Aug. 27, 2009

Watch Tennis Teachers Conference informational video

Complete list of 2009 speakers

EVANSTON, Ill. — In conjunction with the start of the U.S. Open, thousands of coaches, club professionals, trainers and club owners from the tennis world will be descending on New York City for the 39th annual Tennis Teachers Conference Aug. 29-Sept. 1. As one of eight featured presenters at the weekend-long event, NU head coach Claire Pollard is slated to conduct a clinic focusing specifically on working with female tennis players.

Other featured speakers at the 2009 Tennis Teachers Conference include:

• Patrick McEnroe—U.S. Davis Cup team captain
• Larry Stefanki—Current coach of Andy Roddick
• Darren Cahill—ESPN analyst and former coach of Lleyton Hewitt
• Brad Gilbert—Television analyst and former coach of Andre Agassi
• MaryJoe Fernandez—U.S. Fed Cup team captain

The site of this year’s Tennis Teachers onference is the Grand Hyatt New York with on-court instruction taking place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open. The clinic includes instruction geared toward engaging individuals of all ages to play tennis, helping coaches and tennis pros stay current in methodology, training techniques and equipment.

"This conference has always been hugely important to the tennis community and I really feel quite honored to be asked to give a presentation," Pollard said. "It's also a good chance to catch up with people in our profession who I don't have an opportunity to see very often and hear some of the exciting things going on in professional and amateur tennis."

Already the most successful coach in NU history, Pollard is preparing for her 12th season as head coach of the Wildcats with an unprecedented 11 consecutive Big Ten championships, five Big Ten Coach of the Year laurels and one ITA National Coach of the Year award under her belt. In the past two seasons, she has guided NU to back-to-back No. 1 overall seeds at the NCAA Championships and consecutive No. 2 end-of-the-year rankings by the ITA.

An NCAA doubles champion while a player at Mississippi State, Pollard qualified for both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon following graduation in 1989.