Brian MacPhie during a victorious moment.
By CARSON FIELD, Four Points News
Once a professional tennis player, Brian MacPhie is now giving back to the game of tennis in Austin.
MacPhie previously played on the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour for almost 15 years, from 1993 – 2005. On the tour, he won seven doubles titles and reached a career-high doubles ATP ranking #1 with Mark Knowles. His singles ATP ranking was #126.
He has plenty of accomplishments from his playing career, but he is most proud of his durability on tour.
“I am most proud of the longevity I had playing on tour for almost 15 years,” MacPhie said. “It
takes an incredible amount of dedication and sacrifice.”
Now retired from the tour, MacPhie has found a new life in tennis — coaching. That’s how he wound up coaching in the Four Points area.
“Coming out here, I was working for a company that was based out of Austin,” MacPhie said. “They were looking to bring me here in their corporate offices.
“And in the meantime, I got a phone call from a player on tour who wanted to know if I’d be willing to coach him. And he actually lived here, so it was one of those things that fell into place,” he said.
Before coming to Texas, MacPhie lived mainly in California. He attended University of Southern California and played on the Trojans’ tennis team at the collegiate level.
According to Macphie, his passion for coaching comes from the coaching he received throughout his career.
“Coaching’s always been there for me,” MacPhie said. “It’s one of those things — sometimes players kind of live tennis, and I’m always willing to help someone else.”
“I’ve had some of the best coaching in the world from my background from playing in the juniors in the US National Team from going to college at SC and ultimately turning pro and going on tour for close to 15 years,” MacPhie added.
Locally, MacPhie teaches lessons to players of all skill levels at the World of Tennis in Lakeway, and he previously worked for the 512 Elite Tennis program. Also, MacPhie has traveled on tour with professionals as a coach.
MacPhie’s main point of advice to young tennis players is rather simple — repetitions.
“Practice a lot,” MacPhie said. “If you’re looking to do it as far as playing in tournaments or looking to get a college scholarship, it takes a lot of time and effort.”
In the years to come, MacPhie hopes to increase the number of kids playing tennis. “I hope to get more kids choosing to play tennis and keep the growth of the sport
soaring in the right direction so that our country can continue to have many
future champions for generations to come,” MacPhie said.