The historic Hartford Tennis Club (HTC) is located in a beautiful setting near Bishops Corner in West Hartford, CT. The Club is member-owned, which gives it a heartfelt feeling each time you enter and play.
In 2026, HTC is proud to bring in Racquets For Life and their professional staff to lead all operations and next level programming for all levels of players and ages. They currently oversee tennis programming in Simsbury, the Mandell JCC of Greater Hartford Swim & Tennis Club in Bloomfield, and now HTC!
Malena Gordo, former professionally ranked tennis player and junior grand slam participant will join RFL Owner Jim Burda, former 2-time NCAA Division III National Doubles Champion, and the highly qualified RFL Professional Staff. To learn more about RFL and their staff, visit their website here.
Officers:
Wendy Bartlett, President
Jeff Forman, Vice President
Jim Stapleton, Treasurer
Janet Traceski, Secretary
Monica Katzen, Membership Secretary
Directors:
Aram Bolduc
Jim Byrne
Deborah Dunlap
Petar Efremov
Dan Greden
Claudia Phelan
Allan Polak
Allison Sharlow
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Adam started playing competitive tennis in 2010, playing on his local high school team and then for WCSU in Danbury, CT for 4 years. He started teaching in 2018 at Simsmore Tennis, now RFL Simsbury, applying his passion for playing the game to helping others improve their tennis skills. He has been coaching the U14 Junior Team program at RFL since 2020 and coaches both adult and junior players — taking them from beginners to playing competitively on USTA and high school tennis teams.
Ryan is a grad student in the Sports Management masters program through the University of Florida. He is a RSPA level 2 certified tennis instructor and an IPTPA level 1 certified pickleball instructor. He also graduated from Roger Williams University in 2023, where he played Division 3 tennis, and served as a captain his senior year.
Steve has been playing tennis since he was 5 years old, began playing tournaments at around 12, and trained at the Harry Hopman Academy during high school. He played D1 tennis at Boston University and after graduating spent several years teaching and playing prize money tournaments. These days Steve regularly competes in USTA senior national tournaments.
Max brings an engaged and lively coaching style and 10+ years of tennis coaching experience to RFL — where he played in our junior program growing up! Max is the Assistant Director at the largest sleepaway tennis camp in the country (Nike Tennis Camp at Mount Holyoke College), the Director of Tennis at Watkinson School in Hartford, and is a former UTR collegiate tennis player at Clark University where he was team captain senior year.
Denise has been playing tennis since she was 5 years old. She played for her high school team, trained at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, and continues to compete at the USTA level. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2023 where she played Division I tennis and was co-captain her senior year.
Glenn first played tennis competitively as a junior and then on his high school team. As a 4.5 player he has played in USTA leagues and has won many club championships in singles, doubles, and mixed. Glenn has taught tennis at various stages in his career, currently working with children at RFL’s Horizon’s Program and the JCC summer camp team. Glenn is also accomplished in the platform tennis world and recently led RFL’s efforts for the Westminster Platform Tennis program. Glenn began playing tennis at age seven when his parents introduced him and his sister to this game that became a lifetime avocation for the entire family.
Kaya has been playing tennis since age 2, and tournaments since 7. So far, her top achievements include rankings of top 5 in the US (16 + 18 & under) and top 250 in the world. Her proudest tournament titles are a Gold Ball in doubles and a Silver Ball in singles at the Level 1 18s Indoor Nationals.
Karina started tennis at 2 years old. Her highest junior ranking to date was top 150 nationally, top 5 in New England, and #1 in Connecticut. She also received the Sportsmanship Award at the USTA New England Sectional Championships. One of her highlights has been winning the Bronze Ball at the Indoor National Championships.
Lauryn earned her Masters in Criminal Justice and currently works as a federal contractor for the government. She co-led the summer junior camps at Westhampton Beach Tennis and Sport on Long Island for three years. She is a former Division II collegiate tennis player at the University of New Haven. Lauryn has been working and playing at RFL for 3 years.
