Angry parents claim complaints against disgraced tennis coach ignored

Complaints about a Gold Coast tennis coach – who has been dropped from an elite academy -were made to Tennis Australia up to two years before he was charged with child sex offences, angry parents say.

Prominent Gold Coast tennis coach Ryan Kebblewhite from KDV Sport was arrested by detectives on Sunday. Source: Instagram.

Complaints about an elite Gold Coast tennis academy coach were made to Tennis Australia up to two years before he was charged by police with a string of child sex offences including rape, angry parents say.

Ryan Kebblewhite, who coached kids at the KDV Sport tennis academy at Carrara where tennis great Lleyton Hewitt’s son previously trained, was dramatically arrested at a junior tennis tournament at the facility on Sunday.

The 38-year-old father-of-two faced Southport Magistrates Court on Monday charged with two counts each of rape and indecent treatment of a child under 16 and one count of grooming a child under 16. He will reappear in court next month.

One parent of a student who played at the academy said multiple complaints about Mr Kebblewhite’s alleged behaviour were made to both KDV and Tennis Australia as early as 2023 but “nothing was done”.

“More than 1000 kids pass through this facility (KDV) every year and coaches should be aware of their responsibilities when dealing with minors,” the parent said.

Tennis Australia declined to answer whether it had received complaints about Mr Kebblewhite before he was charged.

Ryan Kebblewhite. Source: Instagram.

“We are aware of a recent arrest in Queensland,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.

“The safety of everyone involved in the sport is our priority and Tennis Australia Integrity will continue to work closely with Queensland Police to assist in their investigations and take any necessary risk mitigation actions.

“As this matter is now before the courts it would be inappropriate for us to provide further comment at this time.”

KDV has refused to comment on the scandal but tennis academy manager Ross Taylor told parents in an email on Tuesday that Mr Kebblewhite had been stood down “as a precautionary measure … while the matter is fully investigated”.

“As this matter is under investigation, we are unable to share specific details at this time until a full investigation has been conducted,” he said in the email.

“However, we want to emphasise that we are taking this situation very seriously and the staff member is being fully cooperative with police.”

In an update to parents on Wednesday, Mr Taylor said “the staff member in question (Kebblewhite) is no longer with our organisation”.

“As this is a sensitive matter, we are unable to provide further details at this time,” he wrote.

“We fully understand the concerns this case may raise, and we want to assure you that the wellbeing and safety of all our tennis athletes remain our top priority.

“Despite the current circumstances, all of our programs will continue to run as scheduled and we are committed to providing the same level of support and professionalism you’ve come to expect.

“Should you have any inquiries or concerns regarding our programs, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly. I’m here to assist you and address any questions you may have.”

Prominent Gold Coast tennis coach Ryan Kebblewhite from KDV Sport has been arrested and charged. Source: Instagram.

Mr Kebblewhite, who won a coaching excellence award at the 2021 Queensland Tennis Awards and was a finalist for Coach of the Year in 2019, has also declined to comment and his social media accounts vanished on Wednesday.

In an Australian tennis community forum on Facebook, one man said his sons attended the KDV academy and the situation was “very sad”.

“It seems to be all too common that certain people in coaching positions in any sport abuse the trust of parents, the clubs or academies they represent and most importantly the children,” he wrote.

“What I can say is that KDV is a great academy and the coaches are terrific people who have the best interests of the kids as a priority.”

The $20m KDV Sport centre, which specialises in tennis and golf, was built by Russian tycoon Dennis Shtengelov in 2016 and features state of the art facilities including 20 tennis courts, golf course and range, gym and fitness centre, swimming pool, hotel, restaurant, conference centre and day spa.

Hewitt, a former world No. 1 and US Open and Wimbledon champion, moved his family from Melbourne to the Gold Coast in 2021 to further teenage son Cruze’s tennis career at KDV.

Hewitt and former star actress wife Bec recently sold their Burleigh Heads mansion, which they bought for more than $4m, after relocating to Sydney.

Originally published as Angry parents claim complaints against disgraced tennis coach ignored