Local tennis pro has ties to the greats

UW Alum: Eric Drew once prepared top-ranked Martina Hingis for competition

GAIL WOOD; The Olympian | • Published November 06, 2009

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Eric Drew grew up wanting to play tennis professionally.

It didn’t quite turn out as he planned.

Instead of playing at Wimbledon, he coached a player who did.

Drew, an All-American at the University of Washington during the late 1990s, was the hitting coach for Martina Hingis, formerly the world’s top-ranked women’s player.

Drew was recently hired as club pro and instructor at the Valley Athletic Club in Tumwater.

“Martina’s mom had seen me working out and wanted me to play and meet her daughter,” Drew said. “We went out, played a couple of sets. I did pretty well against her and 10 minutes after playing, her mom hired me.”

From 2000 to 2002, Drew was Hingis’ hitting coach, traveling with her across the country. At 6-foot-3, Drew gave Hingis a practice opponent to prepare her for Lindsey Davenport and the Williams sisters, three tall and powerful players.

“Martina’s mom saw how a lot of players were stronger,” Drew said. “I was tall and lanky. So, I just got lucky enough to work with Martina at her absolute peak of her game. It was a great experience.”

After graduating from the University of Washington in 1999, Drew moved to Saddlebrook Resort, a tennis mecca in Tampa, Fla. It was there that Drew met Hingis.

Drew has had other encounters with the biggest names of tennis. He was a roommate with James Blake, played in practice with Pete Sampras and played in a pro tournament in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

“I had a blast being on the same court and playing with Pete Sampras,” Drew said.

Drew’s rich tennis résumé includes reaching the NCAA semifinals, making All-American in doubles and singles and setting a single-season record for wins at UW. He had an 86-34 record at UW, second best all-time at the school.

After playing in tennis’ minor leagues for several years, he became Hingis’ hitting coach, taking him a different direction. He said one of his favorite wins was beating his dad when he was 12.

Drew, 32, grew up in Woodinville and his father graduated from Olympia High School in 1960.

Drew said he works with players of any age, but his niche is more “junior varsity to more high-performance kids in high school who are looking to take their game to the next level.”

He wants to start a high performance academy in the mornings.

“I love working with kids who like to work hard and who have goals and like improving,” Drew said.

Gail Wood: 360-754-5443

gwood@theolympian.com