What to know as season gets ready to begin
Palm Beach County’s high school tennis scene is normally spotlighted by private schools such as American Heritage Delray, St. Andrew’s, The Benjamin School and the Boca Raton-area public schools.
That is why it’s refreshing to see special tennis stuff going on in Riviera Beach at the academically renowned Suncoast High.
Led by coach Vladimir Gawlikowski, the Suncoast girls team at the public school that requires admittance based on high academics, is coming off a 10-4 season. He feels he’s got another solid team that should give him a fourth winning season in four years. Suncoast has eight returning varsity players.
The Suncoast boys team is off to a 2-0 start and is headed by juniors Jordan Stearns and Max Weintraub.
“What makes our school special is Suncoast is one of the higher academic schools in the county,” Gawlikowsi said.
“The kids don’t come in to play tennis. They’re talented in tennis and our top players play the USTA circuit on the weekends. But we don’t recruit.’’
Gawlikowski has a unique tennis background. As a 5-year-old, he started hitting balls with the Rollins College tennis team in Winter Park. He became a three-sport athlete in high school (football, basketball, baseball) but returned to tennis at a New Jersey college after a football-related neck injury.
BOCA RATON — There’ll be no All-Star Weekend festivities for Frances Tiafoe this year.
As the Delray Beach Open reached its conclusion last February, Tiafoe was in Utah playing in the celebrity game and schmoozing with NBA stars.
That’s not happening in 2024. Tiafoe, who has residences in Boynton Beach and Boca Raton, is in a little rut. He needs more tennis now — not basketball.
“Not this year, unfortunately,” Tiafoe told The Palm Beach Post Wednesday in a sit-down at the Delray Beach Tennis Center. “I’ve had a slow start to the season so I decided I needed to play more matches.”