Next Level Smash

When Davy Hairston was asked if he was ready to work at a public tennis facility in his interview, he asked, “Are you ready for me?”
Hairston recently returned to Charleston, where he lived during high school, to take over as the head tennis professional at the Charleston Tennis Center on Farmfield Avenue.
Before that, he had served stints at country clubs in the Charlottesville, Vir., area. In college, he played number one at the University of Virginia his last two years after walking on as a freshman.
Hairston spent some time on the “satellite tour,” but never earned a world ranking, choosing to stick closer to home rather than travel internationally to be nearer to his ailing father, who had been a local cardiac surgeon.
Hairston replaces longtime teaching pro Fredrik Andersson, who returned to Europe after 14 years, following his wife to her native country of Germany and her job with a major automaker.
Hairston said his vision is for there to be an even bigger focus on customer service at the center. “A lot of people have the perception that public courts aren’t well maintained or that the teaching isn’t as good,” said Hairston, rejecting that perspective.
Going forward, Hairston wants to see instruction ratios tightened closer to four students per teacher. “That way, the instructor can focus on what’s going on on his or her court, and not have kids hitting and warming up on a back court,” he said.
The Charleston Tennis Center is located at 19 Farmfield Ave. For more information, call (843) 766-7401.