ALBANY RESORT
New Povidence, The Bahamas
​
By Rich Neher
I met Tatiana Soldatova on LinkedIn and learned that she and her husband Glenn Weiner work at one of the most exclusive resorts in the world, Albany on New Providence Island, The Bahamas. Forbes wrote about the Albany in the 10/15/18 issue (Why Albany In The Bahamas Is One Of The Most Exclusive Resorts In The World): "Owned by British billionaire Joe Lewis and his private investment organisation Tavistock Group, along with golfing greats Tiger Woods and Ernie Els and actor and musician Justin Timberlake, the ambitious development first opened in 2010 and it remains something of an under-the-radar destination for a tranche of starry residents and guests."
Tatiana Soldatova
Tatiana Soldatova is a tennis professional at the Albany. Her career took her to Bellettieri Tennis in Bradenton, Florida, WTA in St. Petersburg, Florida, and some real estate work in Sarasota, Florida.
​
Glenn Weiner is the Director of Tennis at the Albany. The former professional tennis player played on the tour for 12 years starting in 1994 and had a career high ranking of #112 (sgls) and #85 (dbls).
Glenn Weiner
There are many good flights connecting Miami and Florida to Nassau's Lynden Pindling International airport. Other North American cities with direct connections to Nassau are Orlando, Tampa, Charlotte, Atlanta, New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Denver, and Cleveland
We asked Tatiana a few questions.
​
TCB: Tell our readers a little about yourself and your career.
TS: I moved to the USA in 2006 to play collegiate tennis at Division 1 at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville Fl. Graduated in 2010 with Finance and International Business. Last year I played #1 Singles and doubles position. Decided to stay and get my master's degree at the same university and was working as a graduate assistant coach for both Men's and Women's tennis team wich paid for my Masters in Education with focus in Sports Management and Leadership.
Upon graduation I got a summer job at IMB Bolletieri tennis academy and was hired full time there and got my U.S. work visa sponsored. That's where I met my now dear husband Glenn Weiner who was a touring pro for 12 year (ATP Singles high #119 and Doubles #85) and at IMG he was working with top juniors and professional players. I left IMG at 2015 and briefly worked for the WTA headquarter in St Pete for the Player Development department and afterwards stepped away and actually worked as a FL real estate agent for 5 years prior to moving to the Bahamas. I continue to be very much engaged in the tennis community, traveled to some pro tournaments with my husband, participated in fundraising tournaments and exhibitions and played for my own enjoyment. In March of 2020 we welcomed our baby girl into the world right before the pandemic began and shortly after in August 2020 we moved to the Bahamas where my husband got a director job at the Albany Racquet Center and co-director at the Albany Tennis Academy.
Albany Resort
In the meantime, there are solutions. Some private equity groups will look at financing the real estate piece. A buy/sell agreement with key employees for a buy-out over time, or a lease with an option to buy might be an alternative. But owners need to recogniz
We also have more deals in the planning phase at the moment, please join our mailing list: SCA Tennis Mailing List to receive notifications for new deals when they hit the market.
​
~ Jim Bates is a Partner at Sports Club Advisors. He is a former tennis professional, the co-author of “Business Valuation for Dummies”, and a seasoned mergers & acquisitions professional.
TCB: Where is the club located on the Bahamas? How do you get to the location from the U.S.?
TS: The Albany is located in Nassau, New Providence on the west side of the island. It is a 45 mins flight from Miami or Ft Lauderdale. Some people travel by boat, takes about 8-10 hours from Miami.
Glenn, Tatiana, Anya
Anya Weiner
TCB: Why would tennis lovers want to travel to your club?
TS: Its a very special luxury resort that attracts a lot of celebrities and high end clientele. It would a good combination of a vacation getaway with beautiful waters around, lots of fun tennis and padel events with an option to add strength training and spa recovery.
​
TCB: Is the use of tennis courts and Padel included in the resort accommodation charge?
TS: Yes, courts can be booked on the app without any charge, private lessons and group clinics are additional charge.
​
TCB: Do you offer tennis and Padel lessons, clinics, match play?
TS: Yes we do padel lessons and clinics, we had a fun padel event in february when top 4 us padel players came down to the club for the weekend, they taught daily clinics, did pro-am and a final day match exhibition that our members really loved, Organized matchplay didn't really take off in the club but we do monthly mixers, kind of like a round robin play with rotations and we do it for both tennis and padel and if some visitors are looking for a tennis match we usually introduce them to players in a similar level who likes to play so then they arrange matches on their own.
TCB: Tell us about the high school with tennis academy close to you.
TS: Its a private upper class school and right now we have golf and tennis academies that students can join. There are also marine science and music academies that students can choose from. The total school population is about 220 students and 12 of them are part of the tennis academy.
Tatiana and Glenn on their wedding day
TCB: What is your area of the Bahamas known for? What should visitors expect they can do?
TS: Beautiful turquoise waters, calm ocean, warm weather all year long, nice slow life pace, island time is a real thing. They can relax and recharge, disconnect from the busy lives and enjoy many outdoor activities.
TCB: Is there anything else we should add to the information about your cub and visiting it?
TS: Tiger Woods has his charity event Hero World Challenge where top 20 golf players compete and it would be also a great time to visit because the resort changes during that time a lot.
​
TCB: What is your tennis racquet of choice and why?
TS: Yonex Vcore Pro, have been playing with Yonex for a few years now and love the control I get on my strokes without losing the power. I always get the light version so its easy on the arms for daily teaching but I still feel like I can have a good performance when someone challenges me to a match.
​
TCB: Thank you, Tatiana.
Tatiana with Frances Tiafoe and Donald Young
Do you like our content? If you do so, please consider supporting us. For as little as $1 a month, you can help ensure the long-term future of TENNIS CLUB BUSINESS.
Click here to support and please share this with all the tennis lovers you know.
TCB: How long have you been with Albany Resort and what is your position? What do you mainly do?
TS: Almost 2 years, I work as a tennis pro and help my husband run the club. I teach tennis clinics and lessons, padel lessons, help with club championships and mixers organization and order clothes for the tennis shop.
TCB: How big is Albany Resort in regards to tennis? (number of courts, do you have a tennis membership?)
TS: Tennis and golf are both pretty big at the resort, tennis is part of the overall Albany membership. What's unique about our resort it's not a hotel like a normal resort with people coming and going but it is a resort community where all properties are owned by our members but could also be rented out. So we have members who live here year round, we have a lot of members from New York and Canada or the UK who come here only for holidays and we also have guest who just visit and rent an apartment or a house for a duration of their holidays. We have 5 Har Tru courts and one hard court. We also have 6 padel outdoor courts and 1 indoor padel court. And we have 6 hard courts at the Albany Tennis Academy which is a part of the Windsor High School and adjacent to the resort. We use them in the busy season as well.
