Gregory "Spike" Gonzales

The club’s tennis program is overseen by Tennis Director Gregory “Spike” Gonzales, who started as a tennis instructor in the park system of his hometown at Penfield, New York, in 1964. After a year of working as an educational training specialist for Xerox Corporation, Gonzales joined the pro staff of Chicago’s Mid-Town Tennis Club, which was then the world’s second largest indoor tennis club. He went on to work with the Club’s ownership to help build Tennis Corporation of America (TCA), which grew to having 30 clubs nationwide. Gonzales retired as the company’s Chief Operating Officer in 1991.

Gonzales has been instrumental in many aspects of tennis growth nationally. He is considered a founder of the National Tennis Rating Program, bringing together the various national tennis organizations in the late 1970s to adopt the universal tennis player system that has become the cornerstone for national league play.

He also consulted extensively with the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) in developing senior programs and in rolling out the USTA’s “Play Tennis America” program to attract new players.

Gonzales has been inducted into the Eastern Professional Tennis Hall of Fame and Rochester Tennis Hall of Fame. In 2006, he joined Wilderness Country Club where he provides instruction to both adults and children. His programs and lessons are taught in a fashion to make learning and playing fun and fulfilling.

Gonzales also actively teaches tennis to kids through the Collier County Parks and Recreation and has championed the sport of Pop Tennis, which is an alternative to the rapidly growing Pickleball game.

Gonzales is trained as an Elite Professional by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association and was named Collier County “Tennis Pro of the Year” by the Florida of the USPTA Convention in both 2012 and 2018.