Advantage Tennis Academy
Irvine, California
By Roger Cox, Editor
Tennis veterans Jimmy Johnson and Mahmoud Karim started this academy in 2004 in order to provide an opportunity for aspiring juniors to train full time in southern California. The Academy offers both residential and after-school options during the academic year and a boarding and non-boarding junior camp in summer. Their philosophy is first to teach students how to work, then how to compete and finally, how to win. They do that, they say, by balancing the technical, tactical (mental), and physical aspects of the game.
The Academy trains at the Racquet Club of Irvine, which has 22 hard and 6 Har-Tru courts, putting players up in fully supervised residential apartments adjacent. The club has a fitness center, heated swimming pool, pro shop, and café. Students of the full-time program are enrolled in the Irvine Unified School District's home school program.
Season: Year-round
Rates and Reservations
Advantage Tennis Academy
5 Ethel Coplan Way
Irvine, CA 92612
Your Call
Here's what others have had to say about Advantage Tennis Academy.
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"I went there and I was really disappointed with the results. It seems as if they only focus on the best kids and if you are only going for a week you will get no attention. The only attention you will get is at the house that you sleep at. The only good part of advantage is the couple that takes care of the house."—P.F., Adv. Int., March 2012
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"The club has 22 courts, but Advantage does not have access to all of them. Less than half are allowed by th racquet club. During the summer, there were well over 8 to 10 kids per court. The pros were not that into the kids. Majority of them were texting or just reading from their phone. My kids tennis got worse from not playing enough. Not enough courts to accommodate match plays and mostly played doubles."—S.H., Adv. Int., March 2011