I started playing tennis as an adult at age of 37 from the beginner level. Before meeting coach Dimitri, I tried different coaches, but their style of coaching didn't help me much. Dimitri with his coaching system and experience opened my eyes to "real" tennis by starting to work on my technique from scratch. I was amazed by his approach of seeing "bad habits" right away and correcting my technique in a short period of time.  It was just semiprivate lessons every second week. After each lesson, I was working on what I learned from him using my ball machine till my next semiprivate lesson. He "infected " me with his passion for tennis. 

His coaching approach was so effective that in just 4 months I went to my first tournament and got my first trophy in singles 3.0 category.  By learning some new stuff and correcting my technique with Dimitri just for a couple of months before the tournament season, I improved my skills till Advance level just in a few seasons. My best result is the trophy as a finalist in singles 4.0 category in Stanley park Open- the biggest tournament in British Columbia. Dimitri also has a unique efficient coaching system for juniors. He started coaching my daughter when she was 11 years old. She was kind of late in her tennis development. But after just one year of regular lessons with Dimitri she improved her technique, became one of the top 10 ranking players in BC in her age category, and started bringing her trophies home.  I am very grateful to Dimitri for his unique talent of teaching for making tennis to be a part of our lives.  He is the best coach I have ever met!

Natalia Smirnova

I met coach Dimitri in Vancouver, Canada and have known him for 12 years. He was my son’s tennis coach for 8 years.  Dimitri is very knowledgeable and has a great approach with the players. He works equally well with beginners and high-performance athletes. Under his guidance, hundreds of kids developed excellent tennis skills and a love for the game. Under Dimitri’s coaching, the kids were improving and showing outstanding results.
He has a holistic approach to preparation incorporating fitness, nutrition, and mental readiness.
Dimitri also trained coaches and created a wonderful team of specialists at Global Tennis Academy. His achievements were recognized in Canada and he received multiple awards for his work. Dimitri has a great personality and communicates positively with the parents, co-workers, and players. I am very pleased with Dimitri’s work and my son’s achievements. I strongly recommend Dimitri as a tennis coach.

Theodora Runtova

Dimitri was the most thoughtful, caring coach I have ever had.  He came to practice every day with an infectious energy that made learning tennis and being at the courts so much fun. Many days he stayed extra hours to give me individual attention working on my technique and strategy.  He gave me clear visuals to remember technique on my shots and created a space that was safe to learn and make mistakes to learn from. 
Dimitri’s emphasis on footwork and technique is amazing and goes hand in hand with his incredible knowledge of the game and ability to connect with each player he teaches. His instructional techniques were different for each athlete and he was able to connect with each of us on a personal level giving us nicknames and getting to know us as people before athletes. Each practice was structured with goals in mind while also being able to find time for having fun and learning new shots. 

Dimitri is extremely creative in his instruction starting each practice with a purpose and introducing new skills in a way that was fun. I remember playing touch games to start practice to work on my feel and drop shots while having no idea that this was what was happening. Dimitri is the most amazing, personable coach I have ever had!

Rosie Johanson
Former U16, U18 Canadian National Champion