PLAY TENNIS. PRACTICE YOGA.®

Margit Bannon’s love affair with the sport of Tennis dates to her playing career with experience in top tier International Junior Tournaments such as the Orange Bowl and Easter Bowl, while training at the renowned Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida (now IMG Academy.) She also had success as a Division 1 Scholarship Athlete at Miami University (Ohio), including MAC conference Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman, where she earned a B.S. in Mass Communications.

As a USPTA Elite certified professional with 25 years of coaching experience, she offers league team clinics for women, men and mixed, start-up beginner/novice programs, and one-on-one personalized development lessons including practice/sparring sessions for more advanced players. She teaches mainly at her business: Play Tennis. Practice Yoga.®, located in Punta Gorda, Florida, where she is both the Tennis Director and Head Tennis Professional.

Margit is also an E-RYT & YACEP (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher & Continuing Education Provider) through the national Yoga Alliance) teaching for the past 15 years, who now specializes in teaching Yoga for Tennis at her home business and beyond.

In January of 2018 & 2020, Margit had the opportunity to host the Miami University Women's tennis team for their winter training camp, that included not only tennis with their coaches, but yoga sessions in between practices, concluding with a group yoga practice at the end of the week, to enhance their mental toughness in preparation for tournament play. Since then, Margit has maintained a great relationship in support of her Alma Mater, having travelled to volunteer her time with yoga sessions for the team during tournaments at FGCU in 2023, with talks to potentially host the team again for their Winter Training Camp in January of 2025.
 

Also, as a member of the USTA National Cardio Tennis Trainer Team (headed by Michele Krause), Margit hosts monthly events in season, combining Cardio Tennis and Yoga for Tennis to her students. These events have been sold out since the inception of this unique offering since 2020. Other events hosted at Play Tennis. Practice Yoga. ® include Yoga, Wine, Feeling Fine! (a benefit for the Arts & Humanities Council of Charlotte County) Yoga Rebalance for Tennis-and Everyone, Yoga, Wine & Beauty (in collaboration with and support of other female entrepreneurs in Punta Gorda, Florida) and a Wilson Tennis + Yoga for Tennis demo event (to benefit local tennis shop, Wrigley’s Tennis.)

Notable off-site events include teaching Yoga for Tennis at the Miami Open & PGA National (with Love Serving Autism in 2022), being the yoga teacher on staff at the Women’s W25 WTA Tournament in Sarasota in 2022, and Men’s ATP Sarasota Open in 2023, with classes scheduled for the public ahead of tournament play in this year’s 2024 Challenger event. In both 2022 & 2023 Margit presented Yoga for Tennis to her peers at the USPTA Florida conferences with another scheduled for summer of 2024. In 2023, she was honored to lead yoga on a national stage at the USPTA World Conference in Orlando.

At the conclusion of the 2023 World Conference, Margit was hired to film a Yoga for Tennis Series for the Fit4Tennis application, that can be accessed worldwide via the internet, as part of a video library that includes her with some of the top coaches in the tennis industry.

Upcoming events include leading “National Hit to be Fit Day” on May 19th 2024 with her Cardio Tennis Team trainers at the flagship location at Lake Nona, FL (of which there will be hundreds of other locations nationwide) at the USTA National Campus, in conjunction with National Tennis Month.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Margit has also made a name for herself as a content creator (influencing others in growing the sport of tennis) through her social media channels.  She has a YouTube Channel: Play Tennis. Practice Yoga. ® where she offers mini lessons for both Tennis and Yoga for Tennis that players can access, with guidance on how to practice mindful techniques before, during, and after tennis play. Because of this social presence, Margit has been invited as a guest, and featured on podcasts such as: At the Net Podcast, Beyond the Baselines, The Slice, and Vida Tennis Podcast. She has also been featured in and has published articles of her own for both USPTA’s ADDVantage Magazine and Racquet Sports Industry Magazine various times with more publications coming soon.

At the same time, Margit’s social media presence was also gaining attention on her Facebook: Play Tennis. Practice Yoga. ® and Instagram: @playtennispracticeyoga business accounts with brands and various companies taking notice. Margit has worked on content creation, representing brands such as : Swing Vision, Eleven by Venus, Nuun Hydration, Oncourt Offcourt and many others. She is also part of the newly appointed, Wilson 360 Advisory Staff as a Wilson head-to-toe coach on Team Wilson.

Margit has enjoyed most recently, being invited by Taste of Tennis as a tennis influencer to both Indian Wells and Miami Open 2024 events, to cover said events, in order to spread awareness and create excitement surrounding the tournaments before, during and after each event. Margit’s followers report having a sense of having attended such events through her eyes for those who were not able to attend in person. 

Most of all, Margit Bannon enjoys collaborating with other like-minded individuals and entrepreneurs for the love of tennis, while growing the sport and encouraging the enjoyment it brings and sharing teachings and experiences with tennis players worldwide.