Tennis

Head Coach
tennis@destinhigh.org | 850-204-4044

Fernando Guarachi is a long time certified member of the United States Professional association.
Born and raised in Santiago, Chile and began playing tennis at 10 years of age in the red clay courts of a country that has produced several top men professional tennis players. After a successful junior carreer which included national scholastic, junior and college national championships he attended the University of Alabama on a tennis scholarship and graduated with a Business Adm. degree. At the Crimson Tide he played top positions in the tennis team.

Soon after graduating played professional events in the US, Caribbean and Europe and from there went on to be the Tennis Director at Palmas del Mar Resort in Puerto Rico, the largest tennis facility in the Caribbean. At Palmas del Mar he coached many of his club members, guests, several of the top Puerto Rican Juniors and many celebrities including writer Stephen King and members of the Kennedy family.

As Tennis Director at the resort he directed numerous PRTA sanctioned events, many Professional events and founded and directed the Grand Masters Tennis Vacation teaching in conjunction with former Grand Slam event winners and former Davis Cup Players such as Pancho Gonzales, Sven Davidson and Vic Seixas.

In Puerto Rico he started and directed a tennis club management partnership with Italian Paolo Bodo who then Manager of the Tennis portion of the Italian sportswear FILA. The company consulted and managed different tennis clubs at resort throughout the caribbean. The Palmas del Mar tennis programs achieved a “top 25 tennis resort in the World” under his direction.

One of their location was Sandestin Beach Resort was in Destin , Florida where Fernando moved to and became Tennis Director. Only after a year under Fernando Guarachi ’s direction after the Tennis programs where as a top 50 tennis resort in the U.S. by a leading Tennis publication. While at Sandestin Fernando coached numerous juniors and professional tennis tour players and participated in many tennis exhibitions. A great number of his juniors tennis players went on to US Colleges receiving tennis scholarships. Year after year Fernando brought ATP tour players and WTA players to do exhibitions and practice at the then unique grass tennis courts.

In the the mid 80’s Fernando moved on to the neighboring in Destin , to the Seascape Beach, Golf and Tennis Resort’s Destin Tennis Club in bringing to the resort his wealth of coaching and management experience.

At the Destin Tennis Club, Fernando and his wife Holley have organized a full fledge tennis program. They are very proud of their involvement in the community as they organized many USTA sanctioned adult and junior events as well as the most successful Fundraising event in the area which has raised nearly $1 million dollars for children with Mental and physical disabilities, particulary those afflicted with Down Syndrome.

At Seascape’s Destin Tennis Club has continued to coach numerous international, national, sectional and regional juniors players who under his coaching have been able to move on to professional competition or to tennis colleges in the United states many receiving tennis scholarships.

Fernando and his wife Holley taught their daughter Alexa and under Fernando’s coaching Alexa won several national and international championship junior championships and in 2008 played every Grand Slam junior event. Alexa was the U.S national clay Court Champion at age 14. Like many of his students Alexa opted to go on to college receiving a Full four year scholarship at the University of Alabama.

Through their commitment to Tennis and the community the Guarachi’s have coached local school teams including Destin Mid Bay school who won the sectional and regional event.

In 2009 they took the South Walton high School tennis into second place in the state of Florida High school championship while their daughter Alexa won the number one position and the individual State championship and achieving All-American status.