Meet the team that creates the perfect tennis experience for all of you! Hear what our director, manager, and tennis coaches have to say about their interest and passion.
Mark Buttifant
Director
Meet Mark, one of Australia's most experienced tennis venue managers, having been involved in this industry for nearly 30 years. He is dedicated to assemble the team to deliver an exceptional service where people of all ages gets to learn and experience the sport of tennis.
Barbora Zahnova
Senior Coach
Coach Barbora has over 10 years of experience. In her early years, Barbora was in the Slovak National Team and even crowned the title of national champion at age 16. For Barbora, coaching is a passion as she gets to share her knowledge and love for the game, coaching players of different ages, abilities, and personalities. Every day at NetSports presents a different coaching challenge, this being her driving motivation.
Brenden Sharp
Coaching Guru
Our coaching director brings with him a wealth of tennis experience and coaching knowledge. Brenden has been involved in various roles within the tennis industry, including as a professional player and coach, as well as working for Tennis Victoria and Tennis Australia. He was responsible for relaunching the Tennis Hot Shots program in 2007, which is now considered a key initiative in the rejuvenation of tennis in Australia. He also created and managed online content for the International Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia, including the ITF's global website for tennis coaches, Tennis iCoach, and the ITF Junior Tennis School. Brenden has also been involved in web development since 1997 and served on the Australian Multimedia Industry Association Management Board in 2001. Before being appointed as Coaching Director for NetSports Brenden was a full-time senior professional tennis coach at the Boroondara Tennis Centre.
Chris Gain
Coach Team Leader
Being a coach is fun and rewarding. I enjoy helping students develop their tennis skills
and discover what works best for them. Everyone is unique, so I like to tailor my lessons to the individual as much as possible. I enjoy coaching people of all ages and levels, especially those who are curious and
passionate about tennis. I particularly love working with beginners because I can help
them form good habits and learn the correct fundamentals early on.
Riley Thompson
Coach/Social Comps Coordinater
Tennis has been a passion of mine from a young age. So, to be out on court coaching and developing other people's love for tennis is something that I am incredibly grateful for. I see myself as a flexible coach and find coaching all ages very rewarding. Find out more about Riley in our newsletter (issue #02) !
Alex Rayne
Coach
I enjoy coaching because I can help others to develop a love and passion for the sport, which has been such a big part of my life. I enjoy teaching both adults and children, anyone who is enthusiastic and willing to learn.
Ollie C. Smith
Coach
I joined NetSports in January 2022 and has been coaching now for 5 years. I enjoy interacting and socialising with a vast variety of people of different ages, abilities and demographics. I find great satisfaction is seeing their improvement and love for the game grow. I enjoy coaching all ages, however I have noticed that my love for coaching adult group classes has massively increased. Find out more about Ollie in our newsletter (issue #01)!
Max Reilly
Duty Manager/Coach
I love the reward of the job of coaching, being able to visually see not only improvement but enjoyment in the act of learning tennis. It is always great to work in an environment where I am always trying to help people improve themselves. I enjoy coaching all Hot Shots levels. On top of that, Max is also one of our Duty Managers who looks after the day-to-day operations!
Kristen Antonopoulos
Coach
I have always loved playing tennis and competing so it's awesome to be able to share some knowledge with children, and be able to help them improve their tennis. The younger groups are probably my favourite because it's great to see how keen they are from such a young age.
Ash Priester
Coach
Sumukh Karanth
Venue Manager
Meet Sumukh, our venue manager has always been a fan of tennis since he was a young kid. He has passion for leadership and community. Together with Mark, he elevates all aspects of the venue, making sure the team offers excellence.
Andrew Knox
Coach
I have enjoyed playing tennis my whole life, so I enjoy being able to help others learn
and improve their game the same way I did. I also enjoy coaching all ages and levels, but in particular enjoy helping intermediate
teenagers and adults progress their game and technique to become more complete
player
Olivia Lappas
Coach
Harry Buttifant
Coach
I enjoy helping and teaching new skills to people of all ages. I am super passionate in
helping everyone improve and enjoy tennis. I love coaching all ages from hot shots to adults I enjoy it all!!!