USPTA instructor Keith Hayes attended Pepperdine University in the 1980s.
There, he encountered Head Tennis Coach Allen Fox and became a counselor at his summer tennis camps, beginning a tennis teaching career – and a friendship with Allen – that has continued ever since. After Pepperdine, Keith went to work in the San Francisco Bay Area advertising and graphic design industries. Later he also became an English teacher. As head coach of the Marin Catholic High School women’s tennis team, Keith won back-to-back Division II North Coast Section titles in 2008 and 2009. When he’s not teaching tennis, Keith continues to work as a freelance writer and designer. In addition to Tennisplayer.net, his stories have also appeared in
TENNIS magazine.
Keith Hayes
Keith with Bill Hager: idol, mentor, partner,friend. When I was a kid I used to watch in awe as Bill Hager, then in his early thirties, moved effortlessly around the court and beat the best players at my local courts,...
How is it the sport for life can tear tennis families apart? They say tennis is the sport for a lifetime, but over the years I've seen it tear families in two. Just name the relationship - married couples, siblings,...
Tomas Berdych took offense to this Nicolas Almagro forehand knockdown. In the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open, Nicolas Almagro knocked Thomas Berdych to the ground with a close-range forehand. After winning the match in four contentious sets, Berdych...
Can Roger Federer's shoes make you a player? Can you tell good tennis players just by looking at them? How do they carry themselves? What do they wear? Then again, what is a good tennis player? I coach a high...
Waiting in my dorm room in 1987 for that call from Johnny Carson. Note vintage phone. In 1987, I had an unusual job. I studied art at Pepperdine University, but I worked weekends at the Malibu Racquet Club as a...
What was the real price of staying an undefeated Gladiator? I was 42, and I'd never had an undefeated season in anything. It didn't bother me, though, because I'd played on a number of teams before and had followed enough...
It all started at Pepperdine in 1984. Shrewd. I think that word actually landed me the job. In 1984, I was a freshman at Pepperdine University. During my second semester, I learned that Dr. Allen Fox - head coach of...