Kristina
Kristina brings an incredibly decorated resume of tennis knowledge and experience to the EJTS. She possesses a Tennis Canada Club Pro 2 Certification, has been coaching for 10 years, and is a former high-level player of 15 years.
Kristina has been crowned with countless notable achievements as a junior, including being the Alberta Provincial Champion in all age groups, the U18 Canadian National Doubles Champion in 2011, a 4-time G5 Doubles ITF Champion, and has represented Alberta at the 2009 Canada Summer Games. Her successes furthered as the Team Captain for the Pandas Tennis Team, leading the team to win the Gold Medal Canadian University Tennis Championships in both 2014 and 2017, as well as being named the Female Athlete of the Year at the University of Alberta in 2018. To add to her profuse resume, she was a 5-time Female Varsity Tennis MVP award recipient and represented Canada at the 2013 Summer Universiade Games in Kazan, Russia.
Aside from all her prestigious achievements as a skillful player on the court, she inspires younger players through her caring and professional demeanor, demonstrated through securing the Tennis Canada Sportsmanship Award 2 times. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a multifaceted coach on our team.
Thuy Cao
Thuy comes to EJTS with an astounding 10 years of coaching experience, holding his Club Pro 1 Certification. He has been actively coaching for the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society for over 3 years now and has been a volunteer for the Board of St. Albert Tennis Club for over 10 years. Formerly he was the tennis instructor at the St. Albert Tennis Club, as well as for the Little Aces.
Thuy has been playing tennis for 15 years and has extensive experience specializing in adult private and group lessons beyond junior play. Impressively, Thuy has competed in the World Master Games in 2005 & 2009 in Sydney, Australia. Thuy was also crowned the Rackelton Tournament Champion in 2011 within the Master category, showcasing his tennis, squash, badminton, and ping pong expertise. This accomplished coach has also received his certifications for NCCP level 3 in Badminton, and CASI level 2 for Snowboarding. Thuy is passionate about developing new athletes into the best versions of themselves.
Jessica Kreutz
Jessica has been a part of the EJTS coaching team for over 2 years now. She currently holds a Level 1 coaching certification and has 7 years of coaching and volunteering experience.
Jessica is a varsity competitor for the UofA Pandas Tennis team, currently holding an undefeated record as a Regional and Western Canadian University Champion. In her university career, she has been a Female Rookie of the Year Nominee, received Academic All-Canadian honors for athletics, and had the opportunity to be a part of 2020-21 Green & Gold week. She will also be the Director of Athletics with the Interdepartmental Science Students’ Society for the upcoming year.
As a former high-level junior player for 10 years, Jessica was nationally ranked from 2013-2019 representing Team Alberta at the Tennis Rogers Junior Nationals in all age categories. She has also competed internationally, notably winning at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Stefan Karapetrovic
Stefan is a new addition to the EJTS team, joining with 15 years of vast tennis experience within the worldwide community. He received his Level 1 coaching certification in the city of Toronto back in August 2020, and has also volunteer-coached for Pepe Imaz Tennis. As a Head Pro for Tennis Edmonton, Stefan has lead numerous events, remarkably teaching the diverse tennis community, including coaching wheelchair tennis!
Stefan has had many unique tennis experiences, including visiting Roland Garros as a fan, and having played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and Melbourne Park, the locations of Wimbledon and the Australian Open respectively. He has also been coached by world-class coaches in Spain, including Pepe Imaz and Marko Djokovic, the former coach of Novak Djokovic and his brother.
Aside from tennis, Stefan is an engineering student at the University of Alberta.
Keith Bienert
Keith is an active member of the Tennis Professionals Association. He comes to EJTS with 14 years of coaching experience starting in 2007.
Keith has over 20 years of playing experience, having competed at Provincials and Club tournaments. He has achieved many singles and doubles championships, including being a multiple-time singles and doubles provincial champion for his age group.
Outside of Alberta, Keith has experience competing in BC, the USA, Brazil, and even Jupiter! One of his favorite quotes is “The next best thing to winning at tennis is losing because at least you are still playing tennis”. Keith is very dedicated to the sport, and he admits he loves teaching ALMOST as much as playing tennis.
Daryna Dmytriieva
Daryna comes to the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society team with 3 years of coaching experience. She is a certified instructor, as well as a member of the Tennis Professionals Association.
Daryna started her tennis career at the age of 5, and has 9 years of playing experience. Her passion for the sport arises from her first lessons on clay courts in Kiev, Ukraine. Her favorite shots on court consist of backhand down the line, and the difficult half-volley shot.
Daryna is very passionate about sharing her love for tennis and seeing the exponential improvement and progression of all our young stars.
Kyrylo Dmytriiev
Kyrylo has been involved with the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society as a coach for 3 years now. He is a member of the Tennis Professionals Association, and his favorite shot on the court is the forehand.
Kirill initially started his tennis journey playing in Kiev, Ukraine, and has been playing tennis since the age of 10. He also has had the opportunity to hit on grass courts in the country of Georgia (during USSR times).
Aside from being a fantastic coach, Kyrylo is also the father and mentor of coach Daryna. Together, these two make up a powerful father/daughter coaching dynamic on the court that we are so lucky to have.
Jackson Baerg
Jackson has been coaching with EJTS for 2 years and is currently a member of the Tennis Professional’s Association. He began playing at the age of 5, transitioning competitively at the early age of 8.
Jackson had the opportunity to play for the Alberta Provincial Team from 2013-2016, competing throughout Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. He also has experience competing in both provincial and national level tournaments over the last 9 years, notably competing in doubles at the U12 Rogers Junior Nationals. Jackson has acquired 5 tournament wins and 8 second-place finishes throughout his junior career.
One of Jackson’s favorite tennis experiences includes serving on the ball crew for Canada’s Davis Cup tie against India in 2017. He continues to train and compete as a high-level player, planning to join a university tennis team after his final year of high school.
Nolan Sax
Nolan has been a staple part of the EJTS team for almost 2 years as a coach. He has been playing tennis for 10 years, notably competing at the provincial level for nearly 7 of those years.
Throughout Nolan’s junior career he has played over 300+ matches and has won a handful of tournaments. Admirably, he has competed in the Western Canada Summer Games representing Team Alberta. Outside of Alberta, Nolan has played in BC, Ontario, and the USA.
Nolan does a remarkable job of encouraging our little stars on the court. It is a pleasure to always see this coach inspiring not only our athletes, but the EJTS team as well.
Alex Jewitt
Alex joins EJTS with an impressive playing career, having competed for 10 years starting at the age of 8. She is an active member of the Tennis Professional’s Association, and began coaching in the summer of 2020 as a Head Pro at the Capilano Tennis Club.
Alex has acquired many impressive achievements during her junior years, including winning a J5 ITF doubles title in Panama, winning the Alberta Provincials championship multiple times in both the U16 and U18 category, and competing at the Canadian Nationals on multiple occasions. She has competed in ITF’s worldwide, notably in England, El Salvador, Panama, and all across Canada. She remarkably qualified for the Eddie Herr tournament in Florida in 2017.
This strong performer has also been recruited onto the Pandas Tennis team at the University of Alberta and will suit up in the Evergreen & Gold this upcoming season. Alex’s character shines through both on and off-court, being the well-deserved recipient of the 2019 U18 Outdoor Nationals Sportsmanship Award.
Carson Fidyk
Carson is a fresh edition to the EJTS coaching staff. Carson fell in love with tennis at the age of 5 and has been competing at the provincial level since the age of 12. He holds an Instructor level coaching certification and is currently a member of the Tennis Professionals Association.
Carson has been to a number of professional tennis tournaments where he enjoys watching practices and receiving autographs from his favorite players.
Along with his love for tennis, Carson also participates in curling and hockey leagues. Sports have played an important role in Carson’s life. His enthusiasm and passion make him an amazing addition to the EJTS coaching staff.
Cyndy Liu
Cyndy brings 2 years of coaching experience to the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society team. She began her tennis journey at the age of 9 and competed as a former high-level player for 11 years.
Cyndy has experience competing provincially, and especially enjoys coaching the Tots class. Additionally, you can catch Cyndy hitting her favorite tennis shot on the court, the classic forehand down the line.
She dedicates her time to EJTS beyond just coaching through volunteer work, and is a wonderful asset to our team. We are thankful to have such a caring coach like Cyndy working with the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society.
Aeon Espino
Coach Aeon, or coach “Acorn” as lots of the juniors affectionately call him, is a bright new addition to our EJTS team. He began playing at the age of 9 in Oakville Ontario and started competing at the age of 12. He has been competing at both the Provincial and National levels for the past 6 years.
As a former high-level junior player, he was the runner-up in both singles and doubles at the 2019 U18 Provincials, as well as was a competitor at the 2019 U18 Rogers Junior Nationals.
Aeon has been playing competitively for the University of Alberta Golden Bears Tennis Team, and will be a strong contender in the upcoming 2021-2022 season.
Kai Baerg
Kai joins EJTS with an impressive background as a high-level junior athlete, and has been competing for the past 10 years.
During that time, he played for the Alberta provincial team for 4 years, traveling to BC and Saskatchewan to compete. Kai has also played tournaments in Quebec and Ontario, even one on a grass court on Vancouver Island. Notably, Kai dominates on the clay, his favorite court surface.
Kai has competed at the Rogers Junior Nationals, impressively winning the U-12 doubles at Outdoor Nationals in 2018. Kai is on the road to qualify for Nationals for both U16 and U18 events and hopes to play for the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the future.
Amy Shaw
Amy has been assisting with the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society for 2 years, being a fantastic addition to our team.
She started her tennis career at the early age of 4 ½ at her local courts in St. Albert. Amy has now been playing for nearly 10 years total, and has been competing provincially as a high-level junior player for the past 4 years.
Outside of Alberta, Amy has competed in BC, Ottawa, California, and Switzerland. She has even had the incredible experience of receiving a private lesson from Jonathan Wawrinka.
James Holt
James is one of our fresh new additions to the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society team. He has 1 year of both coaching and volunteer tennis experience.
James started the sport at the early age of 4 and has now been playing for 11 years. For the past 8 years, he has been competing both provincially, and nationally.
As a current high-level junior player, James has qualified for the Rogers Junior Nationals 5 times, traveled to compete with Team Alberta, has competed at the Roman Cup, and has won doubles at the 88th Leith Wheeler Stanley Park National Junior Open Series. In his playing career, he has traveled to Vienna, Salzburg, Mont Tremblant, Laval, Ottawa, Victoria, and Vancouver.
Harleigh Mailo
Harleigh is a new team member of the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society. She has been playing tennis for the past five years and has experience playing in both the challenger program at the Saville Centre, and the Orange County Tennis Program.
She began coaching at the Capilano Tennis Club, and we are fortunate to have Harleigh’s assistance beyond Edmonton, helping coach and bring tennis into the Beaumont community. Harleigh has had the opportunity to play outside of Edmonton, notably in Galveston, Texas, Aliso Viejo, Florida, Waterton, and Seba Beach.
Aside from tennis, Harleigh has completed Bronze Cross, a certification awarded by the Royal Life Saving Society of Canada, and enjoys practicing martial arts, hiking, swimming, and skiing.
Wolfgang Trick
Wolfgang is a fresh addition to the EJTS team, with 9 years of playing experience and coaching over 2 years. He is currently a member of the Tennis Professionals Association, and holds his Instructor level coaching certification.
Wolfgang is a high-level junior player, who started playing tennis at the age of 7 with EJTS, and transitioned to playing competitively at the age of 11. Throughout his playing history, Wolfgang has traveled all over western Canada to compete.
Wolfgang has coached at Capilano and has volunteer coached at the Saville Community Sports Centre in the past. You can often catch him hitting his favorite shot, the backhand down the line.
Preston Codrington
Preston is a bright new addition to our EJTS team. He has been playing tennis for eights years and is currently training as a high-level junior athlete at the Saville Community Sports Centre. He has been competing at both the Provincial and National levels for the past 5 years. Preston was awarded the National Sportsmanship Award at the U14 Rogers Junior Nationals.
Previously Preston has coached at the Capilano Tennis Club. His favourite professional tennis player is Rafael Nadal. He admires the way that Rafa is able to compose himself on the court and aspires to be like him. Preston’s passion for tennis proves why he is an excellent asset to the EJTS staff.