Jean Desdunes - Women's Tennis Coach - Princeton University Athletics

Princeton v Fordham NCAA women’s tennis Charlottesville regional (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly for Princeton)

Jean Desdunes

Title:
Cornelia Drake and John Van Ryn Jr. '28 Assistant Coach
Email:
jd0666@princeton.edu

Jean Desdunes joined the Princeton women's tennis team as the Cornelia Drake and John Van Ryn Jr. '28 Assistant Coach in September 2022.

Desdunes' first season at Princeton was a special one, as he helped guide the Tigers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in her first season, 2022-23. In addition, the Tigers won the Ivy League title outright after going a perfect 7-0 in conference play, 17-7 overall and earned ranked wins over No. 16 Old Dominion and No. 51 Harvard. 2022-23 also saw Daria Frayman earn selection for the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships, where she teamed with Grace Joyce in doubles. Frayman also rose as high as No. 4 in the ITA singles rankings, and No. 26 in doubles with Joyce.

Desdunes comes to Princeton from the United States Tennis Association (USTA), where he served as a National Coach from March 2005 until June 2020. At the USTA he worked with private sector coaches on the USTA Philosophy, traveled with U.S. players and teams to international competitions, scouted and evaluated future prospects, and oversaw junior camps throughout the USTA sections and national campuses.

From November 2003 until November 2005, Desdunes was the Multicultural Participation/NJTL Coordinator for the USTA Southern Section, and was a Tennis Professional at the Summit Chase Country Club from January 2001 until November 2003. Prior to that, Desdunes was an Independent Tennis Professional from August 1999 to May 2001.

At the college level, Desdunes served as men’s tennis Head Coach at Georgia Tech from January 1988 until July 1998. During his 10-season tenure, he coached four All-Americans and 10 All-ACC selections, and was honored as the ACC Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1994. Desdune’s first recruiting class won the NCAA Regional Championship in 1994. From September 1994 until September 1998, he served on the NCAA Division I Coaches Subcommittee, assisting the NCAA with rules implementation and assisting with the selection process to the championships.

Desdunes’ first coaching job was as a USTA National Summer Travel Coach from June 1985 until June 1989.

As a player, Desdunes is a member of the Hall of Fame and was a two-time All-American and a four-time All-ACC honoree at Clemson. The Senior NCAA Player of the Year in 1993, Desdunes was a two-time finalist for the Asuna Award, the NCAA national sportsmanship award. A member of the ACC 50^th Anniversary Team. Desdunes graduated from Clemson in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Administration Management.