Golf & Tennis

Ken Thompson
Director of Tennis

Ken is responsible for putting together a stellar group of tennis professionals. Since joining The Breakers in 1987, his goal has been to create tennis programs that would help educate and develop players of all ages and skill level. Thompson’s unwavering commitment to this goal has been recognized by one of the sport’s foremost authorities, Tennis Magazine. For 16 straight years, since 1990, it has voted The Breakers one of the world’s “top 50 tennis resorts.” Tennis Magazine also distinguished The Breakers for being among the “top 5 resorts in instruction and game matching.” The United States Tennis Association has also accredited Thompson’s efforts by designating The Breakers as a Local Excellence Center, and even more rare, an Area Training Center (one of only two in Florida).

Thompson has reached out extensively to the community through many philanthropic channels.  He is Vice President of the Palm Beach Area Tennis Patrons Foundation, which provides tennis instruction to over 500 socio-economically disadvantaged children in Palm Beach County.  Also, as an insulin-dependent diabetic, he is committed to the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and hosts an annual pro-am tournament at The Breakers that consistently raises over $100,000 for research.

Kathy Rinaldi
Touring Professional

Kathy is The Breakers’ touring professional.  Her accomplishments started at the very young age of 14, when she was the youngest player to have ever won a match at Wimbledon. After that achievement, she rapidly became a player to be reckoned with and earned rankings in the world’s Top Ten for singles and doubles – as high as number six in singles and number one in doubles.  Rinaldi has recorded wins over Chris Evert, Stefi Graf, Martina Navratilova among others, holds over 20 singles and doubles titles, and reached the semi-final round in four grand slam events in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.  She also has the esteemed distinction of being a Wimbledon and U.S. Open Champion at The Masters Level; she won the Wimbledon over-35 doubles championship in 2003.  Most recently, Rinaldi was selected as Assistant Coach for United States Federation Cup Team (April 2006, Germany), the ladies version of the Davis Cup, leading a line-up of top tier women players in tandem with Head Coach Zina Garrison.  In addition to her rigorous instruction and touring schedule, Kathy is a wife and mother and resides in the Palm Beaches.

Mattias Karlsson
Head Tennis Professional

Mattias started his training as a young boy growing up in Sweden and was quickly ranked among the Swedish top 10 juniors.   Karlsson graduated from Mississippi State University where he earned his degree in Fitness Management while achieving All-American honors in singles and doubles. Since 1997 both juniors and adults have benefited from his vast experience and knowledge at The Breakers.

Simo Alami
Tennis Professional

Simo began tennis instruction as a young child in France, which ultimately grew into a lifelong passion for the game.He joined The Breakers Tennis Academy in 1991.  Alami was an ATP Tour Coach for eight years and previously coached the number one 12-year-old female in the nation.