Jorge CapestanyJorge Capestany

Jorge Capestany, manager of the DeWitt Tennis Center at Hope College, has received the 2015 Cap Leighton Award from the Midwest Section of the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

The award recognizes the tennis teaching professional who contributes to tennis in his or her community beyond his livelihood, giving freely in promoting involvement in tennis for players of all levels and ages, and assisting in developing tennis programs and participation in tennis programs. Announced earlier this month, it will be formally presented to Capestany at the Hope College Tennis Academy during the week of Aug. 10-14.
Manager of the six-court DeWitt Tennis Center since the fall of 2003, Capestany is a 32-year veteran of the tennis industry. The USTA’s award announcement praised him for being instrumental in promoting and growing tennis across the district, section, nationally and around the world.

He is one of only 10 people world-wide that is a Master Professional with both the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) and the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA).

Capestany has coached hundreds of ranked juniors, including three national champions. In his career, at Hope and previously, his programs have developed more than 180 high school state champions in Michigan.
Among other ongoing service to the profession, he is a USTA faculty member conducting workshops for coaches, co-chair of the PTR Education Committee and on two committees of the Western Michigan Tennis Association (WMTA), in addition to serving as a member of the Wilson Premiere Speakers Team and as a consultant to many clubs in the tennis industry. He is also a past president of the WMTA and of the USPTA Midwest Division.

Capestany has hosted many PTR and USPTA workshops and Midwest Conferences at DeWitt, where every teaching pro on the staff is certified. He has been published in numerous industry publications, including several articles in the PTR magazine “TennisPro” and the USPTA “ADDvantage” Magazine. His three books include the “PTR International Book of Drills,” and he originated PTRtennis.tv for the Professional Tennis Registry.

He is also the founder of two prominent tennis industry websites: a coach’s website, www.TennisDrills.tv, which features more than 1,200 tennis drills and has subscribers in more than 65 countries; and a player’s website, www.JorgeCapestany.com, which features free tennis instruction.

Capestany has been a frequent speaker at professional conferences all over the world, including the PTR International Tennis Symposium, the USPTA World Conference on Tennis; the USTA’s Tennis Teachers Conference at the US Open in New York; the PTR Asia Tennis Symposium in Shanghai, China; the ITF worldwide Coaches Conference in Cancun, Mexico; the Norwegian Tennis Conference in Oslo, Norway; the Canadian Tennis Federation Coaches Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and many regional and national conferences around the United States.

Capestany has been named the “Michigan Pro of the Year” six times by either USPTA or PTR. The Midwest Division of the USPTA has honored him multiple times through the years, including with induction into its Hall of Fame in 2012, twice as “Midwest Professional of the Year,” twice as “Facility Manager of the Year” and with its “Outstanding Education of the Year” award. In February 2012 he was named the PTR Member of the Year by “Racquet Sports Industry” magazine. In January of this year he received the Karen Page Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association (MHSTeCA), and in February he received the PTR/TIA Commitment to the Industry Award from the PTR and Tennis Industry Association.

As manager of the DeWitt Tennis Center, Capestany also manages the college’s outdoor Vande Poel-Heeringa Stadium Courts, which since opening in 2012 have received national awards from both the United States Tennis Association and the American Sports Builders Association. He also directs the college’s Summer Tennis Academy, and previously served as an assistant coach for the Hope women’s tennis team. He was named the ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015.