Day after recent day, Matthew McConaughey drove a Lincoln over the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge to the city’s tennis center to play.
“He said he couldn’t believe it was a public court,” said Joel Myers, the city’s tennis director. “These A-list celebrities never come to public facilities. I thought he would come, hit some balls and get a workout in one time and then leave, but he liked it so much that he kept asking if I was available the next day, and then the next day.”
Myers said he received a call from an agency asking to reserve a court and training for a celebrity. That celebrity, it turns out, was McConaughey and his 16-year-old son, Levi McConaughey, who was in San Diego filming his debut movie, “Way of the Warrior Kid,” alongside Chris Pratt.
“He’s a very nice, normal guy,” Myers said. “He has an amazing fitness level. He played for two hours, and he never took a break, he never sat down, he never had a water break – he really is at an elite level of fitness.”
The first day, McConaughey had the court to himself, but on subsequent days, he was playing alongside regular programming at the Coronado Tennis Center. McConaughey is loud and verbal on the court, and even if people didn’t notice him visually, they heard – and recognized – his voice. Myers said he was barraged with texts asking if it was really him.
In all, McConaughey spent about 10 hours training with Myers on Coronado’s public courts, and he said he’ll be back. Over the course of that training, Myers got to know McConaughey, and the two bonded over the actor’s year spent as a carpenter in Australia. Incidentally, McConaughey was two suburbs over from where Myers’ father lives.
McConaughey, who had never been to Coronado, was enamored by the city, calling it a hidden gem, Myers said. It’s a feeling relatable to many who have crossed the bridge for the first time. He said he’ll be back.
Myers said he didn’t expect a celebrity as high profile as McConaughey to show up when the agency first reached out, but it didn’t deter him.
“He’s a good player and very open to coaching,” Myers said. “Tennis is my world; I wasn’t nervous on the court.”
