Life finds strange ways of pulling people in weird directions; just ask 39-year-old Sedona resident Ernesto Ponce.
At one time, Ponce was one of the hottest tennis products to come from south of the border. Nearly 20 years later, Ponce finds himself in Sedona looking to start a tennis academy at the Sedona Racquet Club.
Originally from Mexico City, Ponce put normal schooling in the rearview mirror at the age of 13 and elected to be homeschooled while chasing his dream: to become a professional tennis player.
Ponce began playing tennis at the age of 10 and quickly made his way through the ranks at several junior and amateur tournaments in Mexico before finally taking a big chance to follow his dreams.
“I was only 15 when I traveled across the world to play tennis,” Ponce said in an interview Wednesday, July 27.
Ponce boarded a plane for France to meet up with a tennis coach in an effort to improve his game in tournament play.
He came back to Mexico for a short while, but by the age of 16, Ponce had moved to San Diego after recently winning an 18-and-under tournament that made him one of the best youth tennis prospects in his country.
“I was always into sports as a kid, especially soccer. But when I found tennis, it was more challenging and I liked it. I was a natural soccer player, but tennis was more of a challenge to me,” Ponce said.
Shortly after the move to San Diego, Ponce began to travel the world again. He played all over Europe, South America, Australia, Asia and Canada.
Tennis Academy |
|
| Monday through Friday | |
| Ages | Time |
| 10 & Under | 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. |
| 11 to 18 | 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | |
| Ages | Time |
| 10 & Under | 10 a.m. to noon |
| 11 to 18 | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Tennis Academy set to begin Monday, Aug. 1, at the Sedona Racquet Club. For more information, contact Ernest Ponce at 274-2018. | |
His travels earned him a scholarship in the early 1990s to play for the Longhorns at the University of Texas at Austin.
During his time at Texas, Ponce helped the Longhorns earn two Big 12 conference titles, and they were ranked in the top 10 nationally for three years.
“In their most successful time in tennis in their history, I was a part of it,” Ponce said.
Ponce graduated in 1996 with a degree in economics and used his experience playing division one college tennis to get involved in the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour.
He managed to stay in the ATP Tour for more than two years, earning enough wins to be ranked in the top 500 players in singles play in the world, and top 300 in doubles.
One of Ponce’s biggest wins as a junior player, however, was against ATP Tour standout Mariano Puerta, who is most notably known for being the French Open finalist in 2005, before losing to Rafael Nadal in four sets.
Ponce also beat Greg Rusedski, a former No. 1 British player who was ranked as high as No. 4 on the ATP Tour.
Once Ponce got out of tennis, however, he immediately made his way into coaching and found a job at Tulane University as the head men’s coach before graduating with his master’s degree in business in 2002.
“The Tulane program went from 65 in the country to 11 while I was there. We improved every year,” Ponce said.
Between his graduation in 2002 and moving to Sedona in 2009, Ponce spent seven years in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, helping begin a local tennis academy. Ponce was considered one of the top tennis coaches in Canada during his time there.
In 2009, Ponce decided Sedona was the best fit for him, and moved here looking to start a tennis academy through the Sedona Racquet Club using his tennis system called Sistema.
“I’m looking to develop tennis in an area where it really hasn’t been developed at a younger age,” Ponce said Wednesday. “I have a way of coaching that stimulates the athletes, and their progression speeds up and improves their game. I’m looking to empower these young kids to become better players.”
Ponce’s tennis academy is set to launch Monday, Aug. 1, and he’s looking for all comers in the fall.
Ponce has developed national champions in Canada and Mexico and is hoping to one day find the time to do so in the Verde Valley.
“I want to challenge them, to push them and to help them set goals, and they will eventually see the benefits,” Ponce said.
Ponce is also running an Athletic Awakening program which will have a fun mix of activities that will develop strength, speed, flexibility, agility, stamina, footwork and much more.
“The main thing is I want people to know I have the ability to create a really good program. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. I hope the parents are willing to embrace this opportunity,” Ponce said.
