Photo by: Tony Walsh/UGAAA
Quick Chat: Bruno Tiberti
March 24, 2025 | Men's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Bruno Tiberti is going to greet you with a smile. The Georgia men's tennis assistant coach always exudes happiness and enthusiasm, but never more than when he's talking about his 1-year-old daughter, Tina.
The son of a former ATP Tour player — Gustavo Tiberti reached as high as No. 130 in the world in singles and No. 67 in doubles — Tiberti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The family soon moved to Geneva, Switzerland, for nine years, and before Tiberti learned Spanish, he learned French, which is what they speak in the western part of Switzerland.
As a collegiate player, Tiberti not only helped Oklahoma Christian win the NAIA national championship in 2012 as a sophomore but he was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Two years later, as a senior at Georgia Gwinnett, Tiberti clinched the Grizzlies' first NAIA championship with his win at No. 2 singles.
The following year, as a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia Gwinnett, Tiberti helped the Grizzlies win another national title and establish themselves as the dominant NAIA men's program in the country.
After coaching at several different levels of tennis, most recently at UT-Arlington, as well as working on numerous video projects as a producer, Tiberti joined head coach Jamie Hunt's staff after last season. During a recent Quick Chat, Tiberti talked about his start in tennis, getting into coaching, and more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: Did you play a lot of different sports when you were growing up, or was tennis always your main thing?
Tiberti: My dad was a tennis player, so tennis was always a big thing. I was born in Argentina, and then moved to Switzerland, to Geneva, for the first nine years. I kind of grew up there and spoke French — that was my first language. In Switzerland, I played tennis, but my brother was better than me. And I couldn't handle the losses very well.
After we moved back to Argentina, I liked soccer, because everybody there likes soccer. I continued to play tennis in a club and was taking lessons once a week. And then, suddenly, at 15, I went three times a week. And then I was good; I was top five in the nation in the under-16s, and then I was a tennis player.
I wasn't ready for that. I didn't grow up as a tennis player, but I suddenly became good enough and I had to make tennis-player decisions. I started to play professional tournaments and that's a decision I regret. I got punched in the face; I got better, but there were a lot of punches when you're a young kid. I wouldn't recommend that for a 16-year-old.
Frierson: When did you start thinking about coaching?
Tiberti: When I was in college, over the summers I went to the Hamptons to teach tennis and get some cash to survive during the year. I liked it, but I never thought I was going to do that. At one of my lessons, I met a person who ended up being my boss up until now. She has a P.R. agency and I became a producer of her videos. We worked for Amazon, we worked for Microsoft, we worked for Meta, T-Mobile, Pepsi, so many. ...
After college, I went away from tennis for a little while, doing that, and I was doing well. I was doing that from Argentina, so I was traveling a lot. I remember it was 2020, and I was talking to a kid, convincing the kid who was eight in the world junior (rankings) and trying to tell him that you can go to college and get everything paid for and have an institution behind you that's going to help you to go professional They're going to take care of you and take care of everything. And as I was talking, I was like, why not me?
Frierson: That led you to a grad assistant position at UT-Arlington?
Tiberti: Based on my visa, I could do that as long as I was entering a master's program. ... I went to UTA and I grew as a coach so much there. Because the resources there aren't the same as here, I did everything. For the last two-and-a-half years, I was almost like the head coach of the men's team. We had one head coach for the women and the men, and he basically put me in charge of the men. I had that experience of running a team, and we won the conference twice in a row and made it to the NCAAs.
Frierson: What were you like as a player?
Tiberti: I didn't have a big serve, but I was very smart on the court, and I was very competitive. I got to a better level than I expected.
Frierson: You've seen a lot of the world through tennis and other things, so is there one place you'd like to return to or visit for the first time?
Tiberti: Because I live here, I always want to go back home. My wife (Luciana) and I love to go back to Buenos Aires. ... It's my life; I grew up there and still have a good group of friends there. And my happy place is my club, the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.
Frierson: What is it like having a demanding job like coaching while at the same time having a 1-year-old at home?
Tiberti: It's hard sometimes, but I always go back home and I get to see my family. I love college tennis and I love coaching here. It allows me to see my daughter every day. If I'm on tour, I'm four weeks away and not one weekend. I can handle one weekend away from home.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Bruno Tiberti is going to greet you with a smile. The Georgia men's tennis assistant coach always exudes happiness and enthusiasm, but never more than when he's talking about his 1-year-old daughter, Tina.
The son of a former ATP Tour player — Gustavo Tiberti reached as high as No. 130 in the world in singles and No. 67 in doubles — Tiberti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The family soon moved to Geneva, Switzerland, for nine years, and before Tiberti learned Spanish, he learned French, which is what they speak in the western part of Switzerland.
As a collegiate player, Tiberti not only helped Oklahoma Christian win the NAIA national championship in 2012 as a sophomore but he was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Two years later, as a senior at Georgia Gwinnett, Tiberti clinched the Grizzlies' first NAIA championship with his win at No. 2 singles.
The following year, as a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia Gwinnett, Tiberti helped the Grizzlies win another national title and establish themselves as the dominant NAIA men's program in the country.
After coaching at several different levels of tennis, most recently at UT-Arlington, as well as working on numerous video projects as a producer, Tiberti joined head coach Jamie Hunt's staff after last season. During a recent Quick Chat, Tiberti talked about his start in tennis, getting into coaching, and more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: Did you play a lot of different sports when you were growing up, or was tennis always your main thing?
Tiberti: My dad was a tennis player, so tennis was always a big thing. I was born in Argentina, and then moved to Switzerland, to Geneva, for the first nine years. I kind of grew up there and spoke French — that was my first language. In Switzerland, I played tennis, but my brother was better than me. And I couldn't handle the losses very well.
After we moved back to Argentina, I liked soccer, because everybody there likes soccer. I continued to play tennis in a club and was taking lessons once a week. And then, suddenly, at 15, I went three times a week. And then I was good; I was top five in the nation in the under-16s, and then I was a tennis player.
I wasn't ready for that. I didn't grow up as a tennis player, but I suddenly became good enough and I had to make tennis-player decisions. I started to play professional tournaments and that's a decision I regret. I got punched in the face; I got better, but there were a lot of punches when you're a young kid. I wouldn't recommend that for a 16-year-old.
Frierson: When did you start thinking about coaching?
Tiberti: When I was in college, over the summers I went to the Hamptons to teach tennis and get some cash to survive during the year. I liked it, but I never thought I was going to do that. At one of my lessons, I met a person who ended up being my boss up until now. She has a P.R. agency and I became a producer of her videos. We worked for Amazon, we worked for Microsoft, we worked for Meta, T-Mobile, Pepsi, so many. ...
After college, I went away from tennis for a little while, doing that, and I was doing well. I was doing that from Argentina, so I was traveling a lot. I remember it was 2020, and I was talking to a kid, convincing the kid who was eight in the world junior (rankings) and trying to tell him that you can go to college and get everything paid for and have an institution behind you that's going to help you to go professional They're going to take care of you and take care of everything. And as I was talking, I was like, why not me?
Frierson: That led you to a grad assistant position at UT-Arlington?
Tiberti: Based on my visa, I could do that as long as I was entering a master's program. ... I went to UTA and I grew as a coach so much there. Because the resources there aren't the same as here, I did everything. For the last two-and-a-half years, I was almost like the head coach of the men's team. We had one head coach for the women and the men, and he basically put me in charge of the men. I had that experience of running a team, and we won the conference twice in a row and made it to the NCAAs.
Frierson: What were you like as a player?
Tiberti: I didn't have a big serve, but I was very smart on the court, and I was very competitive. I got to a better level than I expected.
Frierson: You've seen a lot of the world through tennis and other things, so is there one place you'd like to return to or visit for the first time?
Tiberti: Because I live here, I always want to go back home. My wife (Luciana) and I love to go back to Buenos Aires. ... It's my life; I grew up there and still have a good group of friends there. And my happy place is my club, the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.
Frierson: What is it like having a demanding job like coaching while at the same time having a 1-year-old at home?
Tiberti: It's hard sometimes, but I always go back home and I get to see my family. I love college tennis and I love coaching here. It allows me to see my daughter every day. If I'm on tour, I'm four weeks away and not one weekend. I can handle one weekend away from home.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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