The Flame Still Burns: Ilinca Cristescu Williams Comes Full Circle as Tennis Instructor at Five Seasons Northbrook

Growing up in Bucharest, Romania, Ilinca Cristescu Williams fell in love with tennis at the age of six.

The fourth-eldest of five children, she zeroed in on the sport so much that by the time she was 12, she was ranked nationally in the Top 12 for her age group.

That is when her family moved to the Chicago area and her passion for the game came right along. Through her teens, she continued to sharpen her game—aided by two years of instruction at Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Northbrook.

Recruited by the likes of Marquette, DePaul and Yale, she accepted a four-year scholarship to the University of Illinois at Chicago and became a standout for the Flames. Starting out, she played in the No. 1 singles slot and received Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the Horizon League.

Her collegiate career included singles and doubles tennis action as well as multiple Player of the Week laurels. During her time at UIC, the Flames never lost to an in-conference rival.

Likewise, the fire that kindled inside her for tennis never diminished. So after earning a degree in Spanish, with a minor in International Relations, Cristescu Williams made a seamless transition as a tennis instructor at a variety of the top clubs in the area.

In mid-October, she joined Five Seasons’ full-time staff, which guides one of the top junior tennis programs in the area.

Chris Sheldon, the club’s Director of Racquet Sports, said Cristescu Williams has matured into one of the most respected young tennis instructors in the area.

“Ever since she came here as a high school player, Ilinca has remained on our radar,” Sheldon said. “She was a terrific summer instructor while in high school, went on to do great things at the collegiate level and she’s only gotten better with time. We’re thrilled to have her on our instructional team.”

During her high school playing days, her tennis instructors included Manny Velasco and Suhel Malhotra—now her colleagues at Five Seasons.

Cristescu Williams instructs several different groups at the club, including 10- to 12-year-old boys and girls, the 10 and Under Tennis program, as well as adults.

“Of all the clubs where I have been an instructor, I like the atmosphere at Five Seasons the most,” she said. “It’s so much more competitive and the coaches care more about helping kids and adults become better tennis players.”

It won’t be long before Cristescu Williams has an opportunity to pass on her love for the game to the next generation in her own family. She and her husband, Timon Williams, also a college tennis player, have two sons: David, 2 ½, and Nathanael, 10 months.

She summed up her overriding coaching philosophy in simple terms: “The harder you work, the better the player you can be.”

The root of her ethic traces back to Romania, where the mantra was “work hard, work hard, work hard.” However, Cristescu Williams is acutely aware that if tennis is only about work, then it can “become kind of depressing after a while.”

“There has to be enthusiasm that goes with it,” she said. “And when you love the game for as long as I have, having fun while improving your tennis game—or helping others do the same—just comes naturally.”

Five Seasons Family Sports Club is located at 1300 Techny Road in Northbrook and online at http://www.fiveseasonssportsclub.com/northbrook/. Five Seasons is the premier year-round high-energy, high-touch sports club focused on family leisure and entertainment, improving sports performance and maintaining overall health.

To learn more, call 847-897-5030. On Facebook: www.facebook.com/FiveSeasonsNorthbrook. Twitter: www.twitter.com/FiveSeasonsNB.

Photo Captions:

Photos #1-3: Ilinca Cristescu Williams during a recent workout at Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Northbrook, where she first trained as a high school player.

Photo #4: Ilinca Cristescu Williams during her time as a tennis player for the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames. In her career there, the squad never lost a Horizon League match.

Photo #5: Ilinca Cristescu Williams at Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Northbrook. “When you love the game for as long as I have,” she says, “having fun while improving your tennis game—or helping others do the same—just comes naturally.”

(Photos at Five Seasons Northbrook by Jon Weiser)