Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Washington & Anna Kynclova
Hi Amber & Anna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started coaching around West LA about 2 years ago. I met Anna at one of the public courts in Santa Monica, I saw she was also teaching and it’s rare to see female tennis coaches so we introduced ourselves and started chatting. We realized we had some things in common: we both love Pilates, and since teaching tennis is such a grind we knew we wanted to change something in our schedules, do something more substantial with tennis.
About a month or 2 after we met, we were talking at the courts one day we had the idea to throw an event together that combines our 2 great interests: tennis & Pilates. We knew the tennis community was growing, (we always knew tennis was cool it just took a little bit for the world to catch up) and we hoped that the event could be successful. People are always looking for something fun and active to do, so we knew this idea had a lot of potential. We planned the event in less than 2 months and it was a success. I’m still kind of shocked at how well it went and the turn out we had. Neither of us have ever run a business, I have some experience in media/communications and customer service and Anna has some background in interior design and marketing, but we are by no means experts on anything. We did our best to combine our knowledge and strengths and it turned out amazing. We were incredibly nervous and excited to see how far we can take this, we still are. We’re proud to be a female owned business in a male dominated area.
We are really just 2 girls who decided to start a business based on what we already do in our daily lives. We are unique because how many tennis coaches do most people come across that have the kind of background we do? Professional and D1 Collegiate players. Add in the fact that we are also females, the answer is not many. Most of the tennis coaches I see are middle aged men who have little to no real playing experience, meaning they haven’t played at a high level, they just earned their PTR certification and started teaching. That is what sets us apart from most coaches in general.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Honestly, it’s been pretty smooth so far. Granted we’ve only been a business for less than 6 months, we still have a long way to go, during which I’m sure there will be many trials and tribulations as we continue to grow into ourselves. But for now, we are pretty good with planning and managing our time. We haven’t come across any struggles yet. We’re also very good at what we do, so that makes it easier.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently, I teach tennis full time. I used to be a professional tennis player, I retired in 2020. I used to work for the WTA in Player Development last year, an amazing job that gave me great insight to the “behind the scenes” of the women’s professional tour.
I am most proud of my 2 professional titles I earned in Mexico City and Egypt. I won my first pro title in the first year I started playing pro, and won my second exactly a year later. Tennis has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl . The whole experience, struggles and sacrifice of being a professional athlete is unique and definitely sets me apart from others. It’s helped me grow in ways (on and off the court) that probably never would have been possible otherwise.
Anna – I’m most proud of the resilience I showed after my professional tennis career was cut short by a wrist injury in 2018. Despite that setback, I didn’t give up. 5 years ago I moved from Czech Republic to America, where I now teach tennis full-time and co-founded Court & Core Tennis Club. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to transform a challenge into an opportunity and build something meaningful.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
People can support by visiting our website, by sharing our name with friends and family who want to learn tennis or do Pilates. It’s a community that we want to help keep fostering and grow. They can follow our social media pages, Court & Core and my personal account. We’d love for people to reach out for any collaboration ideas. If you want to play tennis, whether you’ve just started, want to do something that’s fun and active, or if you take it a bit more seriously and want some private lessons, reach out!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.courtandcore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtandcore/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/amberliza/
Image Credits
Celeste Marquez
