A private alternative to a tennis academy in Prague
Stakhovsky Tennis is not a tennis academy. It is a principal-led coaching practice in Prague where former ATP professional Leonard Stakhovsky leads every session. Total roster capped at 10 players; ITF-track places capped at 2. You get a real former tour pro every hour, a documented methodology, and progress verified against public UTR and ITF profiles - never a hand-off to junior staff.
Apply for assessmentWho this is for
Players searching for a tennis academy in Prague who want to understand how the principal-led model differs.
Families evaluating Prague as a training base and comparing coaching options.
Players who have trained at group academies and are looking for higher expert contact hours.
The method
One coach, every session
Leonard Stakhovsky is personally on court for every training session. Not available on request. Not sometimes. Every session. Total roster capped at 10 players; ITF-track places capped at 2. This limit makes direct coaching possible.
No group dilution
In a group academy setting with four to six players per court, each player receives roughly fifteen to twenty minutes of direct expert instruction per hour of court time. In a 1:1 model, every minute is expert contact. The practical difference compounds across a week, a month, and a year of training.
Individual development priority
Every player on the roster has a specific, named technical and tactical priority for the current period - not a shared curriculum. Sessions are built around individual gaps identified in assessment, updated quarterly.
Accountability that is publicly verifiable
Progress is reported quarterly in UTR delta and ITF ranking movement. Where consent is given, results are published on this site and linked to the player's public UTR or ITF profile. Anyone can verify them independently.
Inside the program
Every player begins with a performance assessment on court with Leonard - not a sales call. He maps your technical priorities, movement patterns, and tactical decision-making, then builds a named plan for the current period. From there, sessions run at Prague clubs TK Spoje, Hodkovičky, and CLTK (districts 3, 4, and 7), Monday to Friday between 06:00 and 21:00 and Saturday mornings, so the schedule fits around school, work, or a training block booked from abroad.
A typical session is fully 1:1: targeted technical work on your specific gap, live pattern and point-construction drilling, and immediate correction from someone who competed on the ATP Tour and played NCAA Division I as an All-Big Ten selection. Because Leonard coaches every hour himself - no rotating junior staff, no diluted group of four to six on a court - the feedback loop is continuous. Coaching is delivered in English, Czech, or Ukrainian, which makes the practice a genuine fit for Prague's expat and international families as well as local competitors.
This is the right choice for competitive juniors aged 11-17 (UTR 8-14 or an active ITF/Tennis Europe ranking), adult tournament players, and NCAA-pathway candidates who need more expert contact hours rather than more court time. It is deliberately not built for absolute beginners or casual recreational play. Progress is measured, not asserted: results are reviewed quarterly in UTR delta and ITF movement, and documented outcomes already include a serve speed increase of over 50%, a forehand roughly 20% faster, and a player's first tournament win. Total roster capped at 10 players; ITF-track places capped at 2. This is why applications are reviewed personally rather than sold on price behind a phone number.
What large academies do well
Large group academies have genuine structural advantages that the smaller Stakhovsky Tennis practice cannot match: residential infrastructure, on-site tournament facilities, sparring depth across many levels, social environment for young players, and full-time medical and physiotherapy staff.
Stakhovsky Tennis is not for every player. It is specifically for players whose ranking has plateaued and who need more expert contact hours - not more court time in a group. If your player needs the residential environment, the sparring depth of a 100-person roster, or the social structure of a large academy, that may be the right choice for them.
The full model comparison - including structure, coach-to-player ratio, and cost-per-expert-contact-hour - is at /compare.
FAQ
Is Stakhovsky Tennis a tennis academy?
No. Total roster capped at 10 players; ITF-track places capped at 2. The distinction matters: in a large tennis academy, the founder's name is on the door, but the coaching is delivered by a rotating staff of junior coaches. At Stakhovsky Tennis, Leonard Stakhovsky is personally on court for every session. There is no staff hand-off.
What is the difference between an academy and a principal-led practice?
In a large group academy, the coach-to-player ratio on court is typically 1:4 to 1:6, and the founder's involvement is limited to the branding. In a principal-led practice, one expert coach works with the same players in every session. The practical difference is expert contact hours per week: group academy players typically receive 15-20 minutes of direct expert instruction per hour of court time. In a principal-led practice, every minute on court is 1:1.
What is the roster cap and why does it exist?
Total roster capped at 10 players; ITF-track places capped at 2. This limit exists because a 1:1 coaching model only works at a specific scale. Once the group grows beyond what one coach can personally attend to, the model becomes a small-group model.
What types of players does Stakhovsky Tennis serve?
Primarily competitive juniors aged 11-17 with UTR 8-14 or an active ITF/Tennis Europe ranking. The program also serves adult tournament players, NCAA/college pathway candidates, and players traveling to Prague for intensive training blocks. Players seeking recreational coaching or complete beginners are not the target profile.
Can I compare Stakhovsky Tennis to specific academies?
The comparison page at /compare presents a structural model comparison - examining coaching ratios, founder involvement, roster scale, and cost-per-expert-contact-hour - without making disparaging claims about specific named academies. All figures are sourced from publicly available information.
2 spots. Applications reviewed personally.
Apply for assessmentPlayer evidence
See documented outcomes
See measured player gains, read full case studies, and check the limits before you choose a program.