Raphael Maurer was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ranked number 2 in the country in the 14’s, Raphael won the Winter Cup (European Team Championships) with Switzerland along side Michel Kratochvil (former top 50 ATP player). In 1993, he entered the National Training Center in Ecublens, Lausanne where he went to school in the morning and trained in the afternoon.

He started working with famous French Coach and French Davis Cup Captain, George Deniau as well as Pierre Paganini, current Physical Trainer for Roger Federer. Raphael trained there for 2 years with the best players in Switzerland, including Roger Federer and Marc Rosset. For about two years, he travelled with Swiss players such as Michel Kratochvil, Martina Hingis, and Patty Schnyder. During his junior career, Raphael won 8 medals in National Championships, including 3 Gold and had wins over many current professional players including Juan-Carlos Ferrero. He also participated in some big international events such as the Orange Bowl.

In 1998, Raphael graduated from high school with a diploma in business and economy. Upon graduation, he was offered a tennis scholarship at Flagler College in Florida where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sport Management with minors in Business Administration and Spanish. During his four years at the school, the tennis team never ended the season worse than 7 in the nation and Raphael was named All-American twice, ending his sophomore year ranked #2 in the nation in doubles.

Raphael coached at Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy, where he was a sparring partner for Svetlana Kuznetsova. He was then hired as a travelling coach at Van der Meer Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, coaching juniors at prestigious ITF events including the Costa Rica Bowl and the Orange Bowl. He received his PTR Professional certification after intensive courses with Dennis Van der Meer.

In 2003, Raphael moved to Kansas City where he became the Director of a Tennis Academy, in which he designed training programs for more than 30 players. In 2005 he left the United States, returning to Barcelona to further consolidate his education and receive a Post Grade in Sport Psychology and Physical Education.

He then moved to Hong Kong where he worked for the Tennis Association during a period of 18 months. He coached elite players in some of the most prestigious events such as the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon. During his time with the Tennis Association, Raphael helped Zhang Ling and Venise Chan, Hong Kong’s best juniors with top 50 ITF world rankings, to rankings as high as 500 on their 1st year on the WTA tour. He also helped them achieve great results, including a silver medal at the Junior Asian Championships in Korea.

Raphael has played and coached in more than 20 countries, on 5 different continents, in 4 different languages. He obviously has a strong knowledge of the game, an extensive education, and great experience coaching players from all parts of the world. His passion and dedication to make a difference in the life of young athletes on and off the court make of him a great asset to Hong Kong International Tennis Academys.