Home » RSI magazine » Awards » 2006 PTR member of the year: Ajay Pant

2006 PTR member of the year: Ajay Pant

By Kristen Daley

If there’s one characteristic that Ajay Pant believes is vital for a tennis teaching pro to have, it’s consistency in word and action.

In his own career, this PTR master pro’s focus has not only been on continually helping his students to grow in the game, but also on supplementing his own knowledge and experience. For these reasons, Pant has been named RSI’s 2006 PTR Member of the Year.

Pant’s résumé is extensive and impressive, including work alongside Nick Bollettieri and Arthur Ashe. For the past two years, he has been the national director of tennis for the Tennis Corporation of America, where for 13 years he has worked his way up the ladder from his first role as a staff pro to now overseeing 11 clubs nationwide.

Away from his full-time job, Pant is a mainstay in many of the major tennis organizations, including the USTA and TIA. He has spent countless hours offering his time and energy as a clinician, tester, and speaker for the PTR. Since the 1990s, Pant has conducted 10-hour certification workshops for potential PTR pros, all followed by a test for certification.

In the workshops, Pant says the role of the instructor is to de-emphasize the stress of taking the test. If he feels a student isn’t ready, he’ll let the person know and offer his continued support. “It’s easy to say, ‘He or she was not a good student,’” says Pant. “The better question is, ‘Am I doing a decent job as a teacher?’”

And he always follows through. “There has to be consistency in what you say and what you do, otherwise it’s just talk,” he says.

PTR CEO and Executive Director Dan Santorum says the organization receives many positive responses to Pant’s workshops. “He’s very detailed and very professional,” says Santorum. “It’s nice to know there is someone out there representing us who is held in such high regard.”

Ajay Pant’s tips for success

• Continually work on developing your own professional personality.
• Show continued support for your students.
• As a representative of your company or facility, always put your best foot forward.
• Frequently review how you’re doing as a teacher, and remember, you are only as good as your last lesson.

See all articles by Kristen Daley

About the Author

Kristen Daley is a contributing editor for RSI magazine.

From the November 2006 issue
Permalink