Teltscher Leaves USTA Position to Coach Dent

Phil Dent said he wouldn’t leave his son’s tennis career to just anyone. Eliot Teltscher said he wouldn’t leave an influential position with the United States Tennis Assn., and his wife and two young daughters, for extended periods of time, for just any player.

So on that note Teltscher became the full-time coach for Taylor Dent, a 19-year-old from Newport Beach who is the second-youngest American ranked in the top 200 on the tour.

Dent and Teltscher have worked together on a part-time basis for the last year while Teltscher was the West region coach for USA Tennis. Teltscher said he decided three weeks ago that he couldn’t keep doing both jobs.

“I loved what I was doing, but I felt I was ready for a new challenge,” said Teltscher, a top-10 player in the early 1980s. “I wasn’t looking to go out on the road. There’s not too many people I would have done this with. But Taylor has a tremendous upside and a chance to be a great player. He can win Grand Slams and be the No. 1 player in the world.”

As Dent’s coach, Teltscher will spend 20 to 25 weeks a year on the road. Teltscher and Dent begin their player-coach relationship in San Jose this weekend, where Dent is playing in the qualifying rounds of the Sybase Open.

“I consider Phil Dent one of best coaches I’ve ever seen,” Teltscher said. “For him to ask me to coach his son is an honor.”

Phil Dent, who coached Taylor since he began playing at the age of 11, said Teltscher is the right person to turn his son into one of the elite players on tour.

“It was just the right thing to do,” said Phil Dent, a former Australian Davis Cup player. “It felt good for everybody. Eliot knows the game and he has played it at a high level. Taylor respects Eliot and Eliot can show Taylor the parts of the game he needs to work on. I think Taylor just needs a chance to get his foot in the door. Once he’s in, I think he’ll knock it down.”

As a player, Teltscher was known as a shot-maker and a quick baseline player. Dent, who is 6 feet 2 and solidly built, is a serve-and-volleyer. Last year, he boomed a 140-mph serve in the U.S. Open, the fastest of the tournament.

Dent’s ranking is 182, but he has wins in the last year over Jonas Bjorkman, a former top-five player, and Magnus Norman, a current top-five player.

Phil Dent has been at Taylor’s side since he turned professional almost three years ago. But in November, as Taylor’s results remained stagnant, he decided it might be time to remove himself from the picture.

“I thought me just being there put too much pressure on him, that it would be much better for him if I left him alone for a while,” he said. “I thought he was trying to be too perfect. I want him to enjoy the game.”