Ricardo Canto Pereira is LEGACY’s new Director of Player Development. Coach Pereira comes to Philadelphia from Brazil where he spent many years coaching and mentoring junior and professional athletes including former ATP World Ranked #21, Tomaz Bellucci.
While Pereira would spend most of his time as a player and coach in Brazil, he began his tennis career as a ball boy at the age of 12. Later in his teenage years he would go on to play in youth qualifying tournaments for both Roland Garros and Wimbeldon and become a top 5 player in Brazil. His junior success even afforded him the opportunity to meet Arthur Ashe. “It was so difficult to hit some balls with him because everyone was so nervous because he had just won the US Open – that was an incredible experience” Pereira said.
After playing professionally for a number of years he returned to Brazil as a coach. There he coached at multiple different highly touted clubs including Sociedade Harmonia De Tenis and Clube Paineiras Do Morumby. While coaching at clubs in Brazil he helped develop players into college ready athletes and earn scholarship money. In total, the amount of scholarship money received by his players in Brazil exceeded $1 million. He hopes to bring that same kind of success here at LEGACY saying “My goal here at LEGACY is to help them have sports and education walk together and help (players) find good scholarships or play professionally.”
Additionally, Coach Pereira was selected to be the Brazilian Davis Cup Captain and has worked in all 4 Grand Slam tournaments. “To defend and to honor my country was the best thing that could happen in my life. I think that’s the dream of any coach,” Pereira said on being captain. In his career he has coached for Thomaz Bellucci (Former ATP World Ranked #21), Caio Zampieri (Former ATP World Ranked #182), and Leonardo Kirche (Former ATP World Ranked #196).
With over 20 years of head pro experience and a special talent for developing young athletes, Pereira joins LEGACY’s great coaching staff to help propel young talent into dominant college and professional level players.
