Scottsdale Tennis Resort

Dave Critchley - Tennis Director

Dave grew up in a tennis club where his mother, Frances, was a tennis professional and his father ran the club’s pro shop. He moved to the valley in 1994 to play for Arizona State University and never left.

Dave has been coaching ever since retiring from playing professionally in 2000. He has worked mostly with elite juniors and college players but has also worked at resorts in Arizona including The Buttes, Scottsdale Plaza Resort, and the Scottsdale Radisson.

As Men’s Head Tennis Coach of Scottsdale Community College, he has elevated the status of the tennis program earning both ACCAC Conference and NJCAA Region I Championships all four years including four straight undefeated conference seasons and a 3rd place finish in the NJCAA National Championships in 2007. He has also been awarded ACCAC Men's Coach of the year in four consecutive seasons.

Dave is a USPTA Certified P1 tennis professional as well as a USA Tennis certified High Performance Coach. He is the founder and director of The Players Academy, an elite tennis academy for highly ranked juniors. Many of his students have gone on to play tennis at NCAA DI colleges including U of Florida, Notre Dame, Cal Irvine, Marquette, Arizona State, New Mexico and NAU.

Prior to attending ASU he played #1 singles and doubles for West Virginia University earning All-Conference honors. He played professionally on the ATP Tour for three years and held ATP world ranking in both singles and doubles. Dave also represented Canada at the Pan American Games in 1999.

Dan Kilen - Assistant Tennis Director

Dan has a distinguished and extensive teaching resume. He has 15 years of experience and has been a head pro at the American Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. He has also held the position of head professional at Vince Barclay Tennis Academy in Sydney, Australia, the Willowbend Country Club in Cape Cod, and Club Med in both Port St. Lucia and Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Locally, Dan has been Director of Junior Development for “The Player’s Academy”, a local elite junior program and the Head Coach for Scottsdale Community College’s nationally-ranked women’s tennis program. Before that, he was a head pro for Arizona Tennis Association and taught at both La Camarilla and the Biltmore Resort.

Dan graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Dan was a top-ranked junior here in the valley and played college tennis at Scottsdale Community College. He is USPTA P1 Certified.

Gustavo Sanchez - Head Tennis Pro

Gustavo has acquired considerable coaching skills from playing and coaching on the ATP Tour at the Futures, WTA Tour and the Master Series levels. He had the privilege of playing in college on a tennis scholarship at Dowling College in New York. He achieved a career-high ranking of 7th in the country (2005 NCAA-II singles ranking).

Gustavo has 8 years of coaching experience and has been certified by the USPTA since 2006. His forte is coaching high-competition players toward their personal goals. He has also worked for prestigious clubs in New York and Arizona. His dream is to coach a player to victory in a Grand Slam tournament.

Dave Umlah - Head Tennis Pro

Dave has a lifetime of experience in the game of tennis. From playing competitive junior and college tennis to coaching and currently owning Paradise Tennis, a local tennis retail store. Dave has done it all when it comes to this great game.

Dave has been a head coach at both the high school and collegiate level including a stint as head coach for Scottsdale Community College. Dave has taught at several resorts in Arizona including The Buttes and The Legacy in addition to co-founding The Player’s Academy. As Prince’s Regional Sales Manager, Dave ran numerous clinics, demo days, and many other events. After a distinguished junior career here in Arizona, Dave played his college tennis for the University of Arizona and earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Arizona State University in Exercise Science with a major-emphasis in Sports Psychology.

Iveta Kuhnel - Assistant Tennis Pro

Iveta Kuhnel began playing tennis at the age of seven in her native country, Czechoslovakia. At the age of 18, her junior career culminated by earning her a professional tennis instructor license. During her college years, she played international tournaments throughout Europe and led the University Tennis Club team to two Championships. As a top ranked player in the Czech Republic, she captured the Audi Cup in Ingolstad in 1986. Iveta has 16 years of experience as a tennis instructor in the Czech Republic, Germany, and USA. She has been at the Scottsdale Resort and Athletic Club for six years.