Ryler DeHeart was a five-year ATP professional, four-year assistant (2013-2016) at the University of Alabama and spent three seasons as the men’s tennis Associate Head Coach for Florida State University before starting as a National Coach for junior boys at USTA in Orlando. He is a USPTA Elite Level and USTA High-Performance certified coach in tennis and IFP certified in pickleball. Ryler played four years collegiately at the University of Illinois, helping lead the Illini to an NCAA Championship as a freshman in 2003. A two-time All-American, National Indoor Champion and #1 college ranking he continues to hold the all-time singles wins record for the Illini. After graduating with a degree in psychology with a premed focus, DeHeart was a 2-time All-American and won the ITA Indoor Championship in 2005 and was ranked No. 1 in the country. After playing t Illinois, the Kauai, Hawai’i, native played professionally for five years, including an appearance in each of the four Grand Slams. He reached a career-high ranking of 174 in singles and 120 in doubles and faced the top-ranked player in the world, Rafael Nadal, in the second round of the 2008 US Open. He also competed in World Team Tennis for the Delaware Smash in 2008 with Madison Brengle. Using his tennis background, he started playing pickleball seriously in 2021 and has been enjoying competing at the highest level. DeHeart and his wife, Megan, are playing a full pro pickleball schedule now and enjoy teaching and working with players of all levels in both private and clinic settings. They have one daughter, Lily, and one son, JR, and love all sports, especially pickleball.