Definition: Unforced Error (src:Tennis) ❝A lost point that is entirely as a result of the player’s own mistake. ❞
One fine Tuesday morning in November 2019, my husband called me and asked me if I am ready for a shocking news. I was confused and paused for a few seconds trying to build strength and eventually asked him to say it. He told me that Mr. X shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, Ms. Y! It was extremely hard to believe. We never thought this sweet coach would murder someone. I have heard similar things in the news but never experienced this from anyone we were involved with. It was hard for us to digest.
Six years ago, our quest for an exceptional tennis coach ended up with a six and a half feet tall Puerto Rican guy in the late 50 s who reminded you of a Latin lover. He always dressed in the latest tennis attire head to toe and wore his signature gold chains. I am going to mention him as Mr. X for the rest of the article. He was once married to Miss Puerto Rico and always boasted about having a beautiful daughter with her. Even though his marriage lasted for only 15 years, he and his wife were able to raise a son who was a top 10 tennis player in the nation.
What made Mr. X extraordinary was his ability to instill tennis fundamentals to even smaller kids. Every kid who came out of his facility had proper strokes at tender ages. So, we decided to enroll our oldest daughter when she was 8 years old.
He was a magician when it came to teaching younger children, even kids starting at 4 years old, to hit a ball with the right technique. Mr. X used simple terminologies that kids can relate like “High five the ball, Windshield wiper, Happy feet etc.” He always managed to make tennis fun for the kids. He would let the kids drill with Latin music playing in the background. They always came back with a smile from practice.
Our older one continued to have weekly private and group sessions with him. Having seen her older sister on the tennis court, the little one started showing interest in the game. We then enrolled her in his program when she was 5 years old. Soon she got close with him and became his favorite student. Every year Mr. X took his team to the junior state championships. For him, this was a mini-Wimbledon. He was so obsessed that he would prepare months in advance. It was so cute to see how closely he watched the kids getting ready for this event. He made sure that the kids’ shirts were uniquely designed by him each year. The shirt carried the tagline “ where stars are born”. There was even a dress code that he created so that the kids would look professional while they played.
Mr X shared his personal life stories with parents since it was more than a business relationship for him with tennis families. We have seen him go through girlfriends on and off. He was never in a long-term relationship despite being a fun, caring guy. He had also gone through some weight loss program and lost more than 30 lbs. or so and looked very young and athletic for his age. After a while, he found a girlfriend Ms. Y. He was very happy that he met someone after a long time and started going on many dates. He was so passionate and obsessed with her. Eventually, she moved in with him. He started partying, going overseas vacations and living life rich. That year Mr. X was invited to bring his kids to attend the US Open opening ceremony. Younger kids got an opportunity to rally balls on the US Open court before the pros got to play. We got a chance to meet Ms. Y at that event. She was a very attractive, well-maintained lady for somebody who was fifty plus.
Over the time, this relationship started showing some sloppiness in his coaching which was very unlike his character. On and off we heard stories that they would break up and get back together frequently. This is when we knew that this was going to be a roller coaster ride for kids training. He even decided to propose to her. His current job couldn’t handle all the pressure of the “rich life”. To satisfy his new lifestyle we parents were asked to pay upfront for future lessons. Once Mr. X called my husband and mentioned that he lost his gold chain to gambling, didn’t know what to do next, and was going to be bankrupt. We decided to help him out by enrolling kids in multiple teaching sessions. This went on for about 6 months with him doing some no shows. Parents were starting to get tired of these antics. One of the parents mentioned that Mr. X had asked for money to fill the gas so that he could come for training. One day during class, Mr. X abruptly said that he was done with his distractions, going to be serious about coaching, and would put all his focus into training. This gave us much hope that we would see the old Mr. X again. He got on Tinder, a dating site, in search of new partners. He also mentioned that he was going to get the engagement ring back from Ms. Y, which would ease his debt situation. He approached her multiple times but she never returned the ring. These were the events that were prior to the heinous crime.
Upon talking to friends, reading newspapers, and internet sites we got an idea of what happened. Before Mr. X and Ms. Y broke up, they had a court case going on for an assault charge. Late October Mr. X had lost the case. Looks like he tried to buy a firearm right after that. There was an awaiting period to obtain the firearm, hence this incident was delayed into November. Once he was able to purchase the gun, he picked up the gun from the store and drove up one hour north where the lady lived. He went into her house and probably argued about getting the ring back or god knows what and shot and killed her. As he was walking out of the house, the lady’s adult son walks in on him. Mr. X told him that his mother ruined his life, then he fled the house, and the son called 911. What a tragedy!
It took us a while to recover from this shock. It still gives me a chill when I think about the fact that he texted my husband, an hour before the incident, stating that he was going to miss our little one’s class. Sometimes we think if there was anything that we could have done differently which would have prevented this tragedy. We decided not to reveal the truth to our little one until she is older, she still believes that he left the country to teach in Europe. Mr. X is awaiting trial. We managed to settle down with a couple of good coaches for our kids. Still, our quest for a passionate coach like Mr. X continues…
Seema Rajiv