Tennis Certification, Tennis Training & Fitness ITPA Certification Commissioners

iTPA Certification Commission

ITPA CC World Experts

The iTPA Tennis Certification Commission (iTPA-CC) is made up of world-renowned experts, in different areas of tennis science, Tennis medicine and tennis fitness training. This consortium of leading professionals are in the fields of sports medicine, sports science, strength and conditioning, physical therapy and athletic training and all have specific clinical, research and performance backgrounds in tennis.

The faculty is made up of the professional having the highest moral and ethical qualities, and holding advanced degrees in their chosen fields of expertise (M.D., Ph.D., D.O., Ed.D., R.D., P.T., A.T.C., etc.)

The iTPA tennis fitness certification commissioners each review materials and test construction to ensure highest standards.

All faculty are chosen by very exacting standards, including:

highly advanced and scientific education
advanced practical expertise
advanced clinical expertise
outstanding teaching skills
elite athlete experience (teaching, training, coaching, research and/or participation)
highly passionate concerning the areas of tennis-specific sport science and medicine, and tennis fitness
outstanding moral and ethical qualifications

ITPA Tennis Fitness Certification Commission Bios

Todd S. Ellenbecker, D.P.T. , FITPA, CTPS

ITPA Certification Commission Chair
Todd Ellenbecker is a physical therapist and clinic director of Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ. He completed his doctorate in physical therapy from Massachusetts General Hospital – Institute of Health Professions in 2006. In addition, he is a certified sports clinical specialist, and orthopedic clinical specialist by the American Physical Therapy Association. Through the ITPA, he is a Certified Tennis Performance Specialist, fellow of the ITPA, in addition to being a certified strength and conditioning specialist and being awarded the Sports Medicine Professional of the Year in 2003 by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is also Chairman of the USTA National Sport Science Committee, the Director of Sports Medicine for the ATP World Tour and the author of dozens of books, scientific articles and presentations on tennis-specific and tennis fitness information.

Donald Chu, Ph.D., P.T., A.T.C., CSCS

Donald Chu is currently in private practice for Physical Therapy serving as the Director of Athercare Sports & Fitness. He is a past-president of the NSCA and is certified with distinction as a CSCS and NSCA-Personal Trainer. He is a past member of the BOD of the NATA and an NATA Hall of Fame Inductee. Don has been inducted into the Strength Coaches Association HOF and the CSU, East Bay Athletic HOF.

He has published six books and numerous articles in the area of Plyometrics and Performance training, and was the guest presenter for iTPA's Plyometrics for Tennis DVD Course.

He presently serves on the California State Board of Physical Therapy.

T. Jeff Chandler, Ed.D. CSCS, D, NSCA-CPT, D, FACSM, FNSCA

Dr. Jeff Chandler has served as Professor and Department Head of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, since January of 2006. Prior to his appointment to JSU, Dr. Chandler served as Professor and Department Chair of Exercise Science, Sport, and Recreation at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. Dr. Chandler has 12 years of experience in a clinical sports medicine setting where he served as Director of Sports Medicine Research at the Lexington Clinic Sports Medicine Center. Dr. Chandler is also the Editor-in-Chief of Strength and Conditioning Journal, the professional journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, serving in that position since 1998. He recently began serving the NSCA as Editor of both Performance Training Journal and the Tactical Strength and Conditioning Report. Dr. Chandler has been recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (1990) and a Fellow of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2007). He is a certified strength and conditioning coach (with distinction) CSCS*D, and a certified personal trainer (with distinction) NSCA-CPT*D through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Chandler edited a textbook for LWW, “Strength and Conditioning for Human Performance” (which is a strength and conditioning textbook for the CTPS course), and was the author of a book on conditioning for tennis, “Tennis Training, Enhancing On-Court Performance.” Most recently, in March of 2009, Dr. Chandler was inducted as a Fellow into the North American Society of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and Dance Professionals.

Miguel Crespo, Ph.D.

Miguel is the Research Officer for the Tennis Development and Coaching Department of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Based in Spain, Miguel is responsible for the ITF Coaches Education Programme and has been involved in the writing and editing of many of the ITF’s coach education publications including: the Tennis Psychology, Strength and Conditioning for Tennis, Biomechanics of Advanced Tennis, Advanced Coaches Manual; ITF School Tennis Initiative Teachers Manual; Being a Better Tennis Parent, and The Tennis Volunteer among other publications. Some of these books have been published in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Thai, Arabic, Macedonian, Farsi and Vietnamese, among other languages.

He is the Editor of the ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review the official coaching publication of the ITF, which is published in English, French and Spanish. A member of both the ITF Coaches Commission and the ITF Sport Science and Medical Commission, he travels the world conducting coaches’ workshops and reporting on the latest developments in the field of coaching. Miguel holds a Ph.D. in Sports Psychology on the psychological constructs of leadership in tennis and a B.A, in Philology.

He is also former Director of the National Coaching School for the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation. Between 1984 and 1989 Miguel was traveling coach and captain of Spanish National Tennis Junior Teams.

Brian Hainline, M.D. FACSM

Brian Hainline, M.D., currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In previous positions, he served as the Chief Medical Officer for the United States Tennis Association and also as Chief of Neurology and Integrative Pain Medicine at ProHEALTH Care Associates in Lake Success, NY, and Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine. Hainline has a long history with tennis, both as a player and as a physician. He was the No. 1 singles and doubles player his senior year at Notre Dame, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa before going on to earn his M.D. at the University of Chicago. He has served as Chief Medical Officer for the US Open since 1992 for 16 years, and as a member of the ITF Sport Science and Medicine Commission since 1993; he has been Chair of the Commission since 2003. He is also a member of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Medical Commission since 1999, and was a founding member of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program Review Board for the ATP, ITF and WTA Tour. Dr. Hainline has been active in raising the standard of care for athletes, tennis players in particular. He has given lectures around the world on tennis and spine injuries, and recently completed his fourth book, Back Pain Understood: A Cutting-Edge Approach to Healing Your Back. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Neurology, and a member of The Society for Tennis Medicine and Science. In honor of his accomplishments and dedication, Hainline received the 2001 International Tennis Hall of Fame Tennis Educational Merit Award, and the 2004 WTA Tour Irving Glick Award, which was presented at the 2004 US Open.

John Isner (Pro Player Representative)

John Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 10 on March 19, 2012, and is currently the second highest-ranked American tennis player behind Mardy Fish. His most famous victories were against Roger Federer in the Davis Cup encounter in February 2012, no. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic at the 2012 Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, Andy Roddick in the 2009 US Open, and against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships where he played the longest ever professional tennis match, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over the course of three days.

His rising star can be partly attributed to his dedicated work ethic and outstanding improvement of his off-court tennis fitness routines, and John has worked closely with iTPA Executive Director Dr. Mark Kovacs. John played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia from 2004 to 2007 and became the school's all-time leader in singles and doubles victories, earning All-American honors each of his four years and leading Georgia to the 2007 NCAA championship.

Neeru Jayanthi, M.D., USPTA

Dr. Jayanthi earned his medical degree from Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Rush-Illinois Masonic Family Practice Residency Program. In addition, Dr. Jayanthi completed an 18-month sports medicine fellowship at Methodist Sports Medicine and at IU Center for Sports Medicine at Indiana University, Department of Family Medicine, Indianapolis, IN. He serves as the team physician for Loyola Undergraduate Athletics, Trinity High School, and Proviso Township High Schools. He also serves as Chair of Education for the Society for Tennis and Medicine Science and an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Physician for Atlanta Tennis Championships and previously for the RCA Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has spoken on his published tennis research and tennis injuries at the Society for Tennis and Medicine Science. Other sports medicine involvement includes NFL combines, Chicago Marathon, Chicago Triathlon, and National Cycling Criterium.

Ben Kibler, M.D. FACSM

Dr. Ben Kibler is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Lexington Clinic in Kentucky and provides services in shoulder, sports medicine, surgeries of the knee, shoulder, ankle, elbow along with biomechanics of tennis. He graduated from Vanderbilt University and is the 2010 recipient of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award. Dr. Kibler serves on the USTA Sport Science Committee and is a consultant to the WTA and USTA. Dr. Kibler is founder and past-president of the Society of Tennis Medicine and Science and is a leading research on the upper extremity in tennis and baseball.

William J. Kraemer, Ph.D., FNSCA, FACSM, FISSN

William J. Kraemer is the Director of Research in the Dean"s office of the Neag School of Education and a full professor in the department of kinesiology working in the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. He also is a full professor in the department of physiology and neurobiology and a professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center. He earned a Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Wyoming in 1984. He held multiple appointments at Pennsylvania State University, where he was professor of applied physiology, director of research in the Center for Sports Medicine, associate director of the Center for Cell Research, and faculty member in the kinesiology department and the Noll Physiological Research Center. . Dr. Kraemer is currently a member and Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine and has served as a member of the ACSM's Board of Trustees and Administrative Council. He is a past president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He was also among the first group of members inducted as Fellows in the NSCA in 2007. Dr. Kraemer is also a Fellow in the International Society of Sports Nutrition and the American College of Nutrition. In addition, Dr. Kraemer serves on numerous scientific journal editorial boards and is the current Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, an Editor for the European Journal of Applied Physiology and an Associate Editor for Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Applied Physiology. Dr. Kraemer has also been a sport science liaison for the United States Olympic Committee to USA tennis, team handball, basketball, wrestling, and soccer. He has also served three different terms as a member of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) Sport Science Committee. He has authored and co-authored over 360 peer reviewed manuscripts in the scientific literature related to sports medicine, endocrinology of exercise, nutritional supplementation, exercise, military fitness, sports science, and resistance exercise and training.

Richard C. Lansky, CSCS, ACSM AFI

Richard is the President and Director of Optimum Performance Training, Inc. at the O.P.T.I. Sports & Fitness Clinic. A Syracuse University graduate, he has worked in the sports performance and strength and conditioning fields for more than 20 years. He is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist as well as an ACSM Certified Health/Fitness Instructor. He is heavily involved in the Olympic Sport of Weightlifting, having served at both the state and national level. He held the office of the President of the Florida Local Weightlifting Committee and also served on the USA Weightlifting Board of Directors for USA Weightlifting from 2004-2008. Rich also served as the Board Liaison and Coordinator for the USA Weightlifting Coaching Committee during that time span. In addition, he coordinates and teaches the Club Coach, Sports Performance Coach and Senior Coach Educational Clinics throughout the Southeast USA. Rich is certified as a U.S. International Coach by USA Weightlifting and has served as Assistant Coach for the Men's Jr. World Team in 2003 and 2004, and as Assistant Coach for the Women's Jr. World Team in 2004. He was the Assistant Coach for the 2002 Men's Team at the Pan American Championships in Venezuela. In 2004, he was the head coach for the National Squad that competed at the Mermet Cup (USA vs. Australia) in Melbourne, Australia. In 2007, he served as the head women's coach for Team USA at the World University Cup in Peru. Rich also served as Team Leader for the Jr. Pan American and 16 and Under International Teams in Puerto Rico in 2003 and 2005. He is also a USAW National Referee. Richard has combined his vast experience in Olympic Weightlifting with his knowledge of tennis and has trained many junior, collegiate, professional and adult tennis players.

Page Love, R.D. MS, CSSD, LD, CSCS, USPTA

Page Love is an expert on sport nutrition and eating disorder issues particularly with elite athletics. In 1992, she founded Nutrifit Sport Therapy Inc., a company of professionals dedicated to helping clients reach their wellness goals through performance eating. Page has assembled a team of caring and experienced dietitians with specialties in nutrition for disease prevention and control, weight management, treatment of eating disorders, development of nutrition and fitness plans, and much more. She has worked with professional players, college teams as well as individual athletes. Her past and current clients include the ATP Men’s Professional Tennis Tour, the Women’s Professional Tennis Tour (WTA), U.S. Tennis Association, the Atlanta Braves, U.S. Figure Skating, and U.S. Synchronized Swimming and she served as a nutrition consultant during the Olympic Games in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. Page’s tennis experience includes being a certified tennis teaching professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association and serves on the Sport Science Advisory Board for the Professional Tennis Registry. She has just published a tennis sport nutrition specific education kit for players and coaches. See nutrifitga.com for more information. Page Love’s extensive credentials include being a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Specialist in Sport Dietetics of the American Dietetic Association, a strength and conditioning specialist certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, past president of the Atlanta Dietetic Association and past media spokesperson for the Georgia Dietetic Association.

Babette Pluim, M.D., Ph.D.

Babette Pluim, M.D., Ph.D., is sports physician and Medical Director of the Royal Netherlands Lawn Tennis Association and one of the most relevant international leaders in the field of Tennis Medicine. She is a past president of the Society for Tennis Medicine and Science (STMS). Pluim is the team physician of the Dutch Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams, and tournament doctor at the ATP and WTA tournaments in Hertogenbosch, Amersfoort, and Rotterdam (the Netherlands).

Pluim is a member of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Medical committee, the ITF Sports Medical Commission and the Age Eligibility Panel of the WTA.

She is Past President of the Society for Tennis Medicine and Science and former long-time editor-in-chief of ‘Medicine and Science in Tennis’, the newsletter of the STMS, and ‘Geneeskunde en Sport’, the scientific journal of the Netherlands Association of Sports Medicine. She has published several research articles and edited several books and journals about Tennis Medicine.

Paul Roetert, Ph.D.

E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). In this role, he is responsible for promoting leadership, research, education, and best practices in the professions that support creative, healthy and active lifestyles. Prior to this position, he was the Managing Director of the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA’s) Player Development Program and Tournament Director of the US Open Junior Tennis Championships. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Sport Science Committee. Prior to his Managing Director position with the USTA, Roetert was the Executive Director for the American Sport Education Program at Human Kinetics, in Champaign, Illinois. Roetert has published extensively in the field of tennis, including several books, more than 20 book chapters, and well over 100 articles. In 1998 he received the PTR’s Plagenhoef Award for sport science, in 1999 the Editorial Excellence Award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association for his work on the Journal of Strength and Conditioning and Research, and in 2000 the Outstanding Alumni award from the University of Connecticut. He is also the 2002 Educational Merit Award recipient from the International Tennis Hall of Fame for outstanding service to the game of tennis. Roetert holds a Ph.D. in biomechanics from the University of Connecticut and completed his Masters of Science in biomechanics and undergraduate work in physical education at California State University, Fullerton. He has given hundreds of scientific and invited presentations in the United States, Australia, England, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand and Turkey.

Ellen Rome, M.D., MPH

Ellen Rome currently serves as Head of the Section of Adolescent Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. She is a board-certified Pediatrician who was also among the first in the United States to be board-certified in adolescent medicine. Dr. Rome received her undergraduate degree in psychology, magna cum laude, from Yale University in 1984. She received her medical degree and was initiated into Alpha Omega Alpha in 1988 from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, then completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She next completed a three-year fellowship in adolescent medicine at Children’s Hospital, Boston, during which time she also obtained a Master's Degree in Public Health at the Harvard University School of Public Health. Dr. Rome currently serves as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. She helped start the first Adolescent Health track at the new School of Public Health at Case Western Reserve University, and coordinates the Adolescent Medicine rotation at Cleveland Clinic for residents and medical students. She has been an invited speaker locally, nationally and internationally on various topics in adolescent medicine, and has written and published on various adolescent medicine topics, including eating disorders and obesity, the female athlete triad, nutrition for the teen athlete and adolescent sexuality.

Marc Safran, M.D.

Marc R. Safran is Professor and Associate Director of Sports Medicine at Stanford University. He is a team physician for the Stanford Teams and is the director of the sport medicine fellowship program. Dr. Safran is the chief orthopedic consultant to the WTA. He has served as the medical director of the San Diego WTA tournament for 13 years and is the medical director of the ATP tournament in San Jose (since 2002), and has been a neutral site physician for several Davis Cup ties.

Among his most treasured achievements is receiving the Irving Glick Physician of the Year Award from the WTA in 2001 and the Tennis Education Merit Award from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in 2007.

Kathleen Stroia, PT, ATC

Kathleen Stroia is a sports physiotherapist with 25 years experience in sports therapy. Kathleen earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sports Science with an emphasis in Athletic Training from Purdue University, a Master of Science degree in Athletic Training from West Virginia University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy from Chicago Medical School. Kathleen is Vice President of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Sports Sciences & Medicine. Kathleen serves on the ITF Medical Commission and the United States Tennis Association Sport Sciences Committee and has served on the Special Olympics Committee, Tennis Anti-Doping Committee and has served on the Special Olympics Committee, Tennis Anti-Doping committee and the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) Committees in previous years. She is the 2006 recipient of the "Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award" presented by the NATA and the 2007 "Educational Merit Award" presented by the International Tennis Hall of Fame.