The common worldwide path for gifted junior tennis players who aspire to play professionally goes something like this:
Get shipped off to an academy by 14 or 15. Drill forehands, backhands, serves, service returns and volleys for four hours a day, spread across two workouts. Burn another two hours on conditioning. School? Online classes only.
“Tennis is the priority,” said University of San Diego men’s tennis coach Ryan Keckley, “not the academics.”
Jacques Bouzoubaa and his wife, Zorica Rahovic, are taking a different approach with their talented sons.
Ilias Bouzoubaa is a 17-year-old junior at Francis Parker. His 4.38 GPA at the academically challenging school is as impressive as his No. 28 national ranking in the boys 18s. Noah Bouzoubaa, who turns 15 on May 18, is a Parker freshman who has been ranked as high as 23rd nationally in his age group.
Jacques, who coaches the boys, and Zorica are confident their sons’ national rankings would be significantly higher if they focused on tennis at an academy. But they’re trying to develop more than just tennis players.
“A well-rounded education is very important to us,” said Jacques. “That’s the route we have chosen.”
Francis Parker tennis star Noah Bouzoubaa hits during practice at the Pacific Beach Tennis Center on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Ilias and Noah do not train at a swank club. They practice three hours a day, five days a week at the Pacific Beach Tennis Club, which is wedged between an executive golf course and a Little League field. A tall netting attached to the outfield fence keeps the tennis players from getting bonked on the head by home runs.
Ilias is the reigning CIF San Diego Section singles champion. He romped to the title as a sophomore, losing just 10 games in 10 sets, beating University City’s Oskar Rouse 6-2, 6-1 in the finals.
Ilias will pass on playing the singles tournament this time.
“It serves him no purpose to again play singles,” said Jacques.
Instead, Ilias will play doubles with Noah. They’re the No. 2 seed and begin play Wednesday in the round of 16 at the Balboa Tennis Club. The tandem will try to become the eighth set of brothers to win the doubles title since the section began holding individual championships in 1961.
Ilias first began playing tennis when he was 6, banging balls in clinics with loaner rackets at Standley Recreation Center in University City.
“I’m thinking, this kid has a sense for it,” recalled Jacques. “He loves it. He’s having fun. He’s moving.”
Soon, Ilias was hitting at clinics at La Jolla Country Day School.
“I said, this kid here, we’re going to go places with him,” said Jacques.
Francis Parker tennis star Ilias Bouzoubaa hits during practice at the Pacific Beach Tennis Center on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A coach suggested private lessons. Instead, Jacques, who played a variety of sports growing up in Morocco, studied tennis videos, read about the technical aspects of the sport and began coaching his son.
The five-day-a-week, three-hour-a-day workouts with Ilias and Noah have been going on for four years now.
Both brothers are about 6 feet tall and very athletic.
Ilias played basketball in middle school at Parker. Mason Biddle, Parker’s boys basketball and boys tennis coach, said that if Ilias had continued playing basketball rather than focus strictly on tennis, he would have made the high school’s varsity team.
Ilias and Noah also played flag football in middle school.
“They were two of the better players on the team,” said Biddle.
Both brothers hit the ball with incredible pace from the baseline. Nearly 2½ years older, Ilias is the better player — at least for now. They sometimes play 10-point tie-breakers in practice.
Sitting at a table outside one of the Pacific Beach Tennis Club courts, Ilias gave his brother props, saying: “He wins some 10-point tie-breakers.”
“Sets,” Noah admitted, “that’s a different story.”
“Ilias might be the best player in San Diego,” said Cathedral Catholic coach Joe Barbarie. “Not just high school players. College, everybody. He’s that good.”
Ilias on Noah’s game: “He’s very smart on the court, has a lot of tennis IQ. Great hands. Just a smart player. He can hit big as well off both wings. His backhand is real smooth. He’s developing into a real good player. Sometimes, if he’s not hitting well, he’ll find other ways to win, something other players (his age) can’t do. He’ll find their weakness and exploit it.”
Noah on Ilias’ game: “He’s a real solid baseliner. All his groundstrokes come back the same height, the same depth.”
While their playing styles are similar, the brothers’ on-court demeanors are different.
“Ilias is very mature, just super, super consistent,” said Biddle. “Ball up the middle consistently. When it’s time to go down the line or cross court, he will.”
Noah plays with more flair.
“He’s a showman, 100%,” said Jacques. “I have no issues with that. That’s his personality. You can’t change that. If he’s playing a match and fans are watching, he will hit a big shot, a fancy shot or a drop shot. He’ll stop, put his hand to his ear, (as if saying to the fans) ‘C’mon, give me some love.’”
Jacques wishes Ilias would sometimes let loose with his emotions like his younger brother.
“He’s ultra focused,” said Jacques. “Sometimes I find him too controlled. Let it go! You can’t control everything. Let loose.”
Then Jacques pointed to Noah.
“This guy here, he’s a loose cannon,” said Jacques. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. He’s able to hit shots and I’m like, ‘Wow, what did you do?’”
Noah is independent, too. He’s a big fan of Great Britain’s Jack Draper, once ranked fourth in the world. Draper swings a Dunlop racket and a few weeks ago, on his own, Noah e-mailed Dunlop, relayed his rankings and results, and secured a sponsorship.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Jacques asked Noah.
“Does it matter?” replied Noah. “I got it.”
Francis Parker’s Ilias and Noah Bouzoubaa and their parents Jaques and Zorica Rahovic at the Pacific Beach Tennis Center on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker for The San Diego Union-Tribune)
There’s no questioning the brothers’ dedication. About three times a week, they wake up in the morning and jog three miles before school. They go to the UC San Diego track on Sundays for conditioning work supervised by their mother, a former 2-hour, 57-minute marathoner.
“They’re very ambitious,” she said.
Both brothers say they prefer attending school at Francis Parker and playing tennis rather than focusing solely on the sport at an academy.
“Some online (academic) kids I know, they play tennis hours a day, but outside of tennis, they don’t have much else to do,” said Ilias. “I feel (traditional) school is a good way to balance your life.”
As for goals, both say they long to play Division I college tennis.
And “depending on my level, I want to see how far I could go on the pro tour,” said Ilias.
Sitting at the table off a Pacific Beach Tennis Club court, Noah seemed to be deep in thought, staring at something off in the distance.
Addressing a question, Noah said: “I want to make it to a D-I college. Get a good education. Not just be tennis-focused. If I’m good enough, when I’m good enough, I’ll try the pro tour.”