The Givonation Way

Passion meets performance.

Tennis is more than a sport. It’s a journey of discipline, resilience and self-discovery.

Givonation combines professional coaching with structured progression — technical mastery, tactical awareness, fitness and match play built into every session. We train the mind as much as the strokes, developing resilience and the mental habits that hold up under pressure.

It’s a supportive community first, and a competitive one by design — every player, from a first-time beginner to a ranked junior, is training toward their own next level.

Founder

Meet Gio.

Giovani “Gio” Samaha is a former ATP professional who built Givonation on a simple belief: great coaching develops more than technique — it builds resilience, confidence and an understanding of how to compete.

As founder and head coach, Gio leads the academy’s coaching philosophy across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and has coached players from their first swing to the professional tour.

750

Former ATP Singles

500

Former ATP Doubles

Former UAE Ranking

WTA

Coached a Top-20 Player

Meet the Team

Coaching team.

Dubai Team

Giovani Samaha

Founder & Head Coach

Former ATP #750 singles, #500 doubles. Former UAE #1. Former coach to a WTA Top-20 player.

Kateryna Bondarenko

Head Coach — Dubai

Former professional player. Former Head of Junior Program at Mouratoglou Tennis Center.

Konstantin Radosevic

High-Performance Coach

High-performance coach with experience in Serbia, China and the UAE.

Ahmad Khaled Ayyad

Junior & Adult Coach

Palestinian coach, Arabic & English. GPTCA Level C, MTMCA certified. 18 years playing, 8 years coaching. Junior development, beginner–advanced players, private & group coaching.

Innocent Offikwu

Coach

Nigerian coach, English. Professional Tennis Registry Instructor, 10 years’ experience. Focus on agility, balance and coordination.

Hesam Yazdi

Coach

Iranian coach, Persian & English. ITF Level 2, 25 years playing experience, 4 years representing Iran in Davis Cup. Technical analysis, stroke development, match strategy.

Abu Dhabi Team

Dan Thorndyke

Head Coach — Abu Dhabi

Experienced Junior and Adult Coach

Blesneag Horia-Dumitru

Coach

Romanian coach, English & Romanian. Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, PTR, Cliff Drysdale, Romania Tennis. Technique, tactics, all levels and ages, event organization, match play.

Talent Pathway

On the lookout for the next talent.

Givonation runs open tryouts for promising players and offers scholarship opportunities for exceptional talent. Through the academy’s networks and partnerships, dedicated juniors can find pathways toward competitive and professional circuits.