Meet the team

Nathan leads the direction and development of LUNTA with the goal of creating a world-class tennis environment for development elite junior tennis players. This includes leading the staff and players to set behaviours, culture and values within the Academy, and driving the standards in coaching, performance support, operations, and education and wellbeing to assure the provision for the players is there. Nathan leads the Operational Team on the day-to-day on and off-court delivery and connects the programmes partners (Loughborough Sport, Loughborough Amherst School and the LTA). Nathan joined the Academy in February 2020, and oversaw the Academy alongside previous Head Coach, Nick Cavaday, until a change in coaching structure in early 2023.

Nathan moved to work for the Academy from Loughborough Sport, where he held the position of Head of Performance Support, leading the provision of support to performance athletes and programmes. Nathan has learned from, and worked alongside, a wide range of different coaches and support staff from all sports and disciplines to enhance performance and develop effective interdisciplinary teams. Previously, Nathan has worked as a Sports Scientist for the teams and programmes of Loughborough Sport. Before joining Loughborough Sport, Nathan coordinated the Sports Science support for Perform (Spire Healthcare) during the opening of The FA’s National Football Centre at St George’s Park. His role here was to oversee the Sports Science Support on the Professional Footballers Association’s Injury Rehabilitation Scheme, supporting injured professional players during long-term injuries. He also supported England International teams and visiting teams during his time.

Gary has over 35 years of experience in elite tennis as a player, coach and Board Member of the ATP tour. As a player, Gary achieved a career high ATP ranking of 49 in singles and 7 in doubles, claiming 8 ATP doubles titles and registering tour level wins over players such as Agassi, Edberg, Courier & Cash to name a few. He began his coaching career at a private academy in Vienna, Austria working with and leading on the development of international male and female players such as Dudi Sela & Lucas Kubot who went onto reach career high ITF Junior rankings of 9 and 30 during his tenure at the academy. Two years as a played elected representative on the ATP Board of directors followed, before taking on the role as Tennis Director at Ontario Racquet Club in Canada. As a coach on the ATP Tour, Gary helped Stefan Koubek achieve his career high ATP ranking of 20, coached Swedish tennis player Jonas Bjorkman to 3 Wimbledon doubles titles and a double ranking of 4 in the world, and notably was the travelling coach for former top 3 player Dominic Thiem in 2016. More recently, Gary has been travelling with Canadian tennis player Alexis Garlarneu on the ATP challenger tour, taking him to a career high ATP ranking of 170 before joining us in Loughborough as Head of Boys.

Gary’s role at the Academy is to oversee the development of the LUNTA male players throughout their Academy journey. Gary and Mark lead the coaching team to deliver world-class coaching support to our players both at base in Loughborough and at tournaments. Gary will lead the delivery of players Individual Development Plans (IDPs) and train and travel alongside the boys where possible. Alongside Mark, Gary leads the Coaching Philosophy and Tennis Programme at the Academy and is an integral part of the Academy’s leadership team.

David joins the Academy from his previous role as RPDC Head Coach at Edgbaston Priory, and has been playing and working in performance tennis for over 20 years. As a player David won the U12, U13 & U15 Nationals and was ranked 8 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings, competing in all four Grand Slams. He went on to achieve an ATP singles ranking of 811 and doubles ranking of 469. 
David is now an LTA level 5 Pro Licence and has worked as an Academy Coach at the LTA HPC at Bisham Abbey, U18 National Coach in Qatar, Director of Tennis at Merchiston Castle School and on the WTA tour. He has coached and developed several players to Junior Grand Slam level and on to top 10 American Universities.

Starting his Academy journey in March 2024, David helps with the delivery of the day-to-day on court sessions as well as travelling to domestic & international tournaments with the players. This includes supporting the holistic development of each of the players on their tennis journey and delivering a transformational experience.

Kam leads the Performance Support provision to our players in the areas of strength and conditioning, psychology, performance analysis, medical including physiotherapy, and nutrition. His role is to align this support from the expertise in these disciplines to the coaching philosophy and plan. He works closely with the boys and girls head coaches in planning for players daily, weekly, and annually to ensure players have what they need to thrive. Kam also leads the physical development of the players. He works alongside Adam and Ryan to provide individualised physical programmes in context of their growth and maturation. He also spends time on court delivering movement and physical sessions at base but also on the road during periods of travel for trips and tournaments. Kam joined the Academy in October 2020 and has been part of the journey of all Academy players since inception.  

Kam is an accredited strength and conditioning coach (UKSCA) who joined LUNTA from Loughborough Sport, where he delivered to multiple sports. Previously, Kam worked at Leicester Tigers and the Welsh Rugby Union with the senior men’s squad in the preparation for their Six Nations and the 2015 Rugby World Cup. 

Sean previously worked as the Player Education Manager at the Football Association working across the England men’s and women’s national development squads. His role focussed on managing the education and welfare needs of all players when on event in the UK or overseas. Prior to that, he was the Head of Education and Welfare at Nottingham Forest FC for over ten years and a Physical Education teacher in a school and sixth form college. 

Sean supports all aspects of player well-being on and off the court, to help maximise performance and support the long term athletic and personal development of the players. Emphasis is on supporting the individual lifestyle needs of players when transitioning in or out and supporting how players manage these areas throughout their time at the National Academy. Sean also manages the day-to-day education provision for the Academy by working closely with Amherst School to help support the individual needs of each player. Sean joined the Academy in June 2023.  

Tom joined the Academy in December 2022 bringing insight and experience from the WTA tour where he coached and was a sparring partner for Leyla Fernandez. His role with Leyla involved significant travel and daily commitment with a top-15 WTA player, whilst working with the rest of her team. Tom brings a high standard of hitting level to the Academy, having completed week-long blocks as practice partners in this country for some of the world’s best female tennis players. Before his work on the tour, Tom worked at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club where he coached through every age and stage, delivering to international and domestic level juniors and supporting National Age Group camps with the LTA.

As one of our Academy Coaches, Tom helps the delivery of the day-to-day on court sessions as well as travelling to international tournaments with the players. This includes supporting the holistic development of each of the players on their tennis journey and delivering a transformational experience. Tom has been part of many players’ journeys since he started and played a strong role in supporting Henry Searle to Wimbledon Junior Boys success in the summer of 2023.

Evie joins the Academy from the GB National Academy at Stirling where she’s been based since 2021. At Stirling, Evie has led the coaching for a number of players on their Academy journeys as juniors, helping secure players onto the Pro Scholarship Programme with the LTA and Div 1 US College programmes in transition. Prior to her time at Stirling, Evie worked at The Edgbaston Priory Club for a 5 year period where she supported a wide range of ages and stages including at the centre’s Regional Performance Development Centre (RPDC). Evie is currently undertaking the LTA’s Junior International Level 5 Coaching Course and has supported LTA National Age Group camps in the past.

Starting her Academy journey in December 2023, Evie helps with the delivery of the day-to-day on court sessions as well as travelling to international tournaments with the players. This includes supporting the holistic development of each of the players on their tennis journey and delivering a transformational experience.

Joss turned pro at the age of 17 and played professional tennis for 10 years during which time she competed in all 4 Grand Slams. Joss was a member of the GB Fed Cup team from 2011-17, playing alongside Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Katie Boulter to name a few, and since retiring has moved into the Fed Cup coaching team. Joss is a level 4 Senior Performance Coach and she brings a huge amount of enthusiasm, care and commitment in all that she does at LUNTA.

Joss helps the delivery of the day-to-day on court sessions as well as travelling to international tournaments with the players. This includes supporting the holistic development of each of the players on their tennis journey and delivering a transformational experience for all involved.

Adam is an accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach (UKSCA) with an MSc in Strength & Conditioning (St Mary’s University, Twickenham) and a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science (University of Leeds). Adam joined LUNTA from Leicester Tigers Rugby Club where he led the Strength & Conditioning for the Academy for 4 years. He has 8 years’ experience in elite and youth sport, including having worked as an Athletic Development Coach across multiple sports at Millfield School. During his time at Millfield School, Adam led the performance tennis squads which required working alongside the LTA pathway coaches.

It is great to have someone with Adam’s passion for development sport and experience in tennis to contribute to the physical development of LUNTA players. His philosophy of pastoral care and developing the person of junior athletes strongly aligns to LUNTA. This will make him a great asset to the team. Adam will support Kam in the physical development of our players. Adam’s experience will allow him to provide individualised strength and conditioning programmes for players in context of their growth and maturation. Adam will support players at base during physical and rehab sessions on and off court, travel on the road where possible and work with the coaching team to provide tennis-specific physical support and analysis to enhance player performance.

Ryan is a dual qualified therapist, graduating with First Class Honours as a Sports Rehabilitator from the University of Salford in 2016 and qualifying with First Class Honours as a Physiotherapist from Coventry University in 2019. He has since gained a wealth of experience within the NHS, private sector, and professional sport. Ryan spent a year and a half working in the NHS as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist. After which he gained extensive experience working in professional football at both Nottingham Forest F.C and Leicester City F.C. He then joined the Loughborough University Physiotherapy Clinic in March 2021, where he spent 3 and-a-half years working with a range of athletes from multiple sporting disciplines including those competing at national, international, and Olympic level.

 Ryan works closely with the players, coaches and support staff to maximise player availability and positively impact player performance. Ryan is responsible for the physiotherapy requirements of the LUNTA players and helping their long-term development by increasing their understanding of self-management and how the discipline can be impactful throughout their future careers. Ryan joined the Academy in summer 2024.

Jacob is a performance analyst at LUNTA, bringing a wealth of expertise across multiple sports. Jacob helps to support and quantify the development of the players’ on-court performances through analysis of training sessions and competitive matches. He works closely with both the coaches and strength and conditioning team to inform the development of players. This includes providing statistical data to the coaches to support their teaching throughout the year.

Jacob's role is combined with a PhD study focusing on identifying the key physical and tactical characteristics of elite junior tennis players, helping to bridge the gap between junior and professional levels.

Jacob joins the Academy having previously worked for Hawkeye, the leading provider of electronic line calling in professional tennis, giving unique insights into high-performance match analysis at the highest level of tennis, working at multiple grand slams. With a degree in Sport and Exercise Technology, Jacob has extensive experience as a performance analyst, specialising in optimising athlete performance through data-driven insights and video feedback.

Ciara is a qualified Performance Nutritionist with a MSc in Sports Nutrition from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). She has previous experience working in both amateur and professional sports, having worked with Munster Rugby before her transition to Loughborough. In addition to being the performance nutritionist for LUNTA athletes, Ciara is also the lead performance nutritionist with the NFL academy here at Loughborough University. 

Ciara joined the Academy in October 2024. In her role, she works closely with a broad range of support staff to positively impact player performance and their athletic development and player profile. She helps to support the players in all aspects of nutrition both on and off the court to educate and empower performance habits and behaviours for the LUNTA players. The emphasis for Ciara is to provide the players with the nutritional knowledge they need to meet the demands of training and competition whilst also providing the nutrition skills and behaviours to transition into the next stage, the Pro Scholarship Program (PSP) and beyond.

Rob studied at Loughborough University for four years, completing both his BSc & MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Since graduating, he has worked with individuals from various sports and competition levels, including Loughborough lightning football, England Touch Rugby, and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. Rob joined the Academy in December 2024. 

In his role at the Academy, Rob helps to support LUNTA staff in understanding the developmental needs of each player to maximise performance and support wellbeing. Rob works closely with coaches to develop a shared understanding of players and goal-driven support that is developmentally appropriate with progressive challenge. He also delivers needs-based support to players involving the development of self-awareness and psychological skills, preparing them for the psychological demands of tennis. 

Dr Mark Ridgewell is a Consultant Sport & Exercise Medicine Physician and leads on all aspects of sports medicine support for the National Academy. He works closely with other key members of the performance support team to ensure the players receive appropriately tailored medical provision whenever required and specialises in the prevention and management of overuse injuries as well as rehabilitation. Mark joined the Academy at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020 which he helped manage the Academy through.

Dr Ridgewell has a vast amount of experience in elite sport and was the first doctor in Wales to be appointed to the GMC Specialist Register in Sport & Exercise Medicine in 2010.

Matt is a recent graduate from the University of Bath where he attained a BSc in Sports Management & Coaching, writing a dissertation on the influence of digital media on the development of elite junior tennis players. Matt has previous experience as both a player and coach at the University of Bath, as well as having spent a year working in the operations team at Soto Tennis Academy during his university placement year.

Matt is responsible for the daily, weekly and annual planning of training and tournaments for our players, working with players, coaches and performance staff to develop individual programmes reflecting each player’s needs and objectives. Matt’s role is integral to keeping the Academy running each day. He joined the Academy in May 2023.

Andjelka has over 20 years of administrative experience with Midlands Electricity plc and Next plc, primarily within Learning and Development. While at Midlands Electricity she was also responsible for Graduate Recruitment and Training.

Andj supports LUNTA with the coordination and administration of the programme which includes all aspects of travel and transportation. This includes providing administrative support and assistance to the Nathan, Nick and the wider National Academy team including liaising with staff, players, parents, school and the transport company to maintain the highest quality of service and duty of care to the players.

Toni leads on the academic provision for LUNTA players. Liaising with Sean and the LUNTA team, Toni holds a keen eye over the academic progression of our players, ensuring players stay on track alongside their tennis commitment. Toni feeds into and reports back to a group of academic teachers and tutors who work with our players.

Toni teaches Maths at Loughborough Amherst School and tutors all ages of player during their Mathematics journey at the School. She is also part of the Learning Support Team at the School. A Doctor of Philosophy in Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy, Toni has an extensive background in academia and teaching, lecturing in higher education and working in research.