Meet the Cunningham Tennis Staff
Bill Racho
Director of Tennis
Bill is at the core of all programming at Cunningham Tennis. His vast knowledge and continued thirst for new teaching methodology has quickly made him the top teaching professional in the region. Bill has turned the CT 10 & Under program into the largest and most productive program in the metro area.
Steve Newby
Vice President
Steve has dedicated the last three decades to advancing tennis in the Queens area. As our former Head Pro and Director of Junior Tennis, Steve has a wealth of knowledge about the tennis industry.
Nestor Vizhnay
Club Manager
Brian Quiban
Marketing Director & Senior Teaching Professional
Brian started playing tennis at the age of 10. He played his high school tennis for Brooklyn Technical HS and was a USTA Eastern section & nationally ranked junior player. After graduating from DePaul University, his passion for tennis led him to coaching. Brian has over 10 years coaching experience with both juniors and adults. He brings excellent communication skills, patience, and extensive technical knowledge to the court.
Vernon Patrick
Red Ball Manager, Teaching Professional
Vernon is driven to give each player the opportunity to become the best player possible. He is extremely dedicated to reinforcing proper techniques to all of his students.
Ryan Connelly
Teaching Professional
As a player, Ryan was named the College Male Rookie Athlete in 2007. He was named to the NEAC Conference first team. Ryan has served as the head tennis professional for Nike Tennis Camps, Lacoste Tennis Program, and the City Parks Foundation. Ryan is a natural teacher and conveys proper technique to players with an incredibly accommodating style.
Jon Taylor
Senior Teaching Professional
Jon has taught tennis for four decades in the Metro Area. For 15 years he served as the Director of the High Performance Program at the NTC. Jon has coached at the Sectional, National and International level. He is certified with the PTR, USPTA and USTA. Many of Jon's students have attained college scholarships and some have gone on to compete professionally. Jon brings his wealth of knowledge to our Cunningham Tennis team.
Carlos Maldonado
Senior Teaching Professional
Carlos has almost 3 decades of performance coaching experience in the Metro area with USPTA and PTR High Performance certifications. His experience includes developing many top ranked juniors and ATP and WTA professional players. He is the current lead assistant coach for the 7 time and 2023 Big East Conference Champions, St. John's University Men's tennis team.
Victor Caraballo
Teaching Professional
Victor experienced considerable success coaching at both the high school and college level. For over 20 years, he coached juniors of all levels in the NYJTL programs. Victor brings an enormous level of energy to his lessons and our club in general. He exhibits and transfers a confidence to all of his students that they can achieve their goals in tennis.
Jesse Smith
Teaching Professional
Mark Lerman
Mental Skills Coach
Mark Lerman is MTI Certified Mental Skills Coach, NCBH Youth Mental Health First Aid Certified, USTA Sport Science Certified Coach. His experience as a mental skills coach, strength and conditioning specialist, tennis performance specialist, USTA sport science coach, tennis professional and as a NYS health and physical education teacher. Mark has helped numerous athletes in sports ranging from figure skating, soccer, basketball, golf and of course his true passion, tennis. Recreational, high performance and elite professional athletes alike have and continue to improve their performances by working with him. An unfortunate but preventable back injury was the catalyst that guided Mark in the direction that ultimately became his life's work.
Horatio Ludford
Teaching Professional
Aleks Pavlovic
Teaching Professional
Michael Forte
Teaching Professional
Arthur Sacks
Teaching Professional
Rex Lam
Teaching Professional
Richard Young
Teaching Professional
Noel Thorpe
Teaching Professional
Arturo (Papo) Rodriguez
Teaching Professional
Arturo, affectionately known as Papo, is Cunningham Tennis' all-around guy. Along with keeping the Cunningham facility running smoothly, Papo coaches in a mainstay in our Red ball & adult programs.
Cody Cristi
Red Ball Instructor
Michael Suleymanov
Red Ball Instructor
Marcus Dinsay
Red Ball Instructor
Elliot Li
Red Ball Instructor
Jordan Yim
Red Ball Instructor