Spreading her knowledge, giving back to her local community, and helping players reach their full potential are why Kateryna Yergina decided to become a coach.

This upcoming tennis season, Yergina has decided to bring all of her skills and knowledge to Holy Trinity by becoming part of the coaching staff. 

Yergina is a Ukranian tennis player who has spent the last 27 years of her life devoted to the mastery and teaching of the sport. Sticking to the traditions of her country where young girls either participate in tennis or gymnastics, she was enrolled in tennis lessons by her parents at the age of four. She first moved to the United States in 2008, and decided to live in Florida because “It’s a fantastic place for my hobbies and activities I enjoy doing every day.” 

Outside of tennis, Yergina loves taking her dog for long walks on the beach. But when she’s playing tennis, she brings all 27 years of her experience out onto the court.

For most, playing a sport is a fun hobby used to fill spare time and rarely gets taken to the professional level, but not for Yergina. She played professionally in the Women’s Tennis Association and on the Pro Tour in 2005-2007 and 2013-2015, the same tour that famous players such as Serena Williams and Roger Federer have played in. During her time on the tour, she reached career highs of 666 in the world for singles and 608 in doubles. Her time on the Pro Tour was nothing short of difficult. “It was tough, but in general it was a fantastic experience getting to play against the best players in the world and meet other people and learn about their backgrounds in tennis and why they wanted to play professionally, so I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to play on the tour,” she said. Getting to represent her country in the sport she loves is the most memorable part of playing tennis for Yergina.

James Clark, who has been both a teacher and tennis coach at Holy Trinity for the past 11 years, invited Yergina to assist in coaching varsity tennis during the 2022-2023 tennis season. She believes that it is a “fantastic opportunity to coach a local team in my favorite sport and give back all the knowledge that I have gained throughout the years to the next generation and hopefully, they will learn something.” She aspires to not only teach the team, but also listen to individual concerns and help each player reach their full potential and fill their role on the team, because she has played team tennis and understands the environment.

Clark was first introduced to Yergina during the COVID-19 pandemic by his wife, when she was hired to work for her after transferring from her previous job in California. “I have been a hitting partner for Katya over the last couple of years and she is a tremendous player.  Having played on the WTA Tour and at Virginia Commonwealth University she has an amazing feel for the game and a great knowledge of how to play.” He is excited to see the difference she makes in our Tiger program, knowing that she will “put her fingerprints all over our players in the way that we see point play and in the way that we prepare to compete,” Clark said.