BEST SPORTING UPGRADE
For decades, local tennis culture has thrived at private clubs, where the game is often more about social connection than technical refinement. The arrival of the Mouratoglou Tennis Center last August at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, marked a shift in the landscape—from club-level camaraderie to international-caliber instruction. Founded by Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, the center introduces Southwest Florida to the coach’s proven, tour-level principles, previously only accessible at his Côte d’Azur flagship academy and other international outposts.
Unlike most traditional training, the Mouratoglou Method emphasizes strengths over weaknesses. From the outset, coaches identify what already works in a player’s game and build from there. A solid forehand becomes a weapon to build points around in the now, while a weaker backhand is retooled over time. Confidence is earned not just from perfecting form but from making strong decisions under pressure.
Having grown up playing tennis, I’ve seen coaching styles that run the gamut, from strict technical drills to more fluid, strategy-based instruction. As I step onto the Mouratoglou courts, I wonder: Can this strategic, strengths-focused program help a player like me, decades removed from real competition, rediscover my game?
Courtesy The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón
Mouratoglou method at the ritz carlton naples aerial court view
Developed by star coach Patrick Mouratoglou, the academy builds on players’ natural strengths. “Confidence is everything in this sport,” says head coach Claudio Adolfssen.
The steady voice beside me belongs to Claudio Adolfssen, the Naples center’s Chilean-born head coach. Before bringing the Mouratoglou method to Naples, Claudio played at Belhaven University in Mississippi, coached at Georgia Gwinnett College (a 35-time national champion), and spent years developing competitive amateurs and rising juniors. “Tennis is a game of patterns and angles,” Claudio says, watching as I reset for the next shot. “Working on [your] strengths is key in order to improve confidence.”
To help players build stamina and sharpen decision-making, coaches may guide them through active drills that emphasize footwork, court awareness and situational shot-making. “While strong form is foundational, tennis confidence is often built through successful decision-making and adapting to match pressures,” Claudio says. “This includes anticipating plays, reacting quickly and selecting the right responses in the heat of the moment.”
Like other respected local academies, Mouratoglou offers programs geared toward junior development, but it stands for its work with ambitious adult players who want world-champion training, tailored to their current game.
One of the brand’s first satellite centers in the country, the Naples locale heralds Mouratoglou’s deeper U.S. expansion. Full-scale academies in Tampa and Atlanta, as well as resort-based centers, are in the pipeline.
As we finish the lesson, Claudio nods in approval. “You’re starting to see it,” he says. “It’s about playing with intention.” At Naples’ newest tennis destination, progress isn’t about reinvention—it’s about rediscovery, tapping into your natural abilities and leveraging your experience as the foundation for what comes next. And, what’s more empowering than that?