubles Flight in '99)
- Placed 2nd in the #1 Singles Flight at the NWAACC Championships in '99 & '00
- Currently rated 5.0 by the USTA

Teaching/Coaching background:

 - Assistant Varsity Boys Coach at Mountlake Terrace High School in '98 & '99
- Instructor of all lessons/programs for the cities of Shoreline, WA and Kirkland, WA from '00-'02
- Part-time Assistant Pro for YTC in '05-'06
- Varsity & JV Boys Coach at West Valley High School in '06 

  Don Ballew
  Associate Pro

Don grew up playing tennis at YTC. He was highly ranked in the PNW as a junior, in men’s open, and in the seniors. He played number one at Santa Clara University. After college, he played satellite tournaments and taught tennis at the Midtown Tennis Club in New York City. Over the years, Don has enjoyed working with many of the valley’s top players, and he looks forward to helping the next generation of players develop their games.