HighFIVE: Michelle Bates

Coach Michelle Bates is sharing her passion for tennis with her community

If you have ever seen Michelle Bates on a tennis court, you know she can hit a tennis ball, but the bigger takeaway is the positivity and joy that she radiates. And this combo is a huge reason for the success of Michelle Smart Tennis, a community-based tennis program that she started in 2020.

Michelle grew up in Texas but focused on cheerleading through high school. After graudating, she lived in Chicago and Los Angeles while pursuing an acting career and eventually landed in Seattle where she curated art collections for hospitality and multi-family properties. Michelle got into league tennis, and was on a 4.5 women’s team that went to Nationals in 2013. Soon after, she relocated to Colorado with her husband and two children.

When Michelle’s kids headed off to college, her husband encouraged her to get her tennis teaching certification. 

“I was certified through Racquet Sports Professionals Association (RSPA) in 2019 and had my first position as a teaching pro at Glenmoor Country Club”, says Michelle. “I helped with the girls’ team at Grandview High School for the 2020 season and from there I started my own tennis business in my Centennial neighborhood.” 

Michelle saw opportunity in the two unused tennis courts in her neighborhood community. 

“The neighborhood I grew up in is really what drove my love for tennis. There were USTA leagues at the courts, and all of us kids rode our bikes there.” 

Michelle’s goal was to create tennis programs focused on fun, friends and relationship building and she has done this and more. 

“Now kids ride their bikes to these courts to play just like I did back in the day.” 

Programming runs from April-October and Michelle largely uses local high school kids to assist her on court. This year’s summer camp had 75 kids ages 5-18. 

“My summer camps are really for those kids looking for a ‘taste’ of tennis where we learn the basic strokes while having fun with friends.” 

She builds on this with her five JTT teams (one of her 10U teams came in 2^nd at the JTT State Championships this year) which she says, “allows the opportunity to take the kids who are progressing with their skills and teach them match play. Once they learn tennis rules and are ready for competition, they have a space to be on a team with their peers. For those kids that are looking for more tennis after I finish in October, I refer them to one of our local clubs.”

As Michelle’s program grew, she knew that she wanted to continue to bring new ideas and opportunities to the community. 

“Each year I try to improve on what I offer,” she says. “In Fall 2025, I started something called “Celebrity Coach” where I brought in teaching pros from the Denver area for a few hours as an opportunity for the high school girls in my fall program to learn from pros besides myself. This summer I offered a Summer Tennis Festival for those kids and families who were looking for more tennis than just my 2-week camps. This was an opportunity for those children to hit more balls over the summer and become more confident in their tennis skills.”

As a player, Michelle says “the kids can’t have all the fun!” so she has expanded her programming and currently has a 2.5 women’s league team as well as plans to teach a women’s beginner group in the fall.

Mary Brennan, USTA Colorado League Coordinator says Michelle is "a stand-out Junior League coordinator and captains brand new adult league teams for players who have never picked up a racquet. She coaches them prior to league season then helps them throughout match play. She is a true advocate in getting beginning players, both junior and adult, into the USTA League fold”.

Michelle’s success has been recognized beyond the state level as she was named the 2024 RSPA Intermountain Elevate Coach of the Year, an award which recognizes members with five or fewer years of service for their exceptional leadership potential, rising talent, and commitment to growing racquet sports.

This fall, Michelle is hoping to dive into the USTA’s Community Tennis School Partner Program. She says, “This is an incredible opportunity for the schools to roll out a tennis program with USTA providing free equipment as well as tennis pros as “community partners” to help teach and I’m excited to get involved!”

To learn more about Michelle Smart Tennis, visit https://www.coachmichelletennis.com/.

And, as Michelle signs off her emails, "Hit Happy"!

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