Gyata Stormon

I’m an author and tennis coach, living in upstate New York with my husband and one cat. As a coach, I specialize in introducing adults to the game and developing doubles players. I was born in Vancouver, Canada and completed my coaching certification in Canada in 1995. I’ve learned about doubles through study, practice, coaching, playing and competing. My coaching style blends tactics (how to play the game), technique (the tennis strokes), movement, mind/body awareness and fun!

I’ve always loved to play at net and therefore excel at doubles. As a junior, I was a top Canadian player. In college, I played Division 1 tennis at the University of Iowa, winning the Big Ten Doubles Championship in 1982. As an adult, I competed a lot from 2006 to 2013. During this time I played with many great partners. I won the Canadian Senior 45s Doubles Championship three times, advanced to the USTA Nationals three times at the 4.5 level and represented Canada at the Senior World Championships in 2007.

I’m a sociologist by training, so I’m good at organizing information. I’m always looking for new material and better ways to play and teach. On the Ball: Doubles Tennis Tactics for Recreational Players began as notes prepared for my students. Eventually I had so many drafts for different level students, and so many pages I still wanted to write, it was time to put it together in one convenient book. I’ve loved writing this book and making all the diagrams that accompany it. I plan to write more.