Alarcon Brothers Succeed In Tennis Coaching

Two local coaches from Bradenton are achieving outstanding success in tennis. Felipe Alarcon recently received the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) High School Coach Of The Year award for directing the Saint Stephens varsity boys team from last place in 2024 to first place in their district division in 2025. Alarcon received the award at a recent ceremony at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.

"I'm trying to do my best every single time in every aspect of my life," said Felipe Alarcon. "And I treat every player the same, no matter what level of player they are. And I'm trying to give my advice and knowledge and tell them simple things in a positive way, in a few words, in simple words, not talk too much. I have passion for the sport, and I try to get them to have that feeling, to get involved in tennis and have passion for the sport."

For a tennis team to rise from last place to the top in one year is a rare achievement, but Alarcon is an accomplished "Master Coach," which there are only about 50 in the world, so he has an abundance of experience in how to accelerate a player's improvement progression and a team's collective mindset.. "The most important thing is for every player to feel they are important to the team. We won Districts with the girls and were finalists with boys. Then in Regionals, we won with the boys and lost in the final with the girls."

Felipe's younger brother, Andres, is the coach of ATP professional Michael Mmoh, also from Bradenton. On Sunday, March 22, Mmoh won the ATP $75,000 Challenger title in Morelos, Mexico, with a dramatic three-set win in the final vs Taro Daniel from Japan. For the 28-year-old Mmoh, this was his first ATP title win since 2022. He has missed over a year due to various injuries. "It was a great week for us," said Alarcon, who had an emotional embrace with Mmoh courtside moments after the thrilling triumph before a full house crowd in the stadium. Alarcon and Mmoh have worked together for over two years, and this title was long overdue.

Mmoh hopes he is back on the path to the top 100 or better, which would earn him direct entry into the Grand Slam tournaments - US Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open.

Next month, Mmoh will play in the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open ATP Challenger, which will be contested at IMG Academy in Bradenton from April 5-12. Tickets are available at http://www.sarasotaopen.com

The members of Felipe Alarcon's 2025 boys and girls tennis teams at Saint Stephens: Andrei Black, Arush Singhania, Carter Young, Geremy Avila, Hao Li, Henry Vereb, Hugo Bolbjerg, Oliver Osterman, Otis Whatley, William Wang, Alisa Zhou, Alya Abuhan, Daphne Boiteu, Isabelle Grassia, Lana Tran, Malika Tokhtabayeva, Martina Blanco, Seyona Yathiraj, Sofie Stehlikova, Sophie Day.