Rick Macci was born in Greenville, Ohio, United States on December 7, 1954, to his parents Norma and Santi. He was a good tennis and basketball player in high school and at college. In Ohio, he was the top-ranked tennis player in the under-18 category.
Macci started coaching in the 1970s at Bob Schul's Sports Complex in Ohio and Sinnet Indoor Tennis Club in Vineland, New Jersey. He had a decent career at the regional level and was the top-ranked adult player in New Jersey while working at Sinnet.
By 1985, he had established the Rick Macci International Tennis Academy in Florida. Some of Macci’s early clients included Tommy Ho and Jennifer Capriati. He achieved great success with Capriati in particular, helping her to reach number one in the WTA Rankings.
In the early 1990s, Macci coached Venus Williams and Serena Williams in Florida after they moved from California to Florida. However, the sisters left Macci’s coaching school in 1995 as their father took over control of their coaching.
Other high-profile players who developed under Macci’s guidance include former world number one Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova. He also worked with former Grand Slam winners Anastasia Myskina and Sofia Kenin. The American coach recognized Kenin’s potential in childhood and trained her from the age of five.
Macci has helped his players to achieve widespread success on the ATP and WTA tours. He is well known for being a proactive and hands-on coach who favors effective communication with his players.
In addition, he has attention to detail in correcting technical flaws in player’s games. Macci has received several accolades for his contribution to professional tennis as a coach. In 2010, he was inducted into the USPTA Florida Hall of Fame. Then, in 2017, he became the youngest person ever to enter the USPTA Hall of Fame.
