Damon Lopez-O'Dwyer, Director of Tennis

Damon Lopez-O'Dwyer is the Head Pro and Director of Tennis at Triangle Tennis Club. He has been with Hamptons Tennis Company for over 20 years and has vast experience teaching players of all ages and abilities. Damon played college tennis for Hamilton College, a member of the NESCAC conference, where he was captain of the team. Damon has worked at top tennis clubs all over New York and in the UK at the Cambridge Lawn Tennis Club in England.

Since 2005 Damon has been the Head Coach of the boys Varsity Tennis team at the Trinity School in New York––a team that has won four consecutive Ivy League titles and in 2016 won the Mayor’s Cup as the top team in the city. Damon has worked with Division I and top Division III recruits, sending players in recent years to play for college programs at Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University and Williams College. Damon spends his offseason as a freelance writer and has published articles in Inside Tennis Magazine.

Marc Dookingue, Head Pro

Marc Dookingue was born in France and comes to us this summer from Palm Beach, Florida. He worked as the Assistant Head Pro at the Four Seasons Resort & Spa in Palm Beach.

He is a level 1 & 2 certified TRX trainer, a high-performance junior tennis coach, and adult clinic & USTA tennis team specialist.

His playing style is classic serve & volley and he teaches first strike tennis. He is excited to be back at the Hamptons and can’t wait to meet you on the court and improve your game!

Szabin Pusztay, Staff Pro

Szabin Pusztay was born in Budapest, Hungary where he started playing tennis at the age of 4. He began his competitive career at the age of 9 and was ranked in the top 5 nationally in Hungary in the U12s, U14s, U16s and U18s.

Szabin was recruited to play college tennis in the United States, first for Alabama State University where he was named to the SWAC All-Tournament Team in each of his two years with the program. At Alabama State he was both a conference champion and conference runner-up. Szabin then went on to play for Newman University where he was a two-time conference finalist and named to the Heartland All-Tournament Team. In addition to his collegiate tennis accomplishments, Szabin distinguished himself as a student-athlete by making Dean’s List in all four years of his education.

As a coach, Szabin has worked with players of all ages and abilities both in Hungary and in the United States. Recently he spent a season at Future Stars in Purchase, NY where he worked with both recreational level juniors and tournament players. He has also been an assistant director of the junior development program at Brookhaven Country Club! Szabin is returning for his fourth season at Triangle Tennis Club.

Elias Fernandez, Senior Staff Pro

Elias was born and raised in La Rioja, Argentina. He was introduced to the sport of tennis at the age of 8, and went on to play national competitions, ITF events and COSAT tournaments, reaching a ranking of #30 in Argentina and #2 in his state La Rioja (U16).

In 2015, Elias committed to William Woods University in Missouri where he helped the Owls to a program high of NAIA #5 ranking. Elias was a three-time Conference Champion (AMC Conference) and made 3 national tournament appearances with the OWLS.

Elias graduated in 2018 with a double major in Finance and Accounting. After graduation he became the tennis graduate assistant for Heidelberg University in Ohio where he coached the men’s and women’s tennis teams and earned an MBA degree.

Elias has experience working as a teaching pro at various clubs in California, Pennsylvania, and New York . In January 2021, he was hired by Newberry College in South Carolina to be the full-time assistant coach for the Men’s and Women’s tennis team. Elias is certified by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) and a member of the intercollegiate tennis association (ITA). Elias is returning for his third season at Triangle Tennis Club.

Grégoire Balenci, Senior Staff Pro

Grégoire Balenci is from Paris, France where he started playing tennis at age 8. He quickly became a top 10 ranked junior in France in the under 14s and was coached for three years by Gregory Carraz, a former ATP #54 world ranked player.

As a NCAA Division I college tennis player for Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Grégoire has won WAC conference awards in both singles and doubles (2016-2017-2018).

As a teaching pro, Grégoire has experience working with players of all ages both in France and in the United States. He is a member of Paris’ most prestigious tennis club, Lagardère Paris Racing near Roland Garros, where he has spent several seasons teaching adults and juniors both in groups and private lessons.

Grégoire has also worked for three years at the French Open on the interview desk as a member of the tournament’s media team. Greg, is excited to be returning to Triangle Tennis Club this summer!

Riccardo Trione, Staff Pro

Riccardo is from Bari, Italy. Over the past decade, he has competed in ETA and ITF tournaments worldwide, achieving a ranking as high as 390 in the world. Throughout his tennis journey, Riccardo received coaching and training from Raffaele Gorgoglione and Valentin Florez (500 ATP) at Tennis Club Bari, Italy.

He currently represents Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee as a tennis player. Riccardo initially played for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville for two years before making the transfer to Belmont.

Riccardo is known for his outgoing nature as both a coach and player, he takes pleasure in hitting with individuals of all ages, ranging from juniors to adults. In his leisure time, he finds great enjoyment in playing Padel, golf and soccer.

Lena Babunski, Senior Staff Pro

Lena was born in Belgrade, Serbia. Throughout her junior career, she participated and won numerous ITF tournaments starting at the age of 16. Furthermore, she held a top-five ranking in every age division in Serbia.

Lena played for Miami University in a Division I program on a full athletic scholarship. She was captain in her freshman year when she had the highest winning record for the team throughout the whole season.

As a tennis pro she spent one year at Sportime, Roslyn where she worked with all ages and levels. Currently, she is a Head Coach for the Women's Tennis Team at Wagner College where she is pursuing MBA in Management Lena is very excited to be part of the Hamptons Tennis Company team!

dominic

Dominik was born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia. From a young age, he demonstrated a passion and talent for tennis, which quickly propelled him into the competitive circuit. His commitment and skills landed him in the top 10 juniors and seniors tennis players in Croatia.

As a student-athlete at Emporia State University, he plays at the number one spot on the tennis team. Dominik is fluent in English and Croatian, and he also speaks German.

Dominik spent several years working as a tennis coach at TK Chromos - Savica in Zagreb, Croatia. He has experience coaching all age groups and levels and is eager to bring his unique coaching approach to our team. When Dominik is not on the court, he enjoys engaging in other sports such as pickleball, soccer, and volleyball.

Julie Razafindranaly, Tour Pro

Julie is from Paris, France, where she played professionally on the Tour and was ranked 800 WTA in Single & 900 WTA in Doubles. She competed in several tournaments around the world and reached the finals of a $10,000 tournament in Georgia.

She decided to pursue her studies and play at Barry University in Miami, Number 1 of Division 2, where she played Number 3 in the lineup. Julie was 3 times National Champion with her Team and got rewarded as Athlete of the Year and All-American player.

Julie has 7 years of coaching experience; she started coaching in France with junior players, and continued in Miami, as a private coach teaching different levels, from beginners to advanced players. She also played competitive matches with members of the Tennis Country Club at Fisher Island in Miami.

Julie graduated with a Bachelor’s in Business and Marketing and is currently studying for a Master’s in Data Analytics.

Alejandro Ibanez Gallego, Tour Pro

Alejandro is from Spain. He played professionally for several years on the tour where he reached the top 960 ATP ranking in singles. He played over 40 ATP tournaments from 2015 to 2018.

He then decided to go to college tennis where he won 2 NCAA National Championships and 1 ITA Indoor National Championship with his team at Barry University. Also, he was ranked number 1 in the nation in Division II after he won the ITA National Championship Singles in 2019.

Alejandro has coached several high-level juniors in Spain. He has been working at the North Miami Beach Tennis Academy for one full year as a coach and as a sparring partner for top 130 ITF Junior players in the world.

Alejandro just graduated from his two bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and International Business. He is currently studying his masters’ degree at Barry University in Business Administration.