Neeru Jayanthi, M.D. Emory Sports Medicine Center Director, Emory Tennis Medicine and Co-Director, TMSI (Tennis Medicine Science Institute) Director Emory Sports Medicine Research and Education Co-director Emory Youth Sports Medicine Program Director, Emory Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Professor Orthopedics and Family Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine Dr. Jayanthi is a past president for the Society for Tennis and Medicine Science (STMS). He serves as a medical advisor for the WTA (Woman’s Tennis Association) Player Development Panel, a volunteer ATP tournament physician for nearly 25 years, and serves as the Chair of the USTA Sport Science Committee. He sees >1200 adult, junior, and high performance tennis player visits annual and coordinates care regionally with tennis-specific providers. He has been a course director nearly 30 times and has been an invited speaker over 200 times to local, regional conferences as well as at national and international academy conferences. He has been published nearly 100 times much of which is on tennis medicine and science and youth athletes. He has been voted by his peers as an Atlanta “Top Doctor” since 2018. He is a proud husband and father to 2 young active tennis-playing boys. Dr. Jayanthi, has been featured and/or appeared on >150 media outlets including HBO Real Sports, ESPN, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post. He has been USPTA (RSPA) and PTR certified and is an active competitive adult tennis player. |
Mark Kovacs, PhD, FACSM, CSCS, CTPS, MTPS CEO, Kovacs Institute Executive Director, International Tennis Performance Association Co-Director, TMSI (Tennis Medicine Science Institute) Dr. Kovacs has diverse background working with athletes across sports. It included directing Sport Science & Coaching Education for the USTA, Directed the Gatorade Sport Science Institute (GSSI), Directed Sport Science & Health for the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) and has worked with more than two dozen Top 100 ATP and WTA Professionals. Dr. Kovacs is a Fellow of American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and was awarded the Educational Merit Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the Doc Counsilman Award from the US Olympic Committee for his work utilizing sport science to help Olympic athletes succeed at the highest level. |
Tony Tran, MAT, ATC, CTPS Tony Tran is a certified athletic trainer for Emory Sports Medicine’s Tennis Medicine program. His outreach extends to partner tennis academies, clubs, tennis state and national organizations, tournaments, and works with tennis athletes of all ages and skill levels. He is a member of the Society for Tennis Medicine and Science. Additionally, he is a Certified Tennis Performance Specialist through the International Tennis Performance Association. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science at Georgia State University, where he was also the Co-Founder of the GSU Tennis Club. He went on to receive his Master of Athletic Training degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
Adriana Acuña, MS, ATC, OT-SC
Adriana Acuña is a surgical athletic trainer at the Emory Musculoskeletal Institute working in foot and ankle surgery. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training at Georgia College and State University where she also competed on the women’s NCAA Division II tennis team. She holds a Master of Science in Sports Medicine from Armstrong State University, where she also served as graduate assistant athletic trainer for their NCAA Division II men’s and women’s tennis teams. Adriana completed the Emory Athletic Training Residency Program and has continued her specialization in the clinical and surgical orthopedic setting. She serves as athletic trainer for junior and professional tennis tournaments in Georgia. She is passionate about community engagement and volunteering, traveling, and enjoys playing in local tennis leagues. |
Alexis Antista, CSCS, CTPS, MTPS
Alexis is the Director of Training & Performance at the Kovacs Institute. Alexis grew up as a competitive tennis player in Atlanta and continued to play into college. Her freshman year at Palm Beach Atlantic University, she helped her team win the NCCAA National title. The following year, she transferred to the University of Utah and graduated in 2016 with a B.S. in Health & Nutrition. The summer after graduating she discovered her passion for sports science and began her career as a strength & conditioning coach. Alexis started her internships at the University of Utah (2016-2017) and Georgia Tech (2017-2018) before moving into the private sector at the Kovacs Institute. Working with tennis players is a specialty for Alexis considering her tennis background. However she has worked with a diverse number of sports and athletes during her time as a coach including junior individual and team sports, college teams, professional and recreational sports. She is certified through the National Strength & Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), a Master Tennis Performance Specialist (MTPS) through the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) and certified through USA Weightlifting. |
Kayla Fujimoto Epperson, DPT, CSCS, CTPS
Kayla is a physical therapist and Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist specializing in Tennis Medicine. She was a former Division I tennis player at Indiana University and has continued on to dedicate her career to advancing clinical research and specialized care for tennis players. Kayla currently works as a private physiotherapist for WTA professional tennis athletes. |