From Player to Mentor: The Coaching
Journey of Tigran Martirosyan

This October, National Coaches Month shines a spotlight on the coaches who guide athletes not just to success, but toward growth, resilience, and joy in the sport. For Southern California’s Tigran Martirosyan, tennis has always been more than a game—it’s been his first love, one he has devoted over 35 years to. From his earliest days on court in Armenia to his current role shaping future champions in Los Angeles, Tigran embodies the unique balance of tennis coach, mentor, and father with positivity and poise.

A Tennis Journey That Came Full Circle

Tigran started playing tennis in Armenia at just seven years old after his father introduced him to the sport. What started as casual play quickly grew into a passion strong enough to carry him across continents. At 15, Tigran was sponsored by the Armenian Tennis Association to come to the United States, where he trained at the Burbank Tennis Center, a move that changed the trajectory of his life.

As a college player, Tigran excelled at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) for his two first years of school, where he made history as the first LMU tennis player to achieve a collegiate singles ranking. He then transferred to the University of Kentucky, where his doubles success earned him All-American honors. Ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation with partner Jesse Witten, he competed against future ATP stars like John Isner and Kevin Anderson, recording doubles victories that remain career highlights. He also represented Armenia as a Davis Cup team member, describing the experience as an “amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity playing for my country and contributing to the team’s success.”

Another notable memory from Tigran’s professional career came at an International Tennis Federation (ITF) Men’s World Tennis tournament in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “I played against Bradley Klahn (Poway native with a career high ATP ranking of 63) and lost to him in a third set tie breaker 17-15 after he and I both had several match points. It was a back and forth match and he eventually won.” Despite the tough loss, Tigran had earned bragging rights just a week earlier, defeating Klahn in another ITF event in Rochester, New York.

Though his time on the ATP Tour was brief, Tigran gained invaluable experience from life as a professional athlete. His decision to remain in the U.S. for immigration reasons kept him from traveling the international circuit, but it also set the stage for his next chapter: coaching.

Finding His Calling as a Coach

When his playing days ended in 2009, Tigran faced a crossroads: pursue a career in finance, where he earned an MBA from Eastern Kentucky University, or stay with the game he loved most. Tennis, he realized, was not just his skillset, but his calling.

“I was still in love with tennis [when I stopped playing professionally] and I knew I could pass down the knowledge to the younger generation. So it wasn’t that difficult for me to make the decision to coach—I loved the sport too much. Teaching tennis was my first love, and so I ended up following those steps,” Tigran reflects.

In 2010, he began his coaching career in Boston, spending a decade at local clubs, refining his craft, and building the reputation of a coach deeply invested in his players. There, he worked with many players, including Matt Kuhar, a current professional tennis player on the ATP tour. “I started working with Matt when he was 14 years old and I was his main coach. This was when I was teaching in the Boston area. He would drive up and back from Rhode Island to Massachusetts to have a lesson with me, and he never had a practice where he didn’t put in full effort. I loved his work ethic and the determination he was practicing with. He was like a sponge and was eager to take in every single word of advice I would give. It made it easier working with him as a coach when I saw how much he wanted to improve and succeed,” Tigran says. Now 29 years old, Matt is ranked 899 in the ATP with a career high ranking of 844.

In 2020, Tigran returned to Los Angeles with his family after coaching in Boston for ten years. Today, he works out of the Burbank Tennis Center where his tennis career first began, bringing his story full circle.

Building Xellence Tennis

After a few years living and coaching in Los Angeles, Tigran launched his own company Xellence Tennis in 2023, with the vision of creating a high-performance academy that fosters purpose, discipline, and excellence for the sport. Through a partnership with Khachatryan Tennis Academy (KTA), led by his former coach and longtime mentor Harut Khachatryan who helped Tigran come to the U.S., the duo deliver top-tier training programs primarily for kids and junior players.

With group, private, and fitness classes, Xellence Tennis has something to offer for anyone committed to improving their game. The academy even offers an invitation-only elite homeschool tennis program for tournament-level players under 17, providing focused, high-level training in a professional setting. Regardless of age or skill level, Tigran takes pride in seeing his students build their skills and find success on the court.

One of Tigran’s proudest coaching moments is working with 10-year-old twin sensations William and Lindy Zhou from Glendale, whom he’s taught the past two years at Xellence Tennis. The duo have won their fair share of tournaments, including each winning their respective 10 and under singles bracket in the 2024 “Little Mo” Nationals in Austin, Texas, with Lindy also claiming the Girls’ 12s USTA SoCal Junior Sectionals crown this summer. 

“William and Lindy are phenoms. I have never seen in my 35 years of being in tennis such talented, mature kids that are years ahead of their time at just 10 years of age. It’s a unique experience for me working with them because I have never had students where I didn’t even have to teach them. They already do things on the court far ahead of their age and physical size. I am excited to see where they will be in a few years,” he remarks.

Balancing Dad and Tennis Coach

Coaching extends into his family, too; Tigran works with his 11-year-old son who has embraced the sport wholeheartedly. “It’s hard to get him off the court,” he says proudly. His nine-year-old daughter, however, has chosen a different path in swimming, which Tigran supports equally. His two youngest children, aged one and a half and three months, are, of course, taking on the role of dad’s biggest supporters.

Balancing the dual roles of parent and coach comes with its challenges, especially in group settings, as he needs to divide his attention between his son and other players. “It’s definitely difficult, especially in group settings. Sometimes I catch myself paying attention to my son a little too much, naturally. I have to monitor the whole situation as a group. So it’s a learning process.”

He continues: “I’m trying to have other coaches handle my son as well and for him to have the independence to not just look my way every time he misses a shot. He knows that I’ve played professionally, so he respects my opinion.”

Despite the balancing act, coaching his son brings immense joy. When asked who his favorite players are, his son lists Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz—and his dad. For Tigran, that acknowledgment means more than any victory or trophy.

The Rewards of Mentorship

After 15 years of coaching, it’s clear that the moments that mean the most to Tigran don’t have to do with titles or rankings. Instead, it’s the breakthroughs and small wins each day that truly bring him happiness. 

“For me, the greatest feeling as a coach is pushing my students in the right direction to find solutions [on the court]. It takes me back to those days when I was really struggling and there wasn’t anybody that could lead me in the right direction because I didn’t have a coach for the longest time. But because I have done it, I feel the satisfaction in being able to lead them towards the right direction. That’s one of the moments as a coach that I enjoy the most and feel proud of,” Tigran reflects.

His advice to aspiring coaches? Passion must come first and always be willing to continuously improve your craft. “If you’re only doing it for the money, it might not be your calling,” he cautions. Instead, coaching demands a genuine passion for the sport, continuous learning, and humility to consider new perspectives.

This philosophy mirrors the values of USTA Coaching, where continuous education and athlete development are at the heart of the profession. Just as USTA Coaching provides pathways for coaches to learn, grow, and connect, Tigran has built his own career on the belief that great coaching comes from passion and a willingness to learn and keep evolving.

“You should really want to coach and help people. That’s super important. Another major thing is to continuously educate yourself because there’s so much that you can learn, and you can always become a better coach. To this day, I try to become better and better.”

Why Tigran Keeps Going

Tigran continues to be driven by the same force that first brought him to tennis: a genuine passion for the game. His company, players, and children are testaments to the impact a coach can have.

When asked what made him want to coach, it wasn’t a person or player, but the immense love he’s always had for tennis.“The sport itself is what got me into coaching,” he says. “It was the love for the game, and knowing that that’s what you’re good at, that’s what you love to do…it wasn’t that hard of a decision for me to make.”

As National Coaches Month reminds us, the best coaches leave a legacy far beyond wins and losses. For Tigran Martirosoyan, that legacy is already clear: a generation of players empowered to learn, grow, and find joy in the sport.

“As long as you see your students improve and see the happiness in their faces, that makes me happy and gives me the satisfaction that I need as a coach to keep me going. If you’re genuinely interested and invested in the child’s success, it shows,” he remarks.