Coaches & lessons

The coach finder lists every TFL Pro who offers lessons — no account needed to browse. Share your location or type a ZIP code and it shows coaches based within about 30 miles; add filters for name, minimum NTRP, language, and specialties — tick one or more (junior development, serve & return, doubles strategy…) and only coaches offering every one you ticked are shown.

• NTRP here is the coach's self-reported playing levelon the sport's standard scale (NTRP-style 1.0–7.0 for tennis, DUPR-style 2.0–8.0 for pickleball) — a signal of how they play, not a teaching certification.
• Credentials — USTA certification, years of experience, languages, and specialties (picked from a fixed per-sport list, so they mean the same thing on every profile), all provided by the coach.
• Reviews — star ratings and comments from players who actually completed a lesson or played a Play With Pro session (see below).

One honest caveat: TFL does not itself vet or certify coaches. Listings are self-reported. Coaches showing the green Verified badge have completed a third-party background check through Certn; coaches without it are unvetted — check credentials and reviews yourself before booking, the same as you would anywhere.

Open a listing, pick a time that works, and send the request. The booking is confirmed when the coach accepts it— until then nothing is charged and either side can withdraw. Coaches keep their calendars on TFL, so you'll only see times they actually offer (vacation weeks are blocked out automatically).

Online booking applies to TFL-managed listings. On direct-payment listings the coach handles payments directly — send an inquiry to arrange lessons; booking and scheduling happen off-platform (see the payment badges below).

Every paid listing shows one of two payment badges:

• Payment protected by TFL (green) — you pay through TFL: your card is charged when the coach accepts the booking, and the money goes to the coach via Stripe. Because TFL processed it, we can refund it automatically when a cancellation or dispute goes your way.
• You pay the instructor directly (blue) — you book a lesson or buy a package on TFL exactly the same way, but pay the coach the way they specify (cash, Venmo, whatever you agree); their instructions show right after you book. TFL never touches the money, so refunds are between you and the coach — send a refund request from My lessons and the coach responds to it.

Besides one-off lessons, coaches can run recurring classes — a weekly clinic, a junior program — with a fixed schedule. Enrolling in a priced class starts a monthly subscription per student; it renews each month until you drop the class, and shows up alongside your other charges in billing history.

• You cancel: each listing sets its own notice policy (for example, 24 hours before the slot; some lessons are non-cancellable once accepted). Cancel with enough notice and a TFL-managed payment is refunded automatically. Inside the notice window, message the coach to work something out.
• The coach cancels: you always get a full automatic refund on TFL-managed payments — no questions asked.
• The coach didn't show? Open a dispute on the booking. TFL reviews and contacts both sides within 3 business days; if the dispute is upheld, a TFL-managed payment is refunded to your card (typically appearing in 5–10 business days).

Reviews are tied to real activity: only the player on a completed lesson booking can review a lesson, and only the player on a played Play With Pro session can review that session — each keeps its own average. Either way you rate 1–5 stars with an optional comment, can post anonymously, and can edit your review later. Pros can reply publicly to any review.