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. 

​

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.

Elliot Muth Racquets Professional

Originally from New York City, Elliot Muth is a USPTA-certified teaching professional. He grew up playing competitive tennis in the greater New York and Philadelphia areas. He was recruited to play tennis at Lake Forest College in Illinois where he finished his major in Economics. Elliot also grew up playing at Columbia University where he received his Master of Sciences in Sports Management.

 

Elliot joins Cliff Drysdale with an extensive background in junior development and adult league play. His coaching background has taken him to places such as Naples, FL, Napa Valley, CA, Buck Hill Falls, PA, and Manhattan, New York City. He is PTR certified.

Xavier De Vreese Racquets Professional

De Vreese, originally from Nice, France first started playing tennis at the age of 4. As a talented junior, he joined the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy at the age of 12 to further his development into an elite junior player. Throughout his 6 years at the academy, he qualified for France junior nationals and travelled Europe for tournaments.

 

At 18, De Vreese was recruited by William Carey University, MS. While playing college tennis, De Vreese also graduated with a master’s degree in Sports Management. De Vreese was the teaching assistant for the women’s team at William Carey University and joins the team at Omni Amelia Island Resort with extensive knowledge in player development. He is 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.

Hassan Badran Racquets Professional

Hassan is originally from Cairo, Egypt, where he started playing tennis at the age of 6. He competed and maintained top junior national ranking in Egypt and represented his country in many local and international championships, most notably the Junior World Davis Cup Final held in the Czech Republic in 2015. Hassan recently graduated with a degree in Business Administration with a double concentration in Management and Computer Science at Emmanuel University (GA), where he was a part of the men's tennis team and was captain his senior year. His coaching journey began in Cairo in 2018, but he kicked off his U.S. experience at John Newcombe Country Club, Cliff Drysdale Tennis' headquarters in New Braunfels, Texas. He has had the privilege of coaching in Athens, GA, Long Island, NY, and most recently Osterville, MA, where he served as an Assistant Head Professional at Wianno Club before rejoining CDT at Amelia Island in September 2023. He is PTR certified.