Tennis Professionals
Meet the Team
Eli Alejo
Director of Tennis
Eli Alejo is a USPTA and PTR certified professional coach. Eli is also a recent TTI (Tennis Teachers Institute) graduate and was mentored by Don Henson, one of the original 18 Master Professionals. He has 13 years of experience teaching tennis and has been playing for 43 years. Eli played high school and college tennis in the Philippines. He’s currently the Head Coach for Whitney High School in Cerritos, CA.
His mission is to provide every athlete a solid tennis foundation, skills, and tools to succeed in order for them to grow without limit. By doing this, Coach Eli has been successful with juniors and high school players to achieve their maximum performance. Teaching tennis has been Coach Eli’s passion and a gift that he loves to share. Not only for its health benefits but also as a tool for a lifetime experience.
Afif Demachkie
Staff professional
Afif fell in love with tennis in his home country of Lebanon where he played college tennis in 2003. HIs love for the game became a love for teaching, and he continued his passion by teaching both private and group lessons.
In 2015 he taught summer tennis camps, and instituted his own school for player development in 2017. He achieved his USPTA certification in 2018. He is currently an assistant head coach at Windward high school and teaches for iTennis Cerritos and iTennis La Habra.
He enjoys seeing the smiles on the faces of his students and loves to see their progress.
Stevan Quintanar
Staff professional
Stevan has been part of the iTennis Cerritos team for 2 years. He currently plays for Cerritos college and looks forward to transferring to a four year University in the fall of 2021.
As a player, Stevan was the #1 singles and doubles player for Cerritos HIgh School where he won 1st place in the League finals in both singles & doubles. He has achieved a UTR rating as high as 11.
He has been coaching for three years and loves developing consistent players who plan to play high school and/or college tennis.
Khanh Phan
Staff professional
Khanh started playing tennis at the age of 13 and has played on the Varsity Tennis Team for Western High School. In college, he was a member and Practice Coordinator of the UC Santa Barbara Competitive Club’s Tennis Team. After college, his love and passion for the game guided him into coaching at Whitney High School and iTennis Cerritos.
As a player, Khanh was the #1 singles at Western HS for all four years. In college, he was a member of the UCSB’s Club Tennis Team that participated at Sectional and National levels for USTA Tennis on Campus League. As Practice Coordinator, he was responsible for running practices that improved the technical and mental skills of club’s members as well as stretching and injury-prevention exercises post-practice.
Khanh has been coaching for three years and loves to help students improve their techniques, strategy and mentality on the tennis court. He aspires to spread his love for tennis to as many as he can and inspires students to develop a life-long passion for tennis just like he did.
Lauren Le
Staff professional
Lauren Le is currently a student at Cal State Fullerton pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Advertising. She grew up in the So Cal area competing in local USTA tournaments and Junior Team Tennis for over seven years. She played on the varsity tennis team for all four years at Fullerton Union High School.
Her competitive drive and love for tennis carried into college where she participated on CSUF’s club tennis team.
In her free time, Lauren volunteers for Serving Advantage, a non-profit organization that helps children with special needs develop fundamental tennis and social skills. She aspires to spread her knowledge and bring a positive attitude to the iTennis Cerritos community.
John Nguyen
Staff Professional
John caught the tennis “bug” relatively late compared to other players. He starting playing in the seventh grade at 12 years old and was so enamored with the sport that he didn’t miss a single day of practice for the next two years.
His hard work paid off as he was able to start playing Varsity singles on his high school team as a Freshman and played all four years.
He later walked on to his local junior college team for one year and then returned to coach is former high school team for two years.
One of his tennis highlights was participating in a clinic with former #1 in the world and 7 time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander. John was not only able to play with a legend, but also learn many invaluable insights into the game of tennis from one of the game’s legends.
He is PTR certified and feels fortunate to be able to teach tennis, a game that has taught him autonomy, self-discipline, sportsmanship, and contentment in life.