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Tennis & Pickleball
All game All season
Tennis, pickleball and other sports courts are located throughout Watersound Club properties. No matter the destination, players will find exceptional facilities to enjoy a great day on the courts. The Watersound Club experience features 14 tennis courts and 8 pickleball courts that are home to event programming and expert instruction from the Club’s professional tennis and pickleball staff.
Watersound Beach Club Courts
Two tennis courts, one that doubles as a pickleball court, just steps away from the Beach Club’s dining venues and pools within an earshot of the beach
Shark’s Tooth Courts
A short distance from the golf course and clubhouse, Members enjoy four illuminated tennis courts
Camp Creek Racquet Center
Eight lighted tennis courts, eight lighted pickleball courts, a half basketball court, and a dedicated tennis and pickleball pro shop
alexa guarachi
Director of Tennis & Pickleball
Alexa Guarachi, Watersound Club director of tennis and pickleball, has a distinguished tennis career, starting at age five under her professional parents’ guidance in Miramar Beach, Florida. She achieved a top 50 junior world ranking, excelled at the University of Alabama as the program’s top singles and doubles player, and earned three All-American titles. Post-college, she turned professional, overcoming an ACL injury to reach a career-high doubles ranking of 11. Guarachi’s professional highlights include finals at the French Open (2020), semi-finals at the US Open (2021), quarterfinals at Wimbledon (2022), and a gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. She also boasts a title from the Dubai Duty Free WTA event in 2021, five WTA Tour wins, and participation in the prestigious year-end finals for the top eight teams worldwide in 2021.
Working closely with the Club’s tennis and pickleball pros, Alexa is excited to continue enhancing the tennis and pickleball programming for Club Members to enjoy. If you want to play like a pro, Alexa is available for private lessons and group lessons. Call the pro shop to book your lesson with Alexa today!
Phone: 850.231.7681
Email: Alexa.Bruner@stjoe.com
VALENTIM GONCALVES JR.
hEAD tennis & pickleball Professional
Originally from Brazil, Valentim Goncalves Jr.—known to most as Val—brings a lifelong passion for racquet sports and an impressive resume of international experience to Camp Creek Inn. A Certified Director of Racquet Sports (CDORS) and United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Elite Professional, Val is also a former NCAA Division II National Champion and a certified instructor in tennis, pickleball, and padel.
Val is known for creating a fun, approachable, and educational environment on the court. Whether working with beginners or experienced players, he tailors each lesson to help guests and members grow their skills while enjoying the game. With his energetic coaching style and dedication to racquet sports, Val is a dynamic addition to our recreational team.
He is available for private and group instruction in tennis and pickleball.
Phone: 850.231.7681
Email: val.goncalves@stjoe.com
Todd Ponder
pickleball Professional
Watersound Club head pickleball pro, Todd Ponder, leads the charge for Club Members to learn and enjoy America’s fastest growing sport.
Todd’s specialty is creating pickleball leagues that combine physical activity with social engagement to strengthen the community as a whole. Having moved with his family to the Emerald Coast from Las Vegas in May 2022, Todd is dedicated to growing a strong local community of pickleball players, and we’re excited to have him available to our Membership.
Todd leads a variety of clinics and classes every week. Instruction includes proper mechanics, rules, scoring and strategy.
Phone: 850.231.7681
Email: Todd.Ponder@stjoe.com
Laura kelly
Tennis & Pickleball Teaching Professional
Watersound Club Tennis & Pickleball Teaching Professional, Laura Kelly, brings over 26 years of coaching experience to the Club, with a focus on junior development.
Originally from Greenwood, Mississippi, she is a former collegiate athlete in tennis, basketball, and softball at Mississippi Delta Community College.
Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from Delta State University and a master’s in Leisure Management from the University of Mississippi. At Watersound Club, she leads tennis and pickleball instruction that inspires players of all ages to develop their skills and love for the game.
Phone: 850.231.7681
Email: Laura.Kelly@stjoe.com
Torbjorn “Toby” Fasth
Tennis Professional
Watersound Club Tennis Professional, Toby Fasth, is a native of Sweden who came to the U.S. to play college tennis at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, where he was later inducted into the Colonels Athletic Hall of Fame.
Before joining Watersound Camp Creek in April 2023, Toby served as Director of Tennis at Bayou Bluff Tennis Club in Gulfport, MS, for 17 years. During his tenure, he was named Mississippi Pro of the Year and Director of the Year multiple times, while BBTC earned USTA Southern Section “Club of the Year” honors three times under his leadership.
Phone: 850.231.7681
Email: Toby.Fasth@stjoe.com
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