Mark Dickson Tennis Academy
Sarasota, Florida

 

Professional Coaching Certifications & Memberships

 

Coaching Certifications

• ATP Tour Certified Professional
• USPTA P1 Certified Professional
• USPTA Specialist in Competitive Player Development
• USTA High Performance Coach
• Etcheberry Certified strength and conditioning specialist
• Sports Science Level 1 Coach
• PTR Certified Professional

 

Healthcare Certification

• American Heart Association CPR/AED Healthcare Provider

 

Professional Memberships

• ATP Alumni
• US Open Final 8 Club
• Australian Open Last 8 Club
• National Coaches Registry

 

Professional Career Highlights

• # 12 ATP World Tour ranked year-end prize money winner
• # 32 ATP World Tour singles ranking
• # 23 ATP World Tour doubles ranking
• # 12 WCT Tour Finalist, world singles year-end point standings
• # 20 Nixdorf Computer world singles ranking, combined ATP Tour/WCT Tour
• # 19 Nixdorf Computer world doubles ranking, combined ATP Tour/WCT Tour
• # 27 year-end Volvo Grand Prix World point standings
• # 10 USTA National men’s singles ranking
• Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open, Australian Open singles and doubles competitor
• 3-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist (U.S. Open singles and doubles quarter-finalist, Australian Open doubles quarter-finalist)
• 2-time Grand Slam round of 16 (French Open doubles, Australian Open doubles)
• 10-time singles and doubles winner (5 singles, 5 doubles) of international tour events on red clay, green clay, outdoor hard, indoor carpet
• Italian Open singles quarterfinalist
• U.S. Pro Championships doubles winner
• ITAU Brazilian Challenger Circuit singles champion
• ALCAN Canadian Satellite Circuit singles champion
• Charlotte Team Tennis selected player & recruiter of WTT Rookie-of-the-Year
• Sportsmanship Award recipient – ATP Tour event in Cologne, Germany

 

Collegiate Career Highlights

• United States Junior Davis Cup Team member
• NCAA Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches’ Senior College Player of the Year
• # 2 NCAA Division I national men’s singles ranking
• # 5 NCAA Division I national men’s doubles ranking
• NCAA Division I quarter-finalist, singles and doubles
• NCAA Division I Team Championships, 3 time quarterfinalist
• 3-time NCAA All-American
• Clemson University – Team Captain of the # 7 nationally ranked NCAA team & member of 4 top-15 year-end team rankings
• Clemson University Hall of Fame
• Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary Men’s Tennis Team
• USTA Florida Sectional 21 & Under Team member
• 2-time Sportsmanship Award recipient

 

Academy Director of Tennis

Mark Dickson is the President and Director of Tennis of the Mark Dickson Tennis Academy. As one of the world’s former top ranked ATP Tour singles and doubles players, Mark has earned a unique perspective of tennis as a top international player at the highest level of tennis competition and as a successful coach to aspiring juniors and professional tour players.

#1 ranked junior players who have been coached by Mark in Sarasota:

• World # 1 ranked Boy’s 18 & Under junior
• US # 1 ranked Boy’s 18 & Under junior
• US # 1 ranked Boy’s 16 & Under junior
• Florida’s # 1 ranked Boy’s 18 & Under junior
• Florida’s # 1 ranked Girl’s 18 & Under junior

Mark has worked with a number of other nationally ranked juniors and shaped the games of multi-dimensional all-court players who have had successful and lucrative professional careers. These players have moved directly from junior competition to the ATP and WTA professional tours or earned coveted college scholarships and starting positions for top ranked NCAA Division I teams.

Mark has a win over former World # 1 Ivan Lendl and numerous wins over World Top 10 singles and doubles players.

Known on the tour as having one of the game’s most powerful and deceptive serves, quick hands and most aggressive all-court games, Mark was respected as one of the ATP Tour’s hardest workers and one of its most creative and adaptable players. He won events under a variety of challenging conditions – slow red clay, indoor and outdoor hard court surfaces, on different continents and at various altitudes.

In his playing career, Mark received multiple Sportsmanship Awards at both the professional and collegiate levels and competed numerous times in singles and doubles on the Grand Slam level at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open.

As a junior, Mark learned the intricacies of the game, the value of smart work and his sportsmanship skills in Tampa, Florida from his father, Larry, playing at the Davis Island public tennis courts on slow red clay, fast hard courts and on the backboard.

After the juniors, Mark was coached at Clemson University by Chuck Kriese, the legendary 4-time National Coach of the Year who developed over 45 players who later went on to professional tour careers and 9 players who reached the top 100 on the ATP Tour. Larry Dickson continued as Mark’s primary coach and advisor throughout his professional career.

Mark is a Pat Etcheberry Certified strength and conditioning specialist for on-court and off-court tennis specific training. Pat is one of the world’s leading fitness experts and has trained professional tour players who have won more than 100 Grand Slam titles, including Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Andre Agassi

Mark writes a tennis column for Florida Tennis Magazine and has been featured on the cover and throughout the pages of Coach Chuck Kriese’s international bestselling coaching manual, Total Tennis Training. He maintains close relationships with fellow ATP Tour professionals, numerous college, international federation and professional coaches through tournaments, camps, continuing education coaching seminars and charity exhibitions.

Mark was born into an athletic family. His father, Larry, and uncle, Cal, both had distinguished intercollegiate athletic careers. Larry was the # 1 tennis player at Florida State University, a member of its first Varsity basketball team and Head Men’s Tennis Coach at the University of Tampa.

Cal Dickson was a National Doubles Champion, played tennis at Rollins College and was one of the top 35 United States amateur players of his era. Cal was instrumental in developing the skills and personal growth of Tampa’s young tennis players and was honored by the City of Tampa with the naming of The Calhoun Dickson Tennis Center.

Mark and his wife, Karen, have lived in Sarasota for 26 years and have two children, Kristi and Kevin.

 

Career Professional Singles Wins – Clay, Hard, Indoors, Grass

• Lendl, Vilas, Noah (2), Gomez, Arias (2), Scanlon (4), Krickstein, Solomon, Nystrom, Curren (2), Pecci, Mayotte (2), Smid (2), Jaite, Perez, Forget, Seguso, Pate, Benhabiles, Saviano, J. Sanchez, Casal, Fitzgerald, Tulasne (3), Motta, Mansdorf, Carlsson, Visser, de la Pena, Motta, Soares, Gunthhardt, Slozil, Gildemeister, Leach, Kirmayr

 

Career Professional Doubles Wins – Clay, Hard, Indoors, Grass

• Lendl, Edberg, Jarryd (2), Annacone, Wilander (3), P. McEnroe, Nystrom (2), Forget (2), Noah, E. Sanchez, Casal, Van Rensburg (2), Gomez, Denton (2), Gilbert (2), Gullickson, Fitzgerald, Pate, Grabb, Smid (2), Slozil (3), Reneburg, Vilas, Benhabiles, Agenor, Slozil, Visser, Simonsson (2), Gerulaitis (2), Gottfried (3), Zivojinovic (2), Hlasek, Masur (2), Kratzmann, Arias (4), Teltscher, Orantes, Arraya (2), Harmon, Alexander, Lewis, Taygan (2), Stefanki, Van’t Hof, McMillan, Motta (2), Mitchibata, DePalmer, C. Panatta (2), Evernden, Fleurian (2), Yzaga, Witsken, Baxter, Navratil (3), Fibak, Giammalva, Agenor, M. Leach (2), Stewart

 

Career Profesional Doubles Partners – Clay, Hard, Indoors, Grass

• Agassi, E. Sanchez, Navratil, Van’t Hof, Kuhnen, Pate, Smid, Wilkison, Fibak, Gunnarson, McMillan, Van Patten, Taygan, Lozano, C. Panatta, Donnelly, Motta, Drewett, Leach, Turpin, Yzaga, Baxter, Stewart

 

Junior Career Highlights

• #31 National ranking Boy’s 18 & Under singles
• # 10 Florida ranking in Boy’s 18 & Under singles
• # 1 Florida State Boy’s 18 & Under doubles
• 18 & Under Florida State Mixed Doubles Champion
• # 4 Florida ranking in Boy’s 16 & Under singles
• # 12 USTA National Boy’s 14 & Under singles ranking
• # 1 USTA National Boys’ 14 & Under doubles ranking