Robert Wright Senior Director of Racquets

Wright, originally from Hertfordshire, England, is an LTA-certified pro with over 15 years of coaching experience. Rob played tennis for Oxford Brookes University with a major in Sports and Exercise Science. Since joining Cliff Drysdale Tennis in early 2016, Rob has held key leadership roles at luxury resorts in California, Maryland, Wisconsin and Florida. He is PTR certified. 

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r.wright@cliffdrysdale.com

Thien Nguyen Adult Program Director 

Nguyen, originally from Vietnam, first started playing tennis at the age of 8. Within his first 6 months of playing, he was the champion at the U12 Asian Championships. This victory put him on the radar of IMG, who offered him a full scholarship to train and compete. Nguyen moved to Florida at 9 years old and 4 years later was the Orange Bowl U14 Champion. At 15 years old, Thien earned his first ATP point and has a career-high singles ranking inside the top 400. After touring the world on the ATP tour, Thien was recruited by Loyola Marymount University, a Division 1 tennis school in California, where he represented their tennis team and graduated with a Master's in Entrepreneurship. Thien is incredibly passionate about coaching tennis and using his experiences to improve players of all ages and abilities. Other fun facts about Thien, he has singles victories against Nick Kyrgios, Daniil Medvedev, Cameron Norrie, and many other top-ranked players in the world! He is PTR certified. 

Bryan Gabb Pickleball Program Director

Bryan Gabb, originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, began playing competitive tennis at a young age. While studying at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he worked four summers at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas. At the ranch, Bryan spent one summer as a tennis pro and three as an on-court director for the junior summer camp program, while maintaining a key role on the adult program.

 

From January to August of 2022, Bryan was a teaching pro at Lake Charles Racquet club before joining the Omni Amelia Island Resort team. He is a PPR certified pickleball professional and PTR certified.

Jay Smith Racquets Professional

Jay, originally from Southampton, England is an LTA-certified tennis professional. He studied at the University of Chichester playing as number one on the tennis team and making the semifinals of the BUCKS nationals league. Since arriving in the states, Jay has been an essential member of the Cliff Drysdale Team, working as a Tour Professional. This position saw him working at 22 signature events all over America in 2023, including Ladies Retreats, Doubles Bootcamps, Pickleball Camps and much more! Outside of touring, Jay has worked as a full time Racquets Professional at The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne and Southampton Racquet Club in New York. He is PTR certified.