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Davenport Rhythm Tennis Lessons
Categories: Active Life Tennis Active Life Fitness & Instruction Trainers Tennis, Trainers [Edit]
2111 Van NessSan Francisco, CA 94109
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
(415) 424-6250
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 6 am - 5:30 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
About This Business:
We kept it real when we built our brand new, two-story Union Street location, using natural materials to design the space, resulting in a… read more »
21 reviews for Davenport Rhythm Tennis Lessons
21 reviews in English
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Review from Andrew H.
San Francisco, CA
8/19/2011
I just finished 2 months of tennis lessons with Greg through the SF Recreation & Parks program, which I highly recommend for beginners. Greg is a very patient instructor and takes the time to help you with the basics of the game. He's a very laidback type of guy and likes to run the lessons at a leisurely pace, so if you are looking for an intense tennis experience this might not be the class for you.
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Review from Daryl Y.
San Francisco, CA
1/2/2012
I bought a 10 lesson package from Groupon knowing about his issues with being late. I was ok with it since it was a pretty good deal and I didn't want to spend $40-50 an hour for tennis lessons. I didn't mind waiting 15-20 min in case he was late. I figured I could warm up while I was waiting and get my full hour of a lesson.
So why did I give Greg 1 star? Because I can't give him anything less!!
The first time I had a lesson scheduled with Greg, he called me an hour before the lesson and told me that he was sick. Given his reputation, I had my doubts.
My second attempt to have a lesson with Greg was done through his site and his calendar. I called him 2 hours ahead to confirm we were still on. When I called, he asked if I was ok with changing the time of our lesson. I was free so I agreed. About an hour before our lesson, he calls and tells he that he double-booked. He then asks if we could reschedule. I flipped out!! I asked him "Are you f&*king kidding me?!? I do you a favor by rescheduling our lesson and you want to cancel on me!!" He was very insincere and told me he would call me back. I'm guessing he called his other client and cancelled on them.
My last scheduled lesson, I called him 20 minutes before the lesson started and he basically said he wouldn't be able to make it. I'll spare you the conversation I had with him.
I had to call Groupon to get my refund which I got. -
Review from Quinn N.
San Francisco, CA
7/18/2011
If I could give minus 50 stars I would! Absolutely do not do business with this man.
I purchased a groupon for 10 tennis lessons for $150 from Rhythm Tennis.
Summary:
1) Greg did not show up to our first session nor did he call to cancel
2) Showed up 20 minutes late to our next session; was on his phone for 15% of the session. Had me go around and pick up all the balls while he used that time to confirm his next appointments.
3) Asked me to delay the next session from 7 pm to 8pm, which I kindly did, and then he didn't show up again. I waited for 25 minutes in the fog at Alta Plaza.
4) He spent another 10 minutes yapping about his love life relationship. Hello...I'm your student not your freaking therapist. Use some of the money you bilked unassuming people like me out of and use it to get a (in this order): working voicemail, car, therapist.
He did not return any of my calls or texts. I mean, I assume he was on his phone while he was teaching other students...couldn't he have used that sweet time to confirm with me?
This man should not be in business. -
Review from D N.
Castro Valley, CA
10/27/2011
Did not show. Did not return calls. A pathetic business person and human.
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Review from andrew f.
San Francisco, CA
9/19/2011
If I could give negative stars, I would. I purchased 10 lessons via Groupon and was a bit hesitant given his problematic reviews on Yelp. Went to his website to book an appointment and then called Greg to find out the location of our lesson. Two days went by and no return call. Called again. no return call. was finally able to reach him and he said that the time i booked, which on his website shows he is available, he is not available. no apology. just a non-chalant statement that he needs to update his website to show the blocks of times that he is not available. He was not friendly and seemed to have no interest in me coming in for a lesson. given that you need to call Greg the day of the lesson to find out the location and that he does not return calls, the chances of me actually redeeming my 10-lesson Groupon seems quite unlikely.
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Review from G P.
San Francisco, CA
10/11/2011
Terrible, unprofessional experience. Paid for a package of ten, he flaked repeatedly, was a no show and then didn't return any text messages and my request for refund.
Don't do it.
G -
Review from Azrakun B.
San Francisco, CA
3/30/2011
I had over 10 lessons with Gregory and thank to him now I can finally enjoy tennis.
I played for 3 years prior to taking lessons with Gregory.
From the start, Gregory changed everything about my game! I had to start with the basics, but after I got it my game improved significantly.
Gregory is a great tennis teacher; he can spot your tennis weakness and work on it. He has incredible patience, and it is obvious he is very passionate about tennis.
He was very flexible and always willing to accommodate my schedule. He has been around for few. I often see him at Alice Marble. A great fun tennis teacher! -
Review from Edward A.
San Francisco, CA
7/10/2011
I used Geregory's calendar to set up a 4:00 lesson. At 4:20 I he wasn't there so I emailed him. He called and said he could be there by 5. He didn't offer any reason for being an hour late (he was in GG park doing another lesson apparently. Not professional. I got my package refunded from Bloomspot.
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Review from David S.
San Francisco, CA
1/4/2010
There's no doubt that Greg might be a good instructor once you're on the court with him. However, based on how poorly he runs his business and treats his clients, I would certainly advise people to avoid his lessons. I came to this conclusion after about 7 to 8 lessons. I really did try to make things work.
He was consistently late to lessons and once a no-show without notice. For other lessons, he called to reschedule at the last minute. I have some ideas on what might have been going on, but I don't need to speculate... his handling of appointments was flat out poor.
During practice, his instruction was basically fine. I'm not going to critique the quality of the tennis lessons.
However, the unprofessionalism in running his business was present on the court as well. He would interrupt sessions to either take cell phone calls or solicit more business from people passing by or watching (again, during the lesson, not afterward, which would be perfectly acceptable).
So buyer beware... make sure you can work with him before signing up for lessons in advance. If you have any issues (like I clearly had), he'll become unresponsive and isn't going to work things out with you. I did give him this feedback about 3 lessons in, but even though he acknowledged his problems, he couldn't get his act together (even if was only for me) in the 5 more lessons I received.
That sums up my experience. Like any review you read, take this one with a grain of salt... hopefully it will provide a counterpoint to some of the other (glowing) reviews. -
Review from Aud V.
San Francisco, CA
7/25/2011 4 Check-ins Here
I just finished my first lesson of 10 w/ Greg and so far so good. I, like many other's purchased a groupon from him. Like a typical super annoying groupon customer (sorry guys, but grouponer's ARE stereotypically annoying and super high maintenance and I feel terrible for any business that has to deal with them, or, uh, us) I had a few questions and emailed him the day I bought the groupon with my questions. I acknowledged he was probably slammed given a ton of people had already purchased the groupon and told him there was no rush getting back to me. Well less than 5 minutes after I sent the email he called me to introduce himself and answer my questions and also made sure I had booked my appointments correctly on his online system. Perhaps other's that have had so much difficulty getting timing right and communication with him just have trouble with the calendar? Or maybe I'm just a lucky one, but my interaction with him was great. I even got a reminder email and he even called the day of to remind me and confirm the time and location. As for the professional aspect, I was happy with it. Next up was my actual lesson. yikes! I was a little nervous since I hadn't taken any lessons since i was a young girl. He is a nice guy, friendly demeanor who just really loves tennis. He gave me a little test to see how my skills were and where we were starting from then went into the break down of my swing. He was really encouraging and easy to get a long with. I'm really looking forward to the rest of my lesson. Thanks Gregory!
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Review from Elsa T.
San Francisco, CA
12/10/2008
My husband has been taking hitting lessons with him for a couple of years. Unfortunately Greg is a Dallas Cowboy fan. Otherwise a nice chap all around.
Overall offers a really good workout. Doesn't watch the clock too carefully. -
Review from Nicole K.
Pacifica, CA
11/6/2008
My husband was walking our dog at the Lafayette Park a week ago, where he met Greg teaching to other clients.
I have now taken two tennis classes with Greg - purchased a package of 8 lessons. I figured if I'm going to learn and try to kick my husband's butt at tennis, I need all the help I can get!
I'm athletic by nature, but have never played tennis other than some beach racket ball many years ago.
I have to tell you - I never knew I had it in me! I really do feel that I'm learning a lot, I even impressed myself today with front hand and back hand moves. Plus, I'm getting a great work out.
Greg is very patient and never makes me feel awkward when I make a bad move. He is very encouraging and celebrates my successes with me! I love that!!
If anything changes, I'll keep you all updated but so far it is one of the best decisions I have made all month.
Game, set, match! -
Review from Brian B.
4/19/2010
I received a gift of 5 tennis lessons for the holidays and I've had two so far with Greg. I've been happy with him overall. He really focuses on the mechanics with me and has revamped my style. He also sold me a racket at a pretty good price (Pete Sampras' from the 90s, out of date, but not out of style) and I really like how I hit the ball with it as opposed to my SledgeHammer I had before.
Greg didn't show up to the first lesson and I couldn't contact him by phone once, which was worrying and off-putting, as some have noted. However, keep in mind he is a one-man operation. If you approach it from that point of view, you'll probably be pleased. With just him running his whole outfit, it's probably pretty hard to keep track of everything. Maybe he needs a secretary? For me personally, I'm very flexible on Mondays (one of my days off) so it didn't bother me too much.
Anyhow, I think my tennis game is on the right track after some guidance from Greg. I'd recommend him. -
Review from Mervyn H.
San Francisco, CA
5/13/2009
I just finished my first lesson with Greg, and it was great! He's patient, friendly and a good teacher. Not only does he train you on the skills, but he also gives you new ways to think about tennis -- I can't do justice to his spiel, but he says there's a certain "rhythm" to how the game is played.
What I didn't tell Greg is that I had tried 2 other instructors before him, and it was like night and day. After my negative experiences with the other instructors, I was almost ready to give it up, but I'm confident that I can work with Greg to pick up the game.
If you're a beginner, I definitely encourage you to try him out. -
Review from Daniel M.
San Francisco, CA
2/12/2010
Hello fellow Yelpers. I just started taking lessons with Greg after my gf got me a 5 lesson package for the holidays. I'm completely new to the game but have always wanted to learn, as I think it's a great sport that you can play for many years of your life.
Just finished my 3rd lesson and I'm amazed at how far I've come so quickly! Greg told me that I'm already hitting some pretty advanced shots. I'm certainly not about to jump into a tournament just yet, but I'm having a lot of fun out there. Greg's a great guy with a very nice demeanor. He's laid back and encouraging, as others have noted.
Thus far, we've been focusing on the fundamental mechanics of the game: the forehand shot, body mechanics, positioning relative to the ball, rhythm and timing. I had a hard time at first, but once I keyed into Greg's mentality of finding the right rhythm and being patient (something I could do a bit more throughout my day), it started coming together.
Re: Others' comments about timeliness and ability to schedule lessons, I'd say that you should go into it with that same mentality. Have patience, and keep perspective that this is a game and it's fun. It doesn't need to be as rigidly scheduled as a business meeting. And if you are crunched for time, schedule for a different day or leave a buffer just in case. -
Review from Katie T.
San Francisco, CA
9/16/2009
My friend and I took lessons together from Greg and we're fans. We have taken more than 5 lessons from Greg and have signed up for another set.
1- Greg makes tennis FUN! Greg is way ahead of other coaches in terms of making tennis fun. Way ahead.
2- He adapts to our needs. We want to get a work-out as well and Greg makes us run all over the court while we hit balls. Love it. He's also very flexible in adapting lessons to what we want to focus on.
3- Greg is laid back, on time, and doesn't look at his watch all the time.
4- Greg focuses on having you get comfortable hitting the ball and moving. Not on technique. Downsides are we've received more detailed technique instructions from previous coaches that are still very useful. So we feel closer to playing than if we were just hammering technique, but are not sure how good our game's going to be. And we still can't really play after several lessons .. we can hit the ball but don't know how to aim, for example. -
Review from Esther M.
San Francisco, CA
12/28/2009
You get what you pay for. Greg's lessons are cheap, but you get cheap service. He is unresponsive and NEVER on time. I have had an awful experience with Rhythm Tennis. I signed up (and paid for) 15 lessons, I have so far taken 8 (still waiting for my refund for the 7 lessons I did not take). He was late for 7 out of 8 lessons, and not just a few minutes late, up to 25 minutes late. He also even had the balls to call me about an hour before our scheduled lesson and ask me to come early. I was available to, so I headed over early, only to find him waiting for a court. Are you kidding me?
He is also always constantly soliciting business, he's walked off the court several times while with me to talk to potential clients.
So basically this is a get what you pay for. Unprofessional and in my book not worth it. -
Review from meghna a.
San Francisco, CA
12/8/2008
First lesson review!
My first tennis lesson ever so obviously I was nervous but Gregory made it so effortless.He showed me the right body posture and how to use the core and not the wrist. It was a great workout but also really fun. I immediately signed up for a 12 session package. I would highly recommend him and he is also very reasonable! I need to edit this review- I still think he is a good teacher but very flaky on time which made me stop taking lessons from him . -
Review from Molly R.
San Francisco, CA
2/10/2010
Read David S.' review. It was exactly the same experience I had. Also DO NOT buy the "package" - it's a great deal but trying to schedule a lesson is impossible - if he shows up at all. I had to ask for a refund at one point for him to take teaching me seriously... until he became impossible to reach again.
Again, I also agree with David - the lessons themselves were good, but the business side was so poorly run I really would be remiss if anyone else had to lose money on this like I did. I never got the last 3 last lessons in my "package" because I just gave up trying to track him down.
Overall I felt very foolish for being swindled but if you pay-as-you-go you may have a very different experience. -
Review from Michael M.
San Francisco, CA
4/24/2010
Decent instructor when he shows up. He is always late and sometimes doesn't show up at all. When he does make it, the lessons are very helpful, but when you go out of your way as a busy professional to make time for a tennis lesson, you expect the instructor to show up !!!
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Review from Suny F.
San Francisco, CA
5/20/2010
Greg has been hanging around the neighborhood for many years to get people to take tennis lessons. He is unprofessional and his character is questionable.
