Jennifer Gelhaus, The Club at Renaissance
Director of Racquet Sports
September 8, 2026
Jennifer Gelhaus was four years into a career in molecular biology, on track for a PhD, when she quit to coach tennis full time. Fifteen years later she has built racquet programs at Maidstone Club in the Hamptons, East Chop Tennis Club on Martha's Vineyard, Oyster Harbors Club on Cape Cod, and The Club at Renaissance in Southwest Florida. She hosts the Vida Tennis Podcast and co-hosts Power Players with the Directors Club of America.
Key Takeaways
- Leaving a molecular biology career to coach tennis full time.
- Building racquet programs at clubs in the Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, and Southwest Florida.
- Walking into tradition-heavy clubs as a young woman and Venezuelan-born coach.
- Why directors need to treat their programs like a business.
- The first-90-days mistake new directors make when they spend all day teaching instead of learning their members and staff.
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