Blair O'Brien:

At the young age of 4 years old, Blair began his tennis journey. It started  with regular hits with the family and a group lesson. Five years later, Blair won his first tournament: the Auckland Championships, in singles and doubles. Following this, he won over 10  junior age group tournaments in the next few years.

At 12 years old, Blair coached for the first time; a group of 13-18 year olds. Over the next 10 years, he gradually built up more group and individual lessons, coaching up to 30 hours a week. 

While studying at University, Blair managed to maintain an average of above one match per day in between training and competitions. This lead to playing for 5 clubs at once between Auckland, North Shore and Wellington, and he was crowned the New Zealand University's tennis champion in singles and doubles. 

Upon completing a Science Degree (Statistics, University of Auckland), Blair's journey as a full time coach began at West End LawnTennis Club, Auckland. By 2012, Blair was the Assistant Head Coach, and was responsible for the training and coaching of a team of up to twenty coaches. This led to modernising the coaching style with the most recent methods to make the tennis more fun and easier to learn. 

After 20 years of coaching at West End, Blair left New Zealand to coach in London, UK for two years. Here Blair added to his previous coaching course (Tennis New Zealand's JDC), by completing the LTA Level 3 programme.  

Being stuck out of the country during the Covid-19 pandemic, Blair and his fiancée journeyed around the world before returning to New Zealand for good in April 2022.  

Blair’s vision as a club level coach is to show a passion for the sport, and by doing so inspire others to want to play and improve. He finds that those who are hungry to improve and learn are always the fastest learners. Hence he likes to lead by example and show passion in order to help others find their passion! 

Blair's coaching style is high energy, play based tennis,. He teaches with an open mind to individually cater to bring out the best in everyone technically, tactically, physically and mentally.

Victor Kiintcharov:

My name is Victor Klintcharov and I am a tennis coach with over 22 years of competitive playing experience and over a decade of coaching experience. I was raised in New Zealand, where I fell in love with the game of tennis at a young age. I spent most of my childhood on the tennis courts, honing my skills and developing a passion for the sport.

After years of hard work and dedication, I had the opportunity to play competitively at college in the USA. I was fortunate enough to lead my team to multiple Conference and Regional Championship wins and to reach 12th place at Division II nationals and 8th place in the nation for doubles. Throughout my career, I have trained and competed with a number of world-class players, gaining a deep understanding of the game and what it takes to succeed at the highest levels. As a coach, I draw on this experience to help my students improve their skills, develop their own unique playing style, and reach their full potential.

As a coach, my philosophy is to create a positive and supportive learning environment that allows my players to thrive. I believe in a holistic approach to coaching, focusing not only on technique but also on strategy, fitness, and mental toughness.

Whether you are a beginner looking to learn the basics of the game or an experienced player looking to take your skills to the next level, I am here to help you achieve your goals and become the best player you can be.

Chloe Shin

Chloe has over 15 years of experience as a player and 12 years of coaching experience. She has played ITF junior tournaments worldwide and WTA for career pursuit. She reached a career high in Juniors of #125 in the world, in WTA singles as #747 in the world and a world rank in doubles of #491.

In 2013 Chloe relocated to New Zealand and established a career as a playing coach.

Participated in the Chelsea Cup and Caro Bowl competitions, achieving a maximum possible New Zealand ranking. She has also completed the Club Professional Coaching course.

We are incredibly lucky to have someone as skilled and knowledgeable as Chloe coaching at the club, and I am absolutely delighted to welcome her to the club! Chloe is currently only coaching 8-10pm Monday, Tuesday and Fridays, and the Saturday morning while she raises her family.

Terry Lee

Hello, my name is Terry, and I have been part of the tennis world for the last 15 years. I was raised in a small city called Palmerston North, where I fell in love with the sport after moving from South Korea.

I started my tennis career as a player, competing at national and regional levels and winning various tournaments and representative fixtures. Naturally, I was involved in a coaching career, starting with Community coaching, where I developed skills and a love for the game for the children by visiting local schools with regional programmes.

Also, I was fortunate enough to work and train with junior representative players in Palmerston North and overseas, where I helped them reach their goals and learn from those experiences. 

I was also part of the junior representative coaching team as an assistant coach when they competed in junior fixtures.

My coaching style is best represented as patient, encouraging and energetic, and my coaching philosophy is centred on creating a positive and supportive environment that fosters growth, learning and fun. Tennis is not just about winning but also about the journey and joy of playing. 

In addition, my hobby is regularly analysing tennis videos to constantly learn about tennis's technical and tactical aspects.

Whether you are new to the club, coming back to tennis, a regular player looking for the next challenge or just want to talk about tennis in general, feel free to come and say hi! :)