Tennis Coach | Wife | Mom

Annessa Nguyen is a passionate tennis professional, community leader, and educator with over 15 years of coaching and leadership experience across all levels of the sport. She is the founder of Love In Return, formerly known as the Annessa Taylor Tennis Academy, which she launched in 2020 before pausing to focus on family. Today, Love In Return is being reimagined as a legacy-driven tennis and wellness movement—one that reflects Annessa’s purpose, passion, and deep community roots.

Annessa most recently served as the Assistant Gym Director at The Little Gym and the Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis Assistant Coach at St. John’s College High School, where she helped lead the Girls' team to back-to-back WCAC Championships (2021, 2022) and DCSAA Finalist titles. The program was named the 2022–23 Washington Post Girls’ Tennis Program of the Year, with multiple players graduating to compete at the collegiate level. During the 2022 season, the team went undefeated in WCAC play.

Born and raised in Chicago, Annessa began her coaching career early—first training and then coaching with Love To Serve, Inc., a local nonprofit tennis organization focused on youth empowerment. She competed on the Homewood-Flossmoor High School Varsity team from 2005–2009, serving as captain her junior and senior years. She later earned a B.S. in Sport Management from Virginia State University, where she competed for three seasons on the women’s tennis team.

Her professional journey includes:
- 2013 – Tennis Pro at Tennis On The Lake in Chicago
- 2016–2017 – Youth Coach for USTA Mid-Atlantic TGA in Richmond, VA
- 2017 – Head Coach at Appomattox Regional High School, leading the Girls' team to their first-ever Conference 41 Championship
- 2017–2020 – Community Outreach Director at JTCC, overseeing programming in 30+ schools across Prince George’s County and D.C., awarding scholarships, writing grants, hosting 12+ community festivals per year, and managing a team-wide service initiative requiring 30 hours of annual outreach per player and coach
- Featured on PBS for her impactful community outreach work in Washington, D.C.
- 2019–2020 – Coach to Aarini Bhattacharya, who reached #1 in the nation for Girls’ 12U and as high as #3 in Girls’ 14U

Throughout her career, Annessa has developed players who’ve competed at elite national and international tournaments such as Eddie Herr, Easter Bowl, and Orange Bowl. Her players have earned scholarships, tournament titles, and lifelong mentorship through her holistic approach to coaching.

Beyond her love and passion for coaching, Annessa took great pride in being a stay-at-home mom while continuing to coach part-time. She now looks forward to finding a sustainable balance between family life and tennis as she returns to entrepreneurship and builds the next chapter of Love In Return.

Annessa brings a balance of high-performance strategy and joyful connection to every session. Her coaching philosophy centers on inclusion, parent education, and the mental game—believing that what happens off the court is just as important as what happens on it. Whether working with beginners or elite athletes, her mission remains the same: to build confidence, create community, and give Love In Return through tennis.