My Story

Margit Bannon’s love affair with the sport of Tennis dates to her playing career with experience in top tier International Junior Tournaments such as the Orange Bowl and Easter Bowl, while training at the renowned Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida (now IMG Academy.) She also had success as a Division 1 Scholarship Athlete at Miami University (Ohio), including MAC conference Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman, where she earned a B.S. in Mass Communications. As a USPTA Elite certified professional with 26 years of coaching experience, she offers league team clinics for women, men and mixed, start-up beginner/novice programs, and one-on-one personalized development lessons including practice/sparring sessions for more advanced players. She teaches mainly at her business: Play Tennis. Practice Yoga.®, located in Punta Gorda, Florida, where she is both the Tennis Director and Head Tennis Professional. Margit is also an E-RYT & YACEP (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher & Continuing Education Provider) through the national Yoga Alliance) teaching for the past 16 years, who now specializes in teaching Yoga for Tennis at her home business and beyond. In January of 2018 & 2020, Margit had the opportunity to host the Miami University Women's tennis team for their winter training camp, that included not only tennis with their coaches, but yoga sessions in between practices, concluding with a group yoga practice at the end of the week, to enhance their mental toughness in preparation for tournament play. Since then, Margit has maintained a great relationship in support of her Alma Mater, having travelled to volunteer her time with yoga for the team during dual matches at FGCU in 2023.  Also, as a member of the USTA National Cardio Tennis Trainer Team (headed by Michele Krause), Margit hosts monthly events in season, combining Cardio Tennis and Yoga for Tennis to her students, in her inTENNSity Fitness + Yoga for Tennis offerings. These events have been sold out since their inception in 2020. Other events hosted at Play Tennis. Practice Yoga. ® include Yoga, Wine, Feeling Fine! (a benefit for the Arts & Humanities Council of Charlotte County) Yoga Rebalance for Tennis-and Everyone, Yoga, Wine & Beauty (in collaboration with and support of other female entrepreneurs in Punta Gorda, Florida) and a Wilson Tennis + Yoga for Tennis demo event (to benefit local tennis shop, Wrigley’s Tennis.) Notable off-site events include teaching Yoga for Tennis at the Miami Open & PGA National (with Love Serving Autism in 2022), being the yoga teacher on staff at the Women’s W25 WTA Tournament in Sarasota in 2022, and Men’s ATP Sarasota Open in 2023. Margit also provided yoga classes to ticketholders ahead of tournament play at the 2024 Sarasota Open Challenger event. From 2022-2024 Margit has presented Yoga for Tennis classes to her peers at the USPTA Florida conferences. In 2023, she was honored to lead yoga on a national stage at the USPTA World Conference in Orlando. At the conclusion of the 2023 World Conference, Margit was hired to film a Yoga for Tennis Series for the Fit4Tennis application, that can be accessed worldwide via the internet, as part of a video library that includes her with some of the top coaches in the tennis industry. More recent events include leading  “National Hit to be Fit Day” on May 19th 2024 with her Cardio Tennis Trainer Team at the flagship location at Lake Nona, FL (of which there were hundreds of other locations nationwide) at the USTA National Campus, in conjunction with National Tennis Month. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Margit also made a name for herself as a content creator (influencing others in growing awareness of yoga and its benefits to the sport of tennis) through her social media channels.  She has a YouTube Channel: Play Tennis. Practice Yoga. ® where she offers mini lessons for both Tennis and Yoga that players can access, with guidance on how to practice mindful techniques before, during, and after tennis play. Because of this social presence, Margit has been invited as a guest, and has been featured on podcasts such as: At the Net Podcast, Beyond the Baselines, The Slice, and Vida Tennis Podcast. She has also been featured in and has published articles of her own for both USPTA’s ADDVantage Magazine and Racquet Sports Industry Magazine various times with the most recent being in June of 2024. At the same time, Margit’s social media presence was also gaining attention on her Facebook: Play Tennis. Practice Yoga.® and Instagram: @playtennispracticeyoga business accounts with brands and various companies taking notice. Margit has worked on content creation as an ambassador for brands such as Swing Vision, Eleven by Venus, Nuun Hydration, Oncourt Offcourt, and many others. She is also part of Wilson’s 360 Advisory Staff as a Wilson head-to-toe sports professional on Team Wilson. Margit has enjoyed most recently, being invited by Taste of Tennis as a content creator to both the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open 2024 events, in order to spread awareness and create excitement before, during and after each tournament. In addition, Margit fulfilled a lifelong dream in August of 2024 at this year’s U.S. Open Championships getting the opportunity to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium while demonstrating Cardio Tennis with her Cardio Tennis Trainer team. During the tournament, she also attended the launch of Roger Federer’s RF collection at Wilson’s flagship store in NYC where Margit met Roger briefly, for an experience that will never be forgotten. 
Most of all, Margit Bannon enjoys collaborating with other like-minded individuals, coaches and entrepreneurs for the love of the game, while growing the sport of tennis. She loves to encourage the enjoyment and empowerment it brings through her teachings and experiences with tennis players and yoga practitioners worldwide.