Racket Business

Padel’s Next Challenge Is Not Growth. It’s Retention

Tim Farthing — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:08:13 +0000

Padel has become the great growth story of the global racket sports industry.

Courts are opening at record speed. Investors are entering the market. Existing tennis, leisure and fitness operators are converting space to meet demand. Millions of new players are picking up a padel racket for the first time.

But beneath the excitement lies a question that every emerging sport eventually has to answer:

Is padel building a sustainable player pipeline — or simply benefiting from a wave of short-term participation growth?

Across many markets, especially in Europe, padel clubs have become extremely effective at attracting new players. Introductory sessions, holiday camps, discounts and social events have helped create a powerful entry point into the sport.

But getting someone onto court once is not the same as creating a lifelong player.

The next challenge for padel is not acquisition.

It is retention.

And the warning signs from another racket sport’s decline provide an important lesson.

The Squash Warning: What Happens When a Sport Stops Creating New Players

Walk into many leisure centres in the UK today and there is a visible reminder of what can happen when a racket sport fails to replace its ageing customer base.

Many squash courts have disappeared. Others have been converted into gyms, studios or storage areas. In some facilities, the glass walls remain as a reminder of a sport that once had waiting lists and thriving junior programmes.

The decline of squash was not caused by a lack of enjoyment. It was not because racket sports became irrelevant.

It was because the sport struggled to create the next generation of players at scale.

Research from Sport England showed that while overall sports participation continued to grow between 2016 and 2022, squash participation moved in the opposite direction. Regular squash participation declined by around 10%, while casual participation fell by approximately 27%, representing almost 283,000 fewer casual players.

The wider lesson for padel is clear:

A sport cannot rely forever on the enthusiasm of its first wave of adopters.

Eventually, every sport has to answer the same question:

Who replaces today’s players when they move on?

Participation Growth Is Not Enough

Padel’s current numbers are impressive.

According to the International Padel Federation World Padel Report 2025, the sport has grown to more than 35 million players globally, with more than 77,000 courts worldwide. Europe remains the heart of the game, accounting for approximately 70% of global courts and almost 60% of players.

The UK has become one of the fastest-growing padel markets, with the Lawn Tennis Association reporting hundreds of venues and close to 1,000 courts across the country.

That growth is creating enormous commercial opportunity.

But history shows that participation spikes alone do not guarantee long-term health.

Tennis provides a useful comparison.

While squash struggled to maintain its player base, tennis invested heavily in structured junior development. Programmes such as LTA Youth created clear entry points, progression pathways and links between schools, coaches and clubs.

The result has been a much stronger player pipeline.

Sport England data has shown millions of children engaging with tennis, while the LTA has highlighted the importance of thousands of trained teachers and coaches delivering structured tennis opportunities through schools and clubs.

The difference is not that tennis made children play.

It created a reason for them to keep playing.

From Junior Sessions to Real Academies

This is where padel faces one of its biggest strategic challenges.

Across the industry, clubs are increasingly offering junior sessions, holiday camps and introductory programmes.

That is positive.

But many operators risk confusing activity with development.

A junior session gets children onto court.

An academy creates players.

The difference is significant.

A genuine junior pathway requires:

age and ability-based progression
consistent weekly coaching
clear milestones
coach continuity
competition opportunities
engagement with parents
a route from beginner to advanced player

The foundations of a sport are not built at major championships or federation headquarters.

They are built on Tuesday afternoons at local clubs, when a nine-year-old decides whether this is something they want to continue doing for the next decade.

As one operator recently observed:

“Too many clubs are running activities and calling them academies.”

The distinction matters because the commercial value of a young player is not measured in one booking.

It is measured over years.

The Coaching Model Problem

The challenge is not simply cultural.

It is structural.

Many padel clubs operate using a freelance coaching model, where coaches run their own businesses inside venues.

This model has helped padel grow quickly because it keeps costs flexible and allows talented coaches to build communities.

However, it can create a fundamental disconnect:

Who owns the player relationship?

In many cases, the coach does.

The club owns the court, but the coach owns the customer.

This creates a natural commercial tension.

Adult coaching sessions during peak evening hours are immediately profitable.

Junior development programmes are slower to build, often operate during quieter periods and require long-term investment before generating significant returns.

From a pure short-term business perspective, the incentive is obvious.

But from a sport development perspective, it creates a problem.

Who is responsible for creating the next generation of players?

The Customer Lifetime Value Opportunity

Other industries have understood this principle for decades.

Retailers do not focus only on today’s transaction. They focus on lifetime customer value.

Financial institutions spend heavily acquiring young customers because they understand the value of a relationship over decades.

The first interaction is not where the profit is created.

The relationship is the asset.

Padel operators need to view junior programmes through the same lens.

A child entering a structured academy is not simply a participant.

They represent:

years of court bookings
future membership revenue
family engagement
parents spending time at the venue
future coaching income
a potential lifelong connection to the club

The fitness industry has demonstrated the importance of community and accountability in retention. Research has repeatedly shown that people exercising within social groups or structured programmes are significantly more likely to remain engaged than those participating alone.

The same principle applies to racket sports.

A player who belongs to a community is harder to lose.

The Window of Opportunity Is Now

Some operators may argue that padel is still too young to worry about long-term player pipelines.

Demand remains high.

New players continue to arrive.

The market still feels unstoppable.

But that is exactly when investment in the future matters most.

Squash did not suddenly disappear overnight.

Its decline happened gradually, while many believed the existing player base would continue.

By the time the problem became obvious, the pipeline had already disappeared.

Building junior pathways takes years.

Creating coaches takes years.

Developing competitive players takes years.

The work must begin before the market needs it.

Padel’s Defining Business Decision

The next phase of padel’s growth will not simply be measured by the number of courts built.

It will be measured by the number of players retained.

Holiday discounts and introductory offers are valuable tools. They create awareness and remove barriers.

But they are only the beginning.

The operators who succeed long-term will be those that move beyond selling court time and start building communities, pathways and player journeys.

Padel has already proven it can attract people.

The next challenge is proving it can keep them.

Because the biggest risk facing the sport is not that people stop discovering padel.

It is that the industry fails to create the systems that turn today’s beginners into tomorrow’s lifelong players.

And that is a decision being made by clubs, coaches and operators right now.

August 2026 issue

Rich Neher — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:31:13 +0000

Hello dear readers, friends, and racket sports enthusiasts.

Welcome to your new issue of Racket Business — and another packed edition that reflects just how quickly the racket sports landscape continues to evolve.

From tennis and padel to pickleball and racquetball, the industry is entering a period of unprecedented change. Technology is reshaping coaching and performance, investors are discovering the commercial potential of racket sports, governing bodies are exploring new revenue models, and clubs, coaches and operators are being challenged to think differently about how they grow.

This month’s issue brings together some of the most informed voices from across the global racket sports ecosystem — industry leaders, entrepreneurs, analysts and long-standing experts who continue to provide the insight and perspective our readers rely on.

Our publisher Rich Neher opens the issue with his latest observations from the industry, including questions raised around USTA Pacific Northwest and a fascinating week-long dispatch in “The New York Playbook”, exploring the connections between Hudson Yards, West Palm and the future direction of the racket business. Rich also brings his regular industry news round-up, letters, multimedia picks, and his unique view across racquetball, padel and pickleball developments.

Rod Heckelman examines one of the most important challenges facing tennis professionals today in “Do You Know How To Make Money for Someone Else?”, highlighting the need for greater business education, while also exploring the relationship between tennis and real estate value. Gary Horvath continues his mission to advance tennis with a call for stronger industry leadership through a Competitiveness Council.

Elsewhere, this month’s Racket Business analysis looks at the forces driving the next phase of growth. We examine why technology investors are increasingly turning their attention towards racket sports, how AO Ventures is backing the future of sports technology, and why the LTA’s move into venture capital represents a wider shift among governing bodies searching for new opportunities beyond traditional revenue streams. We also take an in-depth look at the ambitious plans for a new Roehampton super hub that could reshape British tennis infrastructure.

With the launch of the new Racket Sports Business Expo approaching, we explore why the industry needs more opportunities for collaboration, innovation and connection — bringing together the businesses, technologies and people shaping the future of the game.

Our padel coverage continues to reflect the explosive growth and growing complexity of the sport. Scott Matulis asks “Why Does Padel Need So Many Apps?”, sharing his experience navigating the digital ecosystem around the world's fastest-growing racket sport, while we look at the Pro Padel League’s landmark first national US television deal and bring you the latest global padel developments.

Pickleball continues its momentum with Rich’s Pickleball Buzz Beyond the Kitchen, while our retail and equipment coverage explores changing consumer behaviour, including women’s growth in racquet sports and the evolving relationship between clubs and custom gear.

The August issue also dives deep into the knowledge, technology and people driving the future of the industry. Rich Neher’s technology column highlights the latest innovations, Gareth Shaw explains how AI-supported coaching from OnCourtAI could transform player development pathways, and Cassandra Toroian shares lessons from across the business world in “Never Stop Learning.”

We also bring you insights from Susan Nardi on talent development, David Pyrzenski’s latest “Building in Public” instalment examining the gap between what clubs ask for and what they truly need, and a thought-provoking look at Arthur Fery’s Wimbledon breakthrough and what it means for the long-running debate around education and elite junior tennis.

Finally, we explore the people and ideas behind the industry’s future including the latest podcasts, newsletters and resources worth following in our Multimedia Picks.

As always, the goal of Racket Business remains simple: to connect the people building the future of racket sports, share the lessons that can help the industry grow, and provide a platform for the voices shaping what comes next.

If you have insights, ideas, or industry experience to share, we invite you to contribute to RacketBusiness — because the conversations that shape our sport start with voices like yours. 👉 Write for RacketBusiness

Enjoy the issue, stay curious, and keep swinging forward.

See you courtside,

Rich & Tim (Learn more about us)

^{P.S. If ever you can’t find Racket Business in your inbox, check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If you’re using Gmail: On mobile, please tap the three dots in the top right and select “move to” and then “primary.” On desktop, please drag this email into your “primary” folder. If you’re using Apple mail: please select our email address and then select “Add to VIPs.” This will ensure you get the email each month.}

From inside the lines…

An exclusive series of short features, only available to newsletter subscribers, from the owner’s of Racket Business. This month…

The AI Question Every Racket Sport Needs to Answer

Artificial intelligence promises to transform coaching, clubs and competition. But before the industry embraces its biggest technological revolution in decades, it should ask a far simpler question: what, exactly, are we trying to replace?

The racket sports industry has never had more opportunities—or more distractions. Participation continues to grow across tennis, padel and pickleball, investment in facilities is increasing in many markets, and a new generation of technology companies are promising to reinvent almost every aspect of the sport. Every week seems to bring another AI-powered platform that claims it can transform coaching, automate club management, personalise player development or revolutionise the customer experience.

Some of those promises will undoubtedly be fulfilled. Others will quietly disappear as the hype subsides. But amid the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence, the industry risks asking the wrong question.

Whether AI will disrupt racket sports is scarcely in doubt. It almost certainly will. The more interesting question is where that disruption ends—and where the essential value of sport begins.

Unlike previous innovations, AI is not simply another product or piece of software. It is a capability that can influence almost every part of the racket sports ecosystem, from scheduling and marketing to performance analysis, officiating and business intelligence. It is easy to see why club operators, coaches, governing bodies and investors are paying close attention.

Yet the more AI advances, the clearer it becomes that its greatest strength lies not in replacing the sport itself, but in removing the countless layers of administration, inefficiency and routine that surround it.

That distinction matters.

One of the most insightful observations about artificial intelligence has come not from the technology sector but from sport. Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and an increasingly influential sports investor, has argued that as AI floods the internet with limitless synthetic content, authentic live experiences become even more valuable. In a world where almost anything digital can be generated, genuine human competition becomes one of the few experiences that cannot.

That feels particularly relevant for racket sports.

The value of tennis, padel, squash and pickleball has never rested in booking systems, coaching software or performance dashboards. Those things matter, but only because they help people reach the court more easily. The real product has always been the physical experience itself: the challenge of competition, the satisfaction of improvement, the friendships formed around clubs and leagues, and the simple pleasure of spending two hours away from screens with a racket in hand.

Artificial intelligence may become exceptionally good at analysing those moments, predicting them and helping coaches create more of them. But it cannot experience the exhilaration of a perfectly struck passing shot, the tension of a deciding-set tie-break or the quiet satisfaction of walking off court knowing you've played better than you did last week.

Those experiences remain stubbornly—and wonderfully—human.

This is why much of the current debate risks missing the point. Too often the conversation focuses on whether AI can perform individual tasks that were previously completed by people. Increasingly, the answer is yes. AI can already produce marketing campaigns, answer customer enquiries, generate lesson plans, analyse biomechanics and identify tactical patterns with remarkable speed.

For many organisations, that should be welcomed rather than feared.

Few club managers entered the industry because they enjoyed answering repetitive emails or updating membership databases. Coaches rarely chose their profession because they wanted to spend evenings writing session plans or producing social media content. Governing bodies exist to grow participation and develop the sport—not to create endless reports.

If artificial intelligence removes much of that administrative burden, it creates something far more valuable than efficiency.

It creates time.

Time for coaches to coach rather than type. Time for club managers to engage with members instead of spreadsheets. Time for governing bodies to focus on participation rather than paperwork. In an industry where people are often stretched across multiple roles, that may prove to be AI's greatest contribution.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft's Chairman and CEO, has described AI as "the new electricity"—a technology that will become embedded in every industry rather than existing as a standalone innovation. History suggests he may be right. Electricity did not replace factories; it transformed how they operated. The internet did not replace retail; it reshaped how customers bought products. Artificial intelligence is likely to follow a similar path.

The winners will not necessarily be those with the cleverest algorithms. They will be the organisations that use AI to strengthen fundamentally human businesses.

That is especially true in racket sports because the industry's core product is remarkably resistant to automation.

People do not join a tennis club because its booking software is exceptional. Parents do not choose a coach because lesson plans are generated in seconds. Fans do not travel across the world to watch Wimbledon because its operational systems are efficient.

They participate because racket sports satisfy something technology never can: the desire to compete, to improve, to belong and to connect with other people through physical activity.

The Oxford philosopher and AI researcher Nick Bostrom has argued that technology amplifies human capability rather than replacing human purpose. That distinction feels particularly important here. The purpose of racket sports has never been administration, scheduling or reporting. Those are simply mechanisms that support the real product: meaningful experiences shared between people.

Ironically, AI may strengthen that proposition rather than weaken it.

As more of our working lives become mediated through algorithms, automation and digital assistants, authentic physical experiences become increasingly valuable. We already spend unprecedented amounts of time behind screens. The opportunity to switch off, move, compete and interact face-to-face is becoming a luxury rather than a routine.

That helps explain why participation in racket sports continues to grow in many markets despite the explosion of digital entertainment. Far from competing with artificial intelligence, racket sports may become one of its natural counterbalances. The more our professional lives are shaped by AI, the more we may value activities that remind us what it means to be human.

None of this suggests the industry should become complacent.

The greatest risk is not that AI will replace clubs, coaches or governing bodies. It is that competitors will use it to become faster, smarter and more responsive while others continue relying on yesterday's processes. Every technological shift creates competitive advantage before it becomes standard practice. The organisations that embrace AI thoughtfully—using it to improve service, personalise communication and remove friction—are likely to outperform those that ignore it.

The future, then, is unlikely to be a contest between humans and machines.

It will belong to organisations that understand the strengths of both.

Artificial intelligence is exceptionally good at processing information, recognising patterns and eliminating repetitive work. Human beings remain unmatched at building trust, inspiring confidence, exercising judgement and creating communities. The most successful businesses in racket sports will recognise that these capabilities are complementary, not competing.

Every technology boom eventually reaches the same point. The exaggerated promises fade, the genuinely useful innovations become part of everyday life and people stop talking about the technology itself.

Artificial intelligence will almost certainly follow the same path.

When it does, the clubs, businesses and governing bodies that thrive will probably be those that remembered a simple truth. They were never really in the technology business.

They were always in the experience business.

And while artificial intelligence may change almost everything about how that experience is delivered, organised and enhanced, it cannot replace the simple pleasure of picking up a racket, walking onto court and sharing a game with another human being.

For an industry built on movement, competition and connection, that remains its greatest competitive advantage—and one that no algorithm is ever likely to take away.

_{Please note that all of our content is created by human professionals. While we utilize Generative AI technology to assist in correcting syntax and grammar, our articles are written entirely by our team of experts. We value the expertise and creativity of our human writers in delivering high-quality content to our readers.}

USTA PNW - Questions Over Questions...

Publisher's Notes for August 2026

Racket Business • Rich Neher

The New York Playbook

From Hudson Yards to West Palm connections: A week-long dispatch on where the racquet industry is heading.

Racket Business • Rich Neher

Do You Know How To Make Money for Someone Else?

Rod Heckelman on tennis pros' need for information and education on the profit topic.

Racket Business • Rod Heckelman

ADVANCING TENNIS – The Need for Guidance from a Competitiveness Council

Gary Horvath on the need for a Competitiveness Council to provide intentional leadership to advance tennis

Racket Business • Gary Horvath

Letters from July 2026

Is The Commish the most popular industry expert?

Racket Business • Rich Neher

Racket Sports Industry News 08/26

Volleybird - Calendar - HEAD - Shorts - OnCourt OffCourt - CourtReserve - SGI Europe - Wilson

Racket Business • Rich Neher

RACKET SPORTS INDUSTRY

Why Tech Investors Are Rallying Behind Racket Sports

For years, the smartest money in technology largely ignored sport.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

AO Ventures doubles down on sports tech with PlayerData and ScorePlay investments

AO Ventures, the investment arm of Tennis Australia and the Australian Open, has expanded its sports technology portfolio with investments in Scottish performance analytics company PlayerData and sports media platform ScorePlay, signalling continued confidence in technologies that promise to improve both athlete performance and commercial operations.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

LTA enters venture capital as governing bodies search for new revenue beyond Wimbledon

The Lawn Tennis Association is making its first move into venture capital investing, partnering with London-based Redrice Ventures as Britain's governing body looks to diversify its income away from its long-standing dependence on Wimbledon distributions.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

LTA plans Roehampton super hub: a new base for British tennis, Wimbledon qualifying and elite development

The Lawn Tennis Association is moving towards a major infrastructure shift in south-west London, with plans to expand its Roehampton base into a much larger national tennis campus.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

New Industry Expo Promises a Day of Innovation, Networking and Business Growth

The racket sports industry is evolving faster than ever. Tennis continues to reinvent itself, padel is expanding at an extraordinary pace, pickleball shows no signs of slowing down, and clubs across every discipline are investing in new technology, facilities, coaching solutions, and business models.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

Racquet Sports Retail: Women’s Growth, How Clubs Buy Custom Gear

Li Feng on Women's Growth, Shawn Winston on Custom Gear

Racket Business • Shawn Winston

Racquetball News

Racquetball - The Comeback That Never Left

Racket Business • Rich Neher

PADEL

Why Does Padel Need So Many Apps? Part 1

Scott Matulis on his experience playing Padel and encountering all those apps

Racket Business • Scott Matulis

Pro Padel League Secures First National U.S. Television Broadcast Deal

The Pro Padel League (PPL) has signed a broadcast agreement with USA Sports that will see five championship matches from the 2026 season televised on CNBC, marking the league's first national television distribution deal in the United States.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

Padel Power Sweeping the World 08/26

Colebourne - The Padel Paper - The District + M3 - A New Way for Padel Training - Knowles - El Remate

Racket Business • Rich Neher

PICKLEBALL

Pickleball Buzz Beyond the Kitchen 08/26

The Dink - OnCourt OffCourt - The Fort - Paddletek - JOOLA - The Fit Pickler

Racket Business • Rich Neher

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Racket Sports Tech 08/2026

Ashley's Tech Blog - Tennibot - New product coming soon - VR Tennis

Racket Business • Rich Neher

FACILITIES - SUPPLIES - PEOPLE

Heckelman on Tennis and Real Estate Value

Racket Business • Rod Heckelman

Never Stop Learning

Toroian - Hagman - Knowles - plus LinkedIn Gold

Racket Business • Cassandra Torojan

AI‑Supported Coaching: How OnCourtAI Helps Clubs, Coaches and Academies Build Stronger Player Pathways

Across tennis and padel, coaching has always been a blend of craft, communication, and long‑term player development.

Racket Business • Gareth Shaw

In the Trenches: The Orville Redenbacher Truth

Susan Nardi on Why Talent Development Is More Like Popcorn Than a Formula

Racket Business • Susan Nardi

Arthur Fery’s Wimbledon Run Reignites the Debate Over Education in Elite Tennis

Why Arthur Fery's journey from Stanford to the Wimbledon semifinals challenges one of junior tennis' longest-held assumptions.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

Building in Public, Part 6: The Tension Between What Clubs Want and What They Actually Need

One of the more interesting lessons I've learned while building CourtMatch is that what people ask for isn't always what they actually need.

Racket Business • David Pyrzenski

Building the Business of Racket Sports

From AI and facility innovation to cross-sport collaboration and new revenue opportunities, the founder of the Racket Sports Business Expo shares the vision behind a new event designed to unite—and grow—the UK's racket sports industry.

Racket Business • Tim Farthing

Multimedia Picks 08/2026

Monthly scouting of industry podcasts, webinars, newsletters, and blogs

Racket Business • Rich Neher

Events Calendar

Every racket sports industry event for the next 12 months with details on how to attend

racketbusiness.com/c/racket-sports-industry-events-calendar

Contribute to Racket Business

Have you got rackets sports industry opinions or expertise you’d like to share? We want to hear from you

racketbusiness.com/c/write-for-racket-business

ICYMI

LAST MONTH’S RACKET BUSINESS …

July 2026 issue

News, trends, conversations, and "holding their feet to the fire" since 2014

Racket Business • Rich Neher

USTA PNW - Questions Over Questions...

Rich Neher — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 00:53:12 +0000

Dear Readers

Hello, dear readers, friends, and racquet sports enthusiasts.

I hope you had a good July and the heat didn’t interfere with your business too much. Mine became quite interesting when I spent a week in New York City and met with some quality racquet sports people. See my report on page The New York Playbook.

Hope you all have a great August. Get ready for the CourtReserve Catalyst Tour event in San Diego (Aug 16-17), followed by the US Open (Aug 23-Sep 13).
Do what you all do best: Grow racquet sports! Enrich someone’s life! Bring joy to millions of people!

Rich Neher
Racket Business Co-Publisher

Dear Readers
Meet me in San Diego August 16-17
Things that make me go hmmm…
- USTA PNW Section - Questions Over Questions…
- USTA “Find A Court” Facility Search Crapshoot
New: ARA Career Radar
- Racquet Sports Director Job Board
My Thoughts On…
Updates - INTENNSE - RacquetX - Doping/Match fixin …
This and That in Racquet Sports
Shout-Outs

Meet me in San Diego August 16-17

Friends, I’m excited to post here that I am attending my first CourtReserve Catalyst event. I always wanted to know what they do on the Catalyst Tour, and finally they come quite close to me: San Diego, my old stomping grounds. La Jolla, to be exact.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS EVENT? This event is ideal for anyone using CourtReserve to manage their club’s operations:

Front Desk Staff, Facility Managers, Instructors, Directors of Racquet Sports, and Club Owners.

Want to join the Catalyst Tour event in San Diego? The special 10-year Celebration Price is only $99 (Includes: Both Days of In-person training and networking. Tactical Session and pickleball networking. Light breakfast and catered lunch)

Information & Registration

Things that make me go hmmm…

USTA PNW Section - Questions Over Questions…

Tax-Exempt Advantage to For-Profit Pivot: Is USTA PNW Redefining the Regional Racquet Economy?

This troubled USTA section, which was reported to me years ago as “the laughing stock” by the USTA national staff, is now rumored to plan a status change from nonprofit to for-profit. I asked myself, what’s going on?

First, I looked at the IRS Form 990 filed for the last few years. Here’s what I saw:

So, at almost $9 million in revenue, PNW executives, some of the highest-paid USTA section staff, managed to lose $255,000 in 2025. How did that happen? Let’s just look at one item in the IRS Form 990: Executive compensation.

That explains some of the increase in expenses, doesn’t it? But there was one more rather interesting item in the 2025 IRS Form 990: The peculiar case of a certain Renée Gordon. I don’t even want to talk about the CEO Matthew Warren and the $459,000 he took home. Or the COO China Kirk, who made $307,000.

Ms. Gordon worked at the section as Chief Advancement Officer from June of 2024 until November of 2025. In 2024, she earned $129,430. In 2025, she took home $238,786 and exited with “retirement and other deferred pay” of $209,294. Really? After 17 months working for a section with a reputation for executives who, according to some former employees, “loot” the USTA, this lady takes home $577,510. Amazing! (See also our reporting from August 2022 and many other times)

$577,510 to an employee

who only worked 17 months!

So they hired a person with 12 years of fundraising experience at the University of Oregon to “leverage my extensive experience in strategic planning, community engagement, and organizational leadership to drive the mission of promoting and developing the sport of tennis.” If they expected her to raise funds, it obviously didn’t work for 2025. Or maybe she didn’t raise enough?

Can you see the trend? They’re paying obscene salaries, giving employees who only worked 17 months obscene amounts of dollars, and showing a loss after $9 million in revenue. Wow! And the PNW Board is ok with this?

But I wanted to focus on the rumored plans to change the USTA PNW status from nonprofit to for-profit. First, I did a little digging because I needed to know why they would even consider this. Here’s what I found:

The Camas High School Facility Controversy

The USTA Pacific Northwest has been embroiled in local administrative legal battles regarding public facilities.

The Dispute: In 2024, the USTA PNW entered into a 30-year partnership with the Camas School District in Washington to build a massive, 60,000-square-foot covered tennis facility over Camas High School's courts.
The Challenges: Local community opposition challenged the project's conditional use permit, alleging safety and traffic concerns. A hearings examiner dismissed the opposition's appeals, allowing the project to proceed. Independent tennis advocates have also publicly criticized the USTA PNW's aggressive strategy of acquiring and managing local facilities (like the Vancouver and Galbraith Tennis Centers), claiming it harms private tennis clubs and independent pros.

So, as I see it, the USTA PNW driving private facilities out of business is the issue here. I raised my voice about this in our September 2024 issue: USTA Sections' Undeclared War On Private Clubs and Independent Teaching Pros.

The Potential Status Shift

Investigating a potential shift from a 501(c)(3) non-profit status to a taxable/for-profit structure (or creating a taxable subsidiary) is a compelling angle for my investigative mind.

Converting a non-profit entity directly into a for-profit corporation is legally quite complex due to IRS non-profit asset lock rules (assets acquired under tax-exempt status generally must remain dedicated to charitable purposes or be transferred / purchased at fair market value). However, organizations often pursue hybrid models, taxable subsidiaries, management contracts, or corporate spinoffs to unlock revenue streams or bypass non-profit operational constraints.

I. The Lead: The Shift from Mission to Market

The Hook: Introduce the rumor of a corporate/tax status modification alongside the backdrop of USTA PNW’s rapidly expanding physical facility footprint (e.g., regional tennis centers and public facility management proposals like Portland Tennis Center).
The Central Thesis: If a non-profit section transitions operations or key business units into for-profit entities, it changes the conversation from public service and access to commercial market capture.

II. Legal & Structural Reality: How Would Such a Shift Actually Work?

A look at the regulatory mechanisms behind a "non-profit to profit" move:

1. Taxable Subsidiary Creation (Most Likely): Establishing a taxable C-Corp subsidiary owned by the 501(c)(3) to handle commercial activities (e.g., court management fees, pro shop merchandise, software/tech platform licensing) without risking the parent's tax exemption.

2. Joint Ventures / Management Entities: Forming LLCs with private management partners to operate public-private partnership (P3) facilities.

3. Asset Sale / Buyout: Selling operating assets to a separate for-profit management firm (which requires independent valuation to avoid IRS inurement violations).

III. The Strategic Motivations: Why Consider a For-Profit Pivot?

The operational and financial drivers that may push a major regional non-profit toward a commercial model:

Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) Caps: IRS rules limit how much non-exempt revenue a 501(c)(3) can generate before endangering its status.
Capital Raising Constraints: Non-profits cannot issue equity to investors. A taxable entity can bring in private equity, debt financing, or strategic commercial investors.
Executive Compensation & Flexibility: For-profit structures eliminate public Form 990 executive compensation disclosures and IRS restrictions on performance incentives.

IV. Impact on the Local Racquet Sports Ecosystem

Examining the real-world consequences for independent tennis clubs, teaching professionals, and municipal operators:

The Level Playing Field Question: If USTA PNW built its initial scale, facility access, and branding under the protection of 501(c)(3) tax exemption and municipal sub-leases, does transitioning to a commercial model create an unassailable unfair advantage?
Pricing & Market Distortion: Contrast subsidized municipal rates against commercial operating costs (property taxes, commercial loans, sales tax).
Coach & Workforce Dynamics: How a corporate shift affects local teaching professionals—from independent contractors to centralized employees.

V. Key Questions & Verification Checklist (The Reporting Agenda)

Outlining the specific steps and public records required to confirm or debunk the rumor prior to publication:

Area of Investigation	Document / Source to Examine	Key Indicators to Look For
Corporate Filings	State Secretary of State Business Registrations (WA, OR)	New LLC or C-Corp filings naming USTA PNW officers or physical addresses.
Tax Filings	IRS Form 990 (Schedule R)	Disclosure of related tax-exempt or taxable entities, controlled subsidiaries, or joint ventures.
Municipal Leases	City Council meeting records & RFP disclosures	Clauses permitting assignment of facility leases to third-party management companies or for-profit subsidiaries.
Official Statements	Direct inquiry to USTA PNW Leadership / Board	Direct questions regarding corporate restructuring, subsidiary creation, or changes in legal classification.

VI. Conclusion: The Future of Community Tennis Governance

Examining the broader industry implications:

Is USTA PNW really an isolated case, or does this reflect a national trend where regional governing bodies evolve from grassroots sanctioning organizations into commercial facility management conglomerates in direct and purposeful competition with local tennis clubs?
Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) Caps: How much does the IRS see as the maximum cap?
Executive Compensation & Flexibility: Does the USTA PNW plan to increase the current obscene executive compensation even more?

I can’t wait to see what’s evolving in the Pacific Northwest and want to encourage all those whistleblowers to come forward again.

USTA “Find A Court” Facility Search Crapshoot

Ever so often, I go on the FIND A COURT site to check on the accuracy. And I always get disappointed. This time I decided to publish my findings. I added my zip code of 91604. Here are 8 of the first 15 search results. Only ONE of those was correct!

Weddington Golf & Tennis - doesn’t exist anymore
Bulldozered away after the USTA SoCal publicly supported the destruction of those 16 courts.
Studio City Recreation Center - wrong name
It’s called Beeman Park. The Rec Center closed down decades ago.
Beverly Garland - no courts
Not sure if they ever had one.
Dream Tennis Academy - not city-approved at the NoHo Rec Center
NoHo Rec Center - correct with 5 public courts
Notre Dame High School - no public access
3 public courts listed
Los Angeles Valley College - no public access
8 public courts listed
Grant High School - no public access
4 public courts listed

My take: This was only a small sliver of land in Southern California. Since those erroneous listings are all in the USTA SoCal section, I am not surprised!

New: ARA Career Radar

Racquet Sports Director Job Board

Looking for a new position in racquet sports? The American Racket Sports Association features a massive new Job Board on their website.

The filters include all U.S. Regions and International, all Racquet Sports, Job Listing Sources, and all Titles.

Looks like a fantastic new resource for the industry.

ARA Job Board

My Thoughts On…

Why Am I Not Surprised?

I found this article on TennisTemple. It’s a true eye-opener.

US Open tickets top $20,900, pricing out everyday tennis fans

The writer suggests: “With a few weeks to go before the start of the US Open (August 31 to September 13), ticket prices are already making waves. While players are demanding a larger share of Grand Slam revenue, the prices being charged to attend the New York event are reaching levels rarely seen.
Read more.

My Take: Every year, we are getting closer to the “Endziel” and (I’m sure) the dream of all USTA Board members:

1. Make sure every ticket to the US Open requires a large expense account to get us to a billion dollars in ticket sales.

2. Make sure no children under 18 are present at Arthur Ashe Stadium main draw matches so our ticketholders buy $40 glasses of Champagne to enjoy a boozy time and don’t have to listen to screaming brats.

3. Make sure normal, lowly recreational players can’t afford to buy tickets so the “riffraff” stays out of sight and our corporate Wall Street ticket holders can network and mingle with tens of thousands of like-minded elite people.

Another One Bites The Dust

The article in the Sun News is titled, Will a popular Myrtle Beach tennis facility be replaced by new homes? It certainly looks that way.

My Take: Ten great clay courts and a happy tennis community may disappear. Reminds me of my hometown Studio City in Southern California, where 16 beautiful courts disappeared, and the USTA Section applauded it! I don’t expect the USTA Southern Section or the South Carolina District to intervene here.

PTR + DIADEM

RSI Magazine writes PTR Announces Diadem as Official Racquet, Bag & String Partner. The article mentions, “As part of the partnership, PTR members will receive exclusive access to Diadem’s Pro Preferred pricing program, offering significant savings on racquets, bags, shoes, and other equipment.”

My Take: I checked around a little and found out that HEAD had dropped the PTR last year already. Somehow I missed that little piece of information. What happened? Maybe someone at the PTR can solve that puzzle for me? Email me.

Can We All Learn From the NFL?

The Daily Playbook wrote, NFL Distributes Over $14.5B in Shared Revenue to Its 32 Teams

Each team received over $450M from the NFL, America's premier football league, marking a 5% increase driven by national television and sponsorship deals.
This guaranteed money entirely covers each team's $279M player salary limit, making every franchise wildly profitable before selling a single stadium ticket.
The league plans to increase this wealth by renegotiating its $125B broadcasting deals with major networks like ESPN and Fox before 2033.

My take: What if we put the Grand Slams under one umbrella organization? The combined revenue of all Grand Slams is about $1.9 billion. We’ll take 30% of that revenue, $570 million, and distribute it to players ranked 101 to 670. 570 players would receive $1 million each. Or we give players ranked 101 to 1,000 $633,000 each.

That should keep them going for a while. No?

Is Pickleball Doomed?

Pickleball is doomed (Watch the video)

Michael Girdley is a regular Pickleball player who makes a good case why the sport he loves is doomed. Could he be right? See for yourself.

Michael has 316,000 subscribers, and this video has 628,000 views! He says the business of Pickleball is in for a lot of pain.

My take: I understand his logic: Boomers carried Pickleball, and they’re aging out. Gen Z is not too eager to fill that gap. The young generations find it cooler to play Padel. And a lot of people think he’s right when he says that Padel actually is way cooler than Pickleball.

What do you think? Email me.

Updates - INTENNSE - RacquetX - Doping/Match fixing/ Abuse

Re: INTENNSE

Re: RacquetX

Robyn Duda is sending out a new email every other Tuesday, titled The Briefing (Business Intelligence for the Racquet Sports Industry). She calls it “Same friendly inbox. A bit sharper lens.”

RacquetX City Series Calendar

August 18 San Diego
October 6 Chicago

See all details here: https://theracquetx.com/racquetx-city-series/

Five Sessions, Five Real Questions

A look inside the City Series room. Every stop is built around the same five conversations, because these are the five questions operators are actually trying to answer right now.

Read the Article

Sign up for Robyn Duda’s Briefing here: https://theracquetx.com/contact/
RacquetX 2027 website: https://theracquetx.com/

Re: Doping + Match Fixing + DQs + Sexual (and other) Abuse

Daily Playbook
Former Tennis Player Samuel Bensoussan Sees Match-Fixing Ban Extended To Three Years

yahoo!sports / ESSENTIALLYSPORTS
Tennis Player Immediately Disqualified After Racket Throw Hits Spectators at Wimbledon

The Black Chronicle
Ex-wheelchair tennis athlete says USTA coach groomed her

YouTube
Former pro tennis player arrested, slammed rackets at store, cops say

This and That in Racquet Sports

BBC: 'Not a carnival sideshow' - doubles players fear cutbacks

A group of leading doubles players have accused the men's ATP Tour of trying to "end doubles as a viable profession". Read more.

Racquet Magazine: Wimbledon Postcard: Practice is a Privilege

In this letter of recommendation, our correspondent reports from the All England's Aorangi Park, where the press can sit and absorb a sense of wonder and astonishment and porous, melancholy outsiderness. Where we are reminded, after all, that we are mere witnesses to these shapes and strokes of beauty, and not their arbiters. Read more.

SportsEdTV: What Is Grass Court Tennis? Rules, Strategy, Movement, and Winning Tips

Grass court tennis remains one of the most fascinating and demanding forms of the sport. While most professional tournaments are played on hard courts or clay, grass presents a unique set of challenges that reward a very different style of player.

Understanding how the surface affects movement, tactics, and shot selection helps players and fans appreciate why success on grass is considered one of tennis's greatest achievements. Read more.

Scott McCulloch, Cliff Drysdale Tennis: The Business of Tennis, Pickleball and Padel: Piecing the Puzzle Together.

When I talk to owners, developers and club leadership, one common question almost always comes up: Which sport should we be investing in?

It's a fair question, but I believe it's the wrong one.

After spending decades working alongside club owners, operators and racquet professionals, I've become convinced that the most successful facilities won't be built around choosing one sport over another. They'll be built around understanding the role that tennis, pickleball and padel play within the broader business.

Read the full story and be inspired.

SBJ360: “The Wolf in Winter”

Prime Video, Words + Pictures and Sadoux Productions on Thursday held a premiere for the new Novak Djokovic documentary, “The Wolf in Winter,” at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. The film releases Aug. 20. Those in attendance included Djokovic adviser Mark Madden, Tennis Channel CEO Jeff Blackburn, USTA CCO Kirsten Corio, U.S. Open Tournament Director Eric Butorac, tennis HOFer and analyst John McEnroe, former tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro, Beemok Capital owner Ben Navarro, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Fanatics founder and Chair Michael Rubin, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, Conde Nast Global Chief Content Officer Anna Wintour, among others (SBJ). Read more.

Puntodebreak: The urgency of breaking a historical curse for American men's tennis

Since Andy Roddick's title at the US Open in 2003, there has not been another American tennis player capable of reigning in New York despite being one of the federations with the highest budget and structure. Read more.

SportsEdTV: 5 Doubles Tennis Strategies That Helped Me Win More Recreational Matches

As a 29-year Community Tennis Organizer in Southern California and an active participant in many of the thousands of doubles round robin matches I organized, I made it a habit to learn from the best teaching pros in the business.

Here are the five most important lessons I took away from reading books and listening to some of the game's greatest teachers. Read more.

Jarrett Chirico, DCA: The Directors Club is proud to welcome Peter Lutze, Owner of Tennis on the Lake, to our global family of Leaders!

For more than two decades, Peter has been one of the driving forces behind the growth of tennis in Chicago. As the founder and owner of Tennis on the Lake, he has built far more than a coaching business, he has created a thriving tennis community that has introduced thousands of players of all ages and abilities to the game while providing a welcoming environment where people can improve, compete, and build lasting friendships.

Read the full story and be inspired.

DEFECTOR: Tennis.com Lived And Died With The Internet

A day after the French Open ended in May, the website tennis.com shut down its editorial operation. The brand dates back to the founding of Tennis magazine in 1965, and though the mag folded in 2022, the website continued to produce news, analysis, and feature articles. At least, until after the clay season. The new site amounts to a scoreboard for ongoing tournaments with tabs for the upcoming schedule and rankings. Read more.

Sports Illustrated: What Tennis Could Learn From the World Cup

Jon Wertheim: Would third-place matches work at majors? Plus, a check-in on Félix Auger-Aliassime and more in this week’s mailbag. Read more.

news.com.au: Tennis former world No. 1 penniless after $50 million ‘betrayal’

Former world No. 1 tennis player Arantxa Sanchez Vicario has revealed new details after her $60m fortune “vanished”.

The four-time grand slam champ is still living a nightmare after she was handed a suspended two-year prison sentence and ordered to pay back $11 million worth of debts.

The Australian Open finalist has given a tell-all interview with a Spanish TV show where she made new accusations against her ex-husband — the person she blames for her financial downfall.

Shaun Boyce: The July ARA Intelligence Report went out this morning to newsletter subscribers.

Three things worth your attention:
1️⃣ Padel crossed 1,000 U.S. courts in April — up from 227 three years ago. The WSJ noticed. Nike noticed (prototyped its first padel racket at Drake's NOCTA event). The Waldorf Astoria noticed (converted its Grand Ballroom into a tennis court to launch a global racquet hospitality brand). The capital is here.

2️⃣ The USTA brought in Craig Tiley — the man who commercialized the Australian Open — to run American tennis.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Shout-Outs

Big Shout-Out

to ESPN for drawing a record audience for the Wimbledon women’s final. Linda Noskova’s dramatic 3-set win over Czech countrywoman Karolina Muchova averaged 1.9 million viewers, up 48% from Iga Swiatek’s straight sets win over Amanda Anisimova in 2025.

Big Shout-Out

to India's Anahat Singh, who won the women's individual title in the Squash World Junior Championships in Canada—breaking a 15-year Egyptian dominance at the junior level—while Egypt's Mohamad Zakaria claimed the men's crown.

Big Shout-Out

to HEAD Penn Racquet Sports for seeing 5 out of the 8 Wimbledon Semifinalists endorsing HEAD racquets, including the men’s champion Jannik Sinner and the finalist Novak Djokovic.

Big Shout-Out

to the Pro Padel League for signing a broadcast agreement with USA Sports to televise five championship matches from the 2026 season on CNBC, marking its first national TV distribution in the United States.

Multimedia Picks 08/2026

Rich Neher — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 19:44:34 +0000

🎧 Podcasts

At The Net Podcast

AJ and Craig (The “Boys” from At The Net, Craig Bell, and AJ Chabria) produce Podcasts on Facebook and Instagram.

AJ Chabria and Craig Bell with guest Neil Adams, Austin, Texas

Watch the Podcast

AJ Chabria and Craig Bell with guest Mark Lyons, Layton / Salt Lake City area, Utah

Watch the Podcast

AJ Chabria and Craig Bell with guests Ken and Kam DeHart, San Jose, California

Watch the Podcast

AJ Chabria and Craig Bell with guest Pedro Bautista, Draper, Utah

Watch the Podcast

Doubles Only Podcast

Will Boucek’s Doubles Only Podcast can be heard on the Apple Podcasts platform.

No. 288 Anna Danilina Interview: Ad Court Returning, Developing Belief, Lessons from Coaches, & Her Sweet Tooth (30 min)
No. 289 The ATP Doubles Debate with Ben Rothenberg: Should They Cut Doubles? (40 min)
No. 290 Reactions to the ATP Plans to Cut Doubles with Dan Kiernan
(54 min)
No. 291 Aldila Sutjiadi Interview: Wimbledon Prep, Partner Conversations, Indonesia Tennis, & Her Medical Scare (27 min)
No 292 Wimbledon Champion Coach Calvin Betton on the Title Run, Champions' Dinner, Return Strategy, & ATP Doubles News
(53 min)
No 293 DC Open Preview with Owner Mark Ein: Doubles Field, Mic'd Up Players, ATP Costs, & More (22 min)
No 294 AMA: Dropshots, Overheads, Fixing Double Faults, & Developing a 2nd Serve (32 min)

Other Free Doubles Content

Serve Strategy Cheatsheet
Return Strategy Cheatsheet
Serve Strategy 101 - Video Course

Dominique Lemperle: Yesterday I had the privilege of being recognized as a nominee for Manager of the 2nd Quarter at Fisher Island Club.

While I wasn’t selected as the recipient, I left the breakfast feeling incredibly grateful.
Read the full story and be inspired.

Professional Tennis Registry: This weekend marked an important milestone for the future of leadership in racquet sports. The inaugural Women Who Rally Leadership Retreat brought 22 women from around the world and across the racquet sports industry together at Saddlebrook Resort for two days of learning, reflection, collaboration, and meaningful connection.

Read the full story and be inspired.

The Tennis Pros of San Diego Unmatched Podcast

The Tennis Pros of San Diego Unmatched Podcast can be heard on the Spotify platform.

Matt Jones: Talking college tennis, how to create great players and more. (48 min)
John Broderick: Tennis Fest, Umpiring, & Our Wimbledon Predictions
(44 min)

Andy Whipp: Tim Henman has just said in an interview that the prize money in tennis does not filter down the rankings sufficiently, highlighting how hard tour life can be as a professional tennis player around 200 in the world.

Read the full story and be inspired.

GoTennis Podcast

GoTennis podcasts can be heard on the Apple Podcasts platform.

Tennis Tip: Want to get better? These 4 words work every time.
(2 min)
Leaving Money on the Table? Profit First for Racket Sports
(29 min)

Tim Owens: I've had conversations with club owners who knew their weekend court utilization rate down to the decimal but couldn't tell me what a member was worth to them over twelve months.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Director’s Club of America POWER PLAYERS Podcast

Power Players Podcast can be heard on the Spotify platform.

Power Players Episode 14: Frank Giampaolo (49 min)
Kailaqua and co-host Jennifer Gelhaus with Frank Giampaolo, a “giant in the tennis instruction world, award-winning international speaker, and sports researcher.

Racquet Fuel Podcast

Racquet Fuel Podcast is part of the UF Institute for Coaching Excellence and can be heard on all major podcast platforms.

Taking a Look Back: Is Tennis Endangered by the Rise of Pickleball and Padel? - Featuring Mike Barrell

Taking a look back at one of our favorite conversations from the Racquet Fuel Podcast, we’re republishing this episode featuring Kim Bastable and Simon Gale’s engaging discussion with Mike Barrell on the evolving landscape of racquet sports.(36min)

Mike Manzella: Everyone told GMs the answer to the racquets boom was hiring a strong Director. So they did. Then… they stopped.

The program runs, lessons fill, and the members are happy. And racquets stays exactly what it's always been… an amenity.

The smartest GMs I work with made a different call.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Full Court Tennis with Brian Teacher: Vision to Reality

Full Court Tennis Advantage Podcasts can be heard on Spotify.

Racket Sports Weekly

Ian Rapport’s Racket Sports Weekly can be seen on Spotify.

No new podcasts in July. Check out all episodes here.

Parenting Aces

Lisa Stone’s ParentingAces Podcast is a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network.

Karl Hale: I’m really honoured to join the ATP & LALIGA Sports Management MBA as a Tutor and Presenter.

It's so important to share our knowledge with the next generation, who will lead our racquet sports industry.

Over the past 35+ years, I’ve been fortunate to coach athletes, build businesses, lead world-class sporting events, mentor coaches, and work alongside some of the best people in our industry.

Read the full story and be inspired.

INSIDE DUPR

It’s here: Inside DUPR Pickleball, the official podcast of DUPR,
hosted by Anita Marks and Sonny Tannan on the YouTube platform

Episode 3: The Ultimate Mixed Doubles Pickleball Strategy Guide!
(49min)
Episode 4: The $225 MILLION Pickleball Investment Explained | DUPR, AI, MLP & The Future of Pickleball (54min)

Subscribe Now

Mike Knowles: If you build it, they will come (only in this scenario).

Mark Kuhn is an Iowa farmer. In 1960, as a kid, he listened to Wimbledon on his grandfather’s shortwave radio and dreamed of playing on grass.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Sun River Somatics

Kalindi Dinoffer’s new Somatic Coaching Practice

~ Slow down and explore your inner world
~ Allow space for authentic unfolding

Sessions available in person or on Zoom.
First session 50% off.

For more information:
©kdinoffer@gmail.com
#SunRiverSomatics.com

Kalindi Dinoffer, Somatic Practitioner & Poet
~Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Methodology
~Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy
~Mindful Self-Compassion & Resonant Language
~Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra & Yoga Teacher
~Reiki Master

💻 Webinars

CourtReserve Spark Webinars

CourtReserve: What’s New in CourtReserve July 2026

Watch Time: 52 mins
This quarterly launch webinar covers everything released between April and June — from Public Booking improvements and a new email campaigns experience to promo codes, guest pass packages, waiver updates, and several new integrations in early access. If you want to know what's live today and what's coming soon, this is the fastest way to get current on all of it.

Watch Webinar

SGI Europe and WFSGI Webinar: Leveraging Sports Events for Business Growth

Watch the Webinar

WFSGI is coordinating the global response of the sporting goods industry to tackle the inactivity crisis. We have both a financial and a moral incentive to move the world towards a more active future.
Please reach out to Caroline Brooksto understand how you can get involved.

Our Coffee Break series, a joint initiative by SGI Europe and WFSGI, will continue with the next session in September.

If you would like to stay informed not only about upcoming Coffee Break sessions and receive selected insights from the sporting goods industry, register for the SGI Europe Daily here: Register for SGI Europe Daily

Patch Webinar

The Biggest Email Mistakes That Will Doom Your Open Rate

You write the perfect email, great subject line, clever, amazing promo. And yet no one opens or clicks? Why? In this webinar, we'll dive into the 5 mistakes that will DOOM your open rates. We'll talk about them each individually, show you the data about why they're so damaging, and share examples of what we've seen.

Watch Webinar

What we'll discuss on the webinar:

Dirty Lists — We discuss email list building best practices, how to get good lists, and how to use Patch ListScrub to help.
Weak Domain and IP Reputation — The least talked about problem and how to solve it.
Unengaged Contacts — Why sending to people who don't want your emails is the biggest problem of all.
Spam Traps — What they are and how to avoid them.

📖 Blogs + Newsletters

SportsEdTV Blog

SportsEdTV

The Blog: Tennis Rating Systems Explained: NTRP, UTR, and ITF World Tennis Number (WTN)

Author: Fede Boscarino
The High-Value Insight: Why tennis ratings are often misunderstood

Most confusion comes from treating all ratings as if they mean the same thing. In reality, tennis ratings fall into two distinct categories. Some are classification systems designed to organize league play. Others are match-result-based ratings designed to compare players across regions, ages, and competitive environments.

When classification systems are mistaken for performance metrics, or when global ratings are forced into league contexts they were not designed for, mismatches, frustration, and disputes follow.

Understanding intent is the first step to using ratings correctly.
Read the Blog post

Kyle LaCroix: Some projects remind you why you love what you do.❤️

This week took me to Boston to begin work on a project that I’m genuinely excited about. While I am not going to share many details just yet, I can say this…

Read the full story and be inspired.

Philippe Azar: Wimbledon Is the Biggest Marketing Campaign Tennis Never Pays For.

I was vividly reminded of this as I queued at the tournament last Tuesday. I arrived at 4:30am and was 4,911th in line! Nearly 5,000 people had chosen to get up even earlier than me just to get a piece of the action.
Most of those people aren’t even avid tennis fans. Many don’t play the sport. Yet they have heard of Wimbledon.

Read the full story and be inspired.

CourtReserve Blog

==> CourtReserve + Pickleheads: Run Pickleball Leagues With Less Manual Work

CourtReserve now integrates with Pickleheads Ultra, giving clubs one connected way to run pickleball leagues from registration to final standings.

Read Blog Post

==> What’s New in CourtReserve July 2026: New Ways to Get Found, Fill Courts, and Grow Revenue

Every racquet and paddle club depends on the same path: a player discovers you, books a court, brings a guest, and checks in. How smoothly those steps connect is what shapes both their experience and your bottom line.

Read Blog Post

==> 7 Best Practices for Running a Successful Public Racquet Sports Facility

At a public racquet and paddle facility, you’re competing for every player. Walk-ins, program registrants, court renters. None of them are guaranteed to come back. What keeps them is almost always traceable to a handful of decisions: who your programming is built for, how your pricing is set, and whether your operations can actually hold up under growing demand.

Read Blog Post

==> 12 Free Racquet Club Tools: Revenue Calculators, Pricing Planners & Growth Projectors

Court revenue, membership pricing, staffing costs, break-even math — these are the decisions that power your racquet and paddle club. If you’re working through them on gut feel or in a spreadsheet you built yourself and half-trust, you’re not alone. That’s just the reality of running a facility where the operational to-do list never gets shorter.

CourtReserve built 12 free calculators and planners to give you something more reliable to work from. Every tool is grounded in real data from 2,200+ active tennis, pickleball, and padel facilities across three areas: Revenue & Pricing, Operations & Planning, and Growth & Launch.

Read Blog Post

The Directors Club-Jarrett Chirico:
Partnership Alert! There are partnerships that simply make sense, and then there are partnerships that have the power to shape an entire industry. Today, with tremendous excitement, the DCA proudly welcomes Off The Glass home as an Official Partner!

Read the full story and be inspired.

The Directors Club-Michael Jordan: This Independence Day, we’re reminded that some of the greatest achievements in history weren’t accomplished by individuals, they were accomplished by people united by a shared purpose.

In 1776, our Founding Fathers brought together different ideas, different perspectives, and different strengths to build something far greater than any one person could have created alone. Their legacy reminds us that unity is one of the greatest forces for progress.

That same spirit is what inspired the Directors Club of America when we came together in 2022. What began as a vision has grown into an incredible community of racquets leaders who willingly share ideas, celebrate each other’s successes, offer guidance through challenges, and elevate our profession every day.

Read the full story and be inspired.

(WCRS) Women Coaching Racquet Sports: Disability Awareness Month Spotlight: Dana Hughes, AuD, PLY

(WCRS) Women Coaching Racquet Sports is proud to recognize Dana Hughes, AuD, PLY, a trailblazer whose impact extends far beyond the tennis court.

Read the full story and be inspired.

The newsletter for the Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association is interesting and includes one great piece in July: From Public Courts to the US Open: The Redondo Family’s Story

"Love All," a new PBS documentary, tells the story of nine Filipino American siblings and their grandmother, "Mamita," on their journey from public courts to the US Open.

AAPITA board member Ryan Redondo is Mamita's great-grandson, and is carrying on his family’s legacy. The film is a beautiful representation of both the AAPI community and the tennis community as a whole.

Love All Preview

“Love All” premiered July 7 on KPBS and is streaming now on KPBS+

AAPITA website. Scroll down to subscribe to the newsletter.

Briefing No. 24 - July 2, 2026

WORTH A READ

Novak Djokovic's Next Big Move Is on Wall Street
Pro Padel League Heads To Manhattan
International Tennis Federation Rebrands As World Tennis
BBC Inks New Deal To Show Wimbledon Through 2033
Padel Is A Smash Hit With UK Investors
Pickleball Entrepreneur Turned His Hobby Into A Business That Has Grown 6,124%
USA Padel Unveils New Name
Wimbledon and IBM Introduce New AI-Powered Fan Experiences
The Pickleball Paddle Boom Isn't Over, but It Is Evolving
Babolat Celebrates America's Padel Boom With New USA Exclusive Racquet Collection

WORTH A LISTEN

PICKLE BALLERS PODCAST:

The Origin Story of The Kitchen and How It Became Pickleball's Biggest Community

Briefings No. 25 (July 9), No. 26 (July 16), No. 27 (July 23), and No. 28 (July 30) were also choc-ful of racquet sports information!

ADVANCING TENNIS – The Need for Guidance from a Competitiveness Council

Gary Horvath — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 22:14:54 +0000

The purpose of this article is to describe how the U.S. tennis industry could more effectively ADVANCE TENNIS if a Competitiveness Council provided guidance.

The tennis industry is fragmented. At times it is dysfunctional.

The USTA is to be commended for turning the U.S. Open into a money-making machine. That is a mixed blessing. The USTA’s oversight of the sport as national governing body is much less praiseworthy.

The USTA claims its mission is to promote tennis. Too often it only promotes USTA tennis programs and individual agendas. There is a difference between tennis and USTA tennis.

On its website, the USTA currently claims to have 700,000+ individuals and 7,000 organizational members. In other words, LESS THAN THREE PERCENT OF U.S. TENNIS PARTICIPANTS play in USTA programs.

For years, the USTA has acted with monopolistic intent when overseeing the industry. Most recently, USTA started USTA Coaching. This appears to be an attempt to eliminate the RSPA, PTR, and other teaching organizations. This implies that USTA wants to control who provides instruction and what they teach.

The industry would have been much stronger over the last four decades if the USTA had shown greater respect and support for the teaching organizations and chosen to collaborate with them to ADVANCE TENNIS, not just USTA tennis.

The point is that a Competitiveness Council would view the previous differences as a platform to build on. In addition, it would bring together the tennis-specific expertise and financial resources of all industry partners to more creatively ADVANCE TENNIS.

What is a Competitiveness Council?

A Competitiveness Council is a tool for economic development. A Council may be reactive and address deficiencies. In forward-looking situations, it would be proactive to take advantage of projected trends. Three examples follow.

1). Earlier this month, Colorado’s governor established a Competitiveness Council to address challenges caused by concerns with the state budget, major companies leaving the state, a weak labor market, slowing population growth, an unfavorable business climate, and much more. The Colorado Competitive Council will be reactive in addressing the current challenges. Its actions will be proactive in building on the state’s many assets.

2). At the national level, the Council on Competitiveness (click here) was formed in 1986 by President Reagan. It is working to stimulate innovation, improve productivity, and the competitiveness of American products. The Council is reactive by revitalizing manufacturing. It is being proactive by focusing on high-performance computing and attracting high-value economic activity to the United States. A review of the reports on its website shows that it has taken actions that have strengthened the U.S. economy.

3). In Europe, the Competitiveness Council (Compet) was formed in June 2002. It enlists the support of leaders responsible for the economy, trade, innovation, and the best interests of industry (click here). Its primary emphasis is on local or regional markets, industrial well-being, innovation, and space. Like the U.S. group, they are reacting to existing challenges and striving to create competitive advantages in the future

The Mindset of Competitive Councils – Proactive vs. Reactive

A common thread among most Competitiveness Councils is that they are not government agencies, trade associations, or governing bodies. Some may be non-profit organizations. They are responsible for representing all stakeholders when they are solving problems or creating an advantage for the group.

Councils prefer operating when the industry is on solid footing. It is easier to make investments that bring about meaningful change. Their planning and decisions can be proactive, and industry partners will have more favorable budgets.

A Competitive Council for the U.S. tennis industry would work to meet its goal to ADVANCE TENNIS by taking both proactive and reactive actions.

What About TIA, RIRG, and TIU?

What about the Tennis Industry Association (TIA) and the Racquet Industry Research Group (RIRG)? Both groups have been put in place with good intentions to provide support for the industry. They have added little value.

Tennis Industry United was established by USTA CEO Michael Dowse at the start of the COVID-19 recession (March 2020). It was a collaborative initiative to help the tennis community navigate the challenges of the pandemic.

The tennis industry was lucky! Participation increased dramatically because of COVID-19-related social distancing policies that favored tennis. At the same time, Dowse staged the 2020 U.S. Open without a crowd. While the tennis industry did not create the boom, Dowse supported the teaching professional organizations and kept tennis front and center for people wanting to remain active. His collaborative actions helped the industry retain participants.

In March 2022, Dowse’s tenure with the USTA came to an end. Since then, Tennis Industry United has morphed into another page of rhetoric on the USTA website.

The takeaway: The industry showed it could work together in 2020. Could a Competitive Council bring about an encore performance in 2026 and beyond?

The Goal of the Competitiveness Council - ADVANCE TENNIS!

For over four decades, the tennis industry has been fixated on having more than 30 million participants. The most recent Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) participation survey reports there are 27.3 million participants who play at least once a year. Only 14.5 million participants play 10+ times annually. Those numbers tell two very different stories.

Focusing on participation has been a self-inflicted distraction that has caused the industry to underperform.

The primary goal of a Competitiveness Council would be to ADVANCE TENNIS. The guiding principles of the Council would be collaboration, transparency, communications, and servant leadership.

Initially, the Council would evaluate the industry’s infrastructure and analyze the market, or the people who make the industry successful. It would identify goals, strategies, and objectives that would ADVANCE TENNIS. In other words, there will be a path to achieve the primary goal.

Evaluation of the Infrastructure by Competitiveness Council

A Council would evaluate the industry’s delivery system, facilities and personnel, and service providers. The overriding goal is to strengthen the infrastructure and identify strategies and objectives for achieving them.

Delivery System - A Council would evaluate the delivery system for the sport and strengthen programs and access to the sport at parks and recreation facilities (managed and unmanaged), education facilities (K-12, higher education and physical education), country clubs, tennis clubs, private clubs, and other facilities.

Facilities/Professionals/Coaches/Staff - The teaching professionals, coaches, and their staff members are the primary contacts for attracting, engaging, and retaining players. The teaching profession must be respected. The teaching associations must provide first-class education, certification, and professional development programs for their members. They must be supported by business and sport-related research to ensure the sport is taught safely with leading-edge expertise. Many job descriptions have been expanded to include greater proficiency in business and sport-specific knowledge in multiple racquet sports.

Service Providers – The success of the industry is the function of its service providers. Their services may be provided internally or externally from within the supply chain. They provide essential support in areas such as construction, building and grounds maintenance, housekeeping, sales and marketing, finance, accounting, transportation, operations management, technology support, health and safety. Their services quietly make significant contributions to the success of the tennis industry.

Evaluation of the Market by the Competitiveness Council

A Council would evaluate the market for the sport, player demographics, playing habits, economic and financial metrics, player attraction and attention, and effectiveness of industry programming. It would use this information to set goals that ADVANCE TENNIS.

Industry Intelligence – A Council would increase the amount of relevant industry data available in the public domain at no charge. The SMS participation survey is a professional product. From a marketing perspective, the report states that 27.3 million players play tennis at least once a year. To ADVANCE TENNIS, it is important to understand the survey results from a business perspective. The survey indicates that 14.5 million participants play tennis at least 10 times annually. About 4.0 million of these participants play twice a month, and 3.8 million play once a week. A Council would develop other metrics such as sales, sentiment, outlook, and employment indices. Other meaningful metrics include the number of new courts, amount of court maintenance, and number of teaching professionals certified at the top levels. Finally, a Council could survey industry members and consumers to identify trends that inform discussions to ADVANCE TENNIS.

Players – Playing Patterns - The SMS participation survey provides a summary of the facilities, locations, and frequency of play for participants. About 65% play at parks, school facilities, or recreation centers; 19% play at clubs, and the remainder play elsewhere. A Council would identify the participants' high-level needs from this information. It would map existing and potential court locations that could be developed to help communities increase the sport’s sphere of influence. Existing data could be supplemented with player surveys or additional primary research.

Other External Data – A Council would review other external economic and data trends that will affect the industry. Some of the more prevalent trends are reduced fertility rates, the aging of baby boomers, and changes in the mix of players by their race, ethnicity, and income levels. Community changes also occur for political, social, business, or personal reasons. People may want to move to a warmer climate or be close to family. These changes will vary greatly within a state or region.

Maintaining a Competitive Advantage – A Council would identify more ways to attract, engage, and retain participants. Many factors can affect this process. For example, there was a short-lived tennis boom caused by the Battle of the Sexes, the death of standard wooden-sized racquets, the adoption of optic yellow tennis balls, the impact of COVID-19-related policy on participation, and numerous recessions and economic downturns. There has been competition from other sports: racquetball, aerobics, fitness, and team sports. Currently, volleyball, flag football, soccer, and lacrosse are extremely popular in youth sports. In some cases, pickleball, padel, or other racquet sports have reduced the number of tennis players. In other situations, alternate racquet sports have reportedly helped retain tennis participation. A Council will understand these challenges from other activities. It would provide information that allows the tennis industry to maintain a competitive advantage.

A Competitiveness Council is Necessary for the Tennis Industry

The industry has a choice. It can continue to have intermittent success as it has for the past four decades, or it can establish a Competitiveness Council to provide intentional leadership driven by collaboration, communications, transparency, and servant leadership. This Council will engage the USTA and the industry and invest their talents, expertise, and financial resources to ADVANCE TENNIS.

Gary Horvath

Gary Horvath is a USPTA master pro, founder, and past president of the USA Professional Platform Tennis Association, a charter member of PPTR, a certified coach with USA Volleyball, and a long-standing member of the Wilson Advisory Staff. His experience as a tennis pro has covered the entire spectrum from grassroots to college tennis.

In addition, Gary Horvath has conducted extensive business and economic research that has largely supported the state of Colorado's economic development efforts.

Racket Sports Industry News 08/26

Rich Neher — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:41:21 +0000

VOLLEYBIRD
- Introducing The Darling Collection
RACKET BUSINESS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
HEAD RACQUET SPORTS PRODUCT NEWS
SHORT ODDS & ENDS
ONCOURT OFFCOURT GAME CHANGERS
- PickleNet Plus Portable Pickleball Net System with …
COURTRESERVE: MORE RESOURCES FOR CLUB OPERATORS
MORE LINKEDIN GOLD
SPORTING GOODS INTELLIGENCE EUROPE:
- Asian tennis stars and the sponsorship boom: How t …
BUILT ON TOUR: INTRODUCING THE WILSON DEFYER TENNI …
MORE LINKEDIN GOLD

VOLLEYBIRD

Introducing The Darling Collection

Today’s players make sure they look good on and off the court. They blend their court-side apparel with modern inspirations to create a line of fashion unique to them. You can make your style on the court all your own, too. It's easy! Start with The Darling Collection!

Ace Your Style

RACKET BUSINESS CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Your One-Stop Event Resource for Racquet Sports

The top Racket Business menu includes the Events button. We encourage our readers to use this button as a helpful resource when planning for education, travel, and networking.

At the top of the page, we also list training courses and certification workshops for tennis, pickleball, padel, platform tennis, and cardio tennis.

All Events

Kim Bastable: "I can do his job!" are commonly heard words in the racquets industry. Everyone thinks they can run the club.......though, when they sit on the other side of the desk, the view is a bit (or a lot) more foggy than they thought.

Read the full story and be inspired.

HEAD RACQUET SPORTS PRODUCT NEWS

HEAD Extreme 2026:

Our hardest-hitting spin machine yet.

Overwhelm your opponent with more spin than ever! The next-gen spin machine with Hy-Bor gives you better stability and a crisp feel. You’re in for one powerful game.

Explore the new Extreme

Enviable power has arrived

Coming soon:
HEAD Gravity Zverev 2026

Presale only.

Launch date: August 20, 2026

Introducing Penn: The Heartbeat of the Game

For generations, Penn has been at the center of the tennis soundtrack. The bounce before the serve. The rhythm of the rally. The sound that echoes through every lesson, every match, and every unforgettable moment. Heartbeat of the Game celebrates the role Penn plays as the constant thread connecting players throughout generations with a shared love of tennis.

Instagram: @ThePennBall

HEAD Kids Racquets
Play Like Your Idols

Every great player starts somewhere.

With junior racquets inspired by Jannik and Coco, young players can step on court with the same energy as their idols.

Lightweight, easy to handle, and built for confidence – everything kids need to start playing, improving, and having fun from the first hit.

More Information

HEAD Jannik 23 Junior Tennis Racquet

WELCOME TO THE 5INNER ERA

If winning Grand Slam singles titles came with rings like the Super Bowl, Jannik Sinner would have as many as the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers with today's fifth championship victory in London.

Sinner endorses the HEAD Speed racquet series, Hawk Touch strings, and Prime Tour grips.

SHORT ODDS & ENDS

===> SportsTechX

Andy and Jamie Murray launched The Set, a tennis-focused YouTube channel with long-term plans to expand into live events, podcasts, and sponsor-led opportunities.

Former professional tennis players and siblings Andy Murray and Jamie Murray will launch a YouTube channel this June to offer behind-the-scenes access to tennis tournaments, master classes and more.
Read more.

===> SportsTechX

Novak Djokovic joined General Atlantic as a global strategic advisor, supporting the investment firm’s global platform through his experience across elite sport, wellness, longevity, and entrepreneurship. Read more.

===> SGI Europe

How tennis players in the UK, Germany and France think, shop and spend. Based on 894 active players, the report compares consumer profiles, spend levels, purchase channels, brand preferences and the padel effect across three markets, side by side. Read more.

Emma Victoria Wells: Reflecting on an incredible weekend at the Professional Tennis Registry - PTR Professional Pickleball Registry - PPR Global Leadership Retreat, led by the brilliant Sarah McQuade & Linda Low .

Read the full story and be inspired.

Rob Norris: One of the biggest stories in tennis this week didn’t happen on Centre Court. It happened in the boardroom. The LTA has announced a partnership with a venture capital firm to invest in tennis-related businesses. On the face of it, that might not sound particularly significant, but I actually think it tells us a lot about where the sport is heading.

Read the full story and be inspired.

===> SGI Europe

Premier Padel names Fanatics master licensee in landmark retail deal

Fanatics takes over Premier Padel’s official store, bringing Bullpadel, Wilson and a new Marbella streetwear label into one fan-facing collection.

===> USTA Florida

Love to Learn Program Wraps Up First Round at Crandon Park Tennis Center

Crandon Park Tennis Center just wrapped its first round of Love To programs, and the results were fantastic.
Read More

USTA Florida

USTA Florida is active in the advocacy space and trying to get more municipalities to model after Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Ft Lauderdale, and leverage community tennis centers to impact their towns.

Click on the image for a link to the White Paper about “The Case for Public Court Investment in Florida,” a detailed description of how it’s done and how to be successful with it.

ONCOURT OFFCOURT GAME CHANGERS

PickleNet Plus Portable Pickleball Net System with Wheels

The World's Most Popular Portable Pickleball Net System — Now with Integrated Wheels

The PickleNet Plus combines industry-leading durability, portability, and performance in a regulation-size portable pickleball net system. Featuring our patented Auto Align Technology and exclusive oval tubing design, the frame starts straight, stays straight, and will not twist like traditional round-frame systems.

As a proud USA Pickleball partner, PickleNet has become the preferred portable net system for clubs, facilities, schools, tournaments, and backyard players worldwide.

Details & Specifications

COURTRESERVE: MORE RESOURCES FOR CLUB OPERATORS

Grow Your Company

Bookmark our blog – we share news, strategies & tactics

Train up on CR features – join & watch our free webinars

Get in front of your market – run a joint case study with us

Stay up to date with new features – read our release notes

Find guides and get live support – visit the Help Center

Join us at a Catalyst user event – follow the Tour

SPORTING GOODS INTELLIGENCE EUROPE:

Asian tennis stars and the sponsorship boom: How the calculus changed

SGI Europe
Asian tennis stars and the sponsorship boom: How the calculus changed

Nike’s tennis roster has expanded from a small group of stars to include China’s Zheng Qinwen, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, as Asia’s 35.3 million players make up a third of the sport’s global base.

BUILT ON TOUR: INTRODUCING THE WILSON DEFYER TENNIS RACKET

Meet the Wilson Defyer: a new tennis racket franchise built for explosive spin, power and responsive feel. Developed with input from Tour athletes, Defyer helps advanced players create opportunities instead of waiting for them.

Modern tennis is changing fast. The rallies are longer. The athletes are stronger. The courts feel slower. And waiting for the perfect opportunity is no longer enough.

A new racket for a new kind of game

The story of Defyer begins with a challenge. Modern court conditions have slowed down. Rallies have become longer. Athletes have become stronger, faster, and more physical than ever before. Read more.

Mike Barrell: The RESPECT RESET

I’m a sports fan. By that I mean I am a fan of the mechanics of sports. I battle, like many, with the early success demands that exist in today’s world.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Racket Sports Tech 08/2026

Rich Neher — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 20:15:02 +0000

Ashley’s Tech Blog
- The Website Between You and Your Next Regular
Tennibot
- They put Tennibot through its paces. See what happ …
Coming To A Club Near You soon…
Gettinger on Transitioning from VR Tennis to Real …

Ashley’s Tech Blog

The Website Between You and Your Next Regular

Most clubs think they compete on facilities, brand, and marketing budget. They don't. Not for the player deciding where to play tonight. That player made their choice in the ten seconds after a Google search, and the club that won wasn't the nicest one. It was the one they could book without thinking.

For most clubs, that's not you. Because the moment a new player is ready to book, you send them to your website.

The detour you didn't mean to build

Your website isn't broken. It has your schedule, your pricing, your story. It's exactly right for the member who already knows you and the shopper still doing homework.

But the new player who just found you on Google and wants a court tonight? For them, your homepage is a to-do list they didn't ask for. Reorient. Hunt for where reservations live. Make an account. Clear a login. Decode three membership tiers. None of it is why they came. They came to play, and every screen between them and a court is another chance to decide it isn't worth it.

Every club in your market asks the same thing of that player. Almost none have fixed it. That's the opening.

Skip the website, keep the booking

Public Booking + Reserve with Google gives the ready player a way in that skips all of it. They find you on Google, tap "Book online," land in your booking flow, pick a time, and pay. The booking lives right on your Google Business Profile, in Search and Maps. Your website never comes up. It doesn't need to.

The site still tells your story and earns its place in search. It just stops standing between a decided player and a booked court. Shortest path from search to confirmation that racquet sports has ever had.

Ease is the edge now

The clubs winning new players right now aren't winning on marble lobbies or a name everyone knows. They're winning on access, how little stands between a player and a court.

That distance is measured in seconds, because the urge to play has a short shelf life. Stay inside that window and you convert the search. Add a few clicks and the player is already booking somewhere else. The most bookable club gets the booking. In most local markets, that's the whole game right now.

First movers take the market

The clubs collecting these bookings aren't the marquee names. Being the biggest brand hasn't made anyone the most bookable one, and most of the franchises everyone talks about still route players to a website. Plenty of smaller clubs already let them book in a few taps.

Picture the three clubs that come up when a player searches your area. Two send them to a website. The third lets them book on the spot. The third wins every player who's ready right now, and it doesn't have to be the fanciest club on the list. That's the entire point.

It won't stay this way. As more clubs catch on, easy booking becomes the baseline everyone's expected to have. The edge belongs to whoever claims it first, while the rest are still sending players the long way around.

Make your club the bookable one

Right now, the next player searching your area either books with you in a few taps or gets routed to a website first. Most clubs are still the second kind.

Public Booking + Reserve with Google takes a few minutes to turn on. After that, the next player to search your area can book with you before anyone across town gets to them. Your website isn't going anywhere. The new player ready today just gets a faster way in, and you get the booking the other club was about to take.

Learn more

Ashley Owens

Ashley Owens, hailing from St. Augustine, FL, is Co-Founder and Director of Sales & Marketing for CourtReserve, the all-in-one Club Mgmt. software and app.

Tennibot

They put Tennibot through its paces. See what happened.

The team at Courtside Tennis just spotlighted how AI is reshaping the way players train, and Tennibot is right at the center of it.

The Partner V2 reads your shots with 4K cameras and 3D tracking, then builds custom drills on the fly. The Rover autonomously collects every ball you hit. Together, they create a fully autonomous training loop, so you spend your court time training instead of picking up balls.

Website

Watch Video

Coming To A Club Near You soon…

==> AceiiLab A1

AceiiLab A1

More than a ball machine. A revolutionary robot built to rally with you.

Understand the whole court. A1 Vision recognizes the court, player, ball path, racket, gestures, and landing zones - helping AceiiLab A1 understand every rally.

Website

==> STRIKECO

Today is the day tennis changed, forever. For the first time in the history of the sport, you will be able to play real tennis whenever and wherever you want, without a court, without a partner, without any of the things that have always stood between you and the game you love.

Watch Video

Reservations are open right now. Early units are available at $1,399 ($200 off the $1,599 retail price). Limit of one per customer. This offer is only available in the USA.

A $99 fully refundable deposit holds your reservation. The remaining balance is due only before your unit ships in Q4 2026. Every reservation includes 3 months of Club Strikeco free, a $60 value and free shipping.

Early units are limited. When they are gone, this price is gone with them.

Reserve your Strikeco now.

==> MANTIS

Just Launched - New Tennis & Padel Rackets.

Months of design, testing, and refinement have led to this moment. We're proud to unveil our latest collection of Mantis tennis rackets and our first-ever padel rackets, built for players who expect more from their equipment.

From complete beginners to experienced competitors, every racket combines premium materials, precision engineering, and outstanding value to help you play with greater confidence every time you step on court.

We think they're our best rackets yet, and we can't wait for you to try them.

Website

==> NETX Vortex Gen2 Pickleballs

NETX is a new pickleball brand redefining performance through design and technology. They’re leading the way with 3D printing and parametric design—not just for looks, but to solve real problems in the sport:

NETX 3D-printed pickleballs are built for durability, engineered for quiet play, and designed to reduce strain—helping prevent common injuries from hard impacts and vibrations.
They're also preparing to launch their GEN 5 paddle, featuring a fully 3D-printed durable internal core - offering unmatched precision, control, and comfort never seen before in the sport.

This isn’t just another brand story - it’s a look into the future of sustainable, injury-conscious, high-performance pickleball.

Announcement by the City of Mashpee in Massachusetts: “Effective Saturday, August 1, 2026, all players participating in pickleball at the Town courts shall be required to use a Vortexball EVO in order to limit noise.”
See the full announcement here.

NETX website

==> HEAD Pickleball Paddles

Which Pickleball Paddle Is Right for You?

How to choose a pickleball paddle

==> LTA and Redrice

SportsTechX
The LTA and Redrice Ventures, a leading investment firm focused on health, wellness and sport, have announced a strategic partnership to identify, support, and champion innovations that advance the future of racket sports in the UK. With the LTA entering venture capital for the first time.

==> iPlayMe2

Super Easy & Efficient Game Organizing… with revamped iPlayMe2 racquet sports app, version 4. Fun, Fast, & Freaking Useful…

Be a hero at your own club now! Share with your facility GM, or DOR (Director of Racquets), this 1-minute video intro to iPlayMe2, or our brochure for clubs and facilities, their head pros, and even team captains.

Gettinger on Transitioning from VR Tennis to Real Tennis

We asked Gregory Gettinger, Founder & CEO of VR Motion Learning - Tennis Esports, whether there is data that shows that Tennis Esports can turn beginners into real tennis players on a real court.

Gregory replied from Vienna, Austria:

Hi Rich,

We made a survey around a year ago, where around 5–15% of VR tennis players eventually try real tennis.

Up to 80% of VR tennis players report increased motivation for real tennis in the short term. However, the actual transition rate to real tennis is lower. Approximately 50% of youth VR tennis players show a deeper interest in trying real tennis after engaging with the game.

VR provides a more immersive experience compared to traditional video games. Yet, real tennis presents higher access barriers such as court availability and equipment, which hinder the transition to real-life tennis. Unlike sports like soccer or basketball, tennis requires more infrastructure and incurs higher costs, further limiting follow-through.

Approximately 30% of users are existing tennis players utilizing VR for training, technique improvement, and home matches. These players have demonstrated skill enhancement ranging from 20–70% through the TechZone feature of Tennis Esports.

Roughly 70% of users are newcomers, including gamers, kids, and youngsters who have never played tennis but are learning the sport's techniques, timing, and ball physics through the app. The key factor in transitioning these users to real tennis courts is accessibility, with offers from schools or nearby tennis clubs significantly enhancing conversion potential.

Best,

Gregory

Pickleball Buzz Beyond the Kitchen 08/26

Rich Neher — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 22:39:25 +0000

OnCourt OffCourt Launches PicklePack Backpack
From The Dink
LinkedIn GOLD
Paddletek Buys PIKKL
From The Fit Pickler
JOOLA HC-40 Named Official Ball of DUPR
Tennibot and Dill Dinkers Atlanta
The Fort Shows Us How It’s Done! Part 2
- Last month, we posted events at The Fort Lauderdal …

OnCourt OffCourt Launches PicklePack Backpack

OnCourt OffCourt Launches PicklePack Backpack to Keep Pickleball Gear Organized On and Off the Court

OnCourt OffCourt, a leader in innovative tennis, pickleball, and sports training products, has introduced the PicklePack Pickleball Backpack, a convenient and organized way for players to carry their pickleball gear to the court.

Designed specifically for pickleball players, the PicklePack provides a practical solution for transporting paddles, balls, and essential equipment. Its backpack design makes it easy to carry gear to lessons, recreational play, tournaments, and everyday court sessions.

As pickleball continues to grow, players need versatile gear that keeps them organized both on and off the court. The PicklePack offers a simple, functional option for players looking for a dedicated pickleball bag.

The PicklePack Pickleball Backpack is available now from OnCourt OffCourt.

For more information, visit:
https://oncourtoffcourt.com/picklepack-pickleball-backpack/

From The Dink

LinkedIn GOLD

Gilbert (Tito) Machado: Vietnam is another reminder of why I believe racquet sports are still in the early innings globally.

What excites me isn't just growth. It's watching passionate local leaders build communities from the ground up and seeing technology help connect players in a meaningful way.

Every new market teaches us something different, but the common thread is always the same: people want to play, compete, improve, and belong.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Professional Pickleball Registry - PPR: We recently held a successful PPR Level 1 Certification Workshop at Life Time Westchester, led by Coach Developer Simon Perry!

Throughout the workshop, participants expanded their coaching knowledge, refined their on-court teaching skills, and gained valuable tools to help players learn, improve, and enjoy the game. From effective communication and lesson organization to player development and coaching methodology, these coaches took an important step in their professional journey.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Paddletek Buys PIKKL

Paddletek buys pickleball paddle maker PIKKL

PIKKL joins a portfolio spanning Bantam, Tempest and Honeyfoam, as Paddletek also signs three unrelated pro Johnsons.

From The Fit Pickler

Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages

JOOLA HC-40 Named Official Ball of DUPR

JOOLA's HC-40 has been named the official ball of DUPR, effective September 1, 2026, in a multi-year partnership that makes the JOOLA HC-40 the designated ball across the entire DUPR-sanctioned ecosystem, from Dink Minor League Pickleball (MiLP) and its International Nationals and Regional events, to DUPR's collegiate and high school circuit, including the College World Championship, Nationals, and the DUPR College Pickleball Tour. The move pairs DUPR's ratings system with a ball engineered for reliable flight, true bounce, and durability under high-volume competition, addressing a core need for rating accuracy: consistent playing conditions match to match.

Here is the link to the full release with all the partnership details and quotes from Richard Lee, JOOLA CEO, and Tito Machado, DUPR CEO. Should you have any questions or need additional information, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Tennibot and Dill Dinkers Atlanta

The Tennibot Partner lands at Dill Dinkers Atlanta

When a growing pickleball club invests in training for its members, it says something. Dill Dinkers Atlanta just added the Tennibot Partner so their members can drill on demand: dinks, drives, and third-shot drops at consistent speed, spin, and placement, no hitting partner required.

"We looked at how our members actually wanted to train, and drilling on demand kept coming up. Adding the Tennibot Partner was an easy call. It fills real court time, our coaches love it, and it gives players a reason to keep coming back."

Daniel Hardeman, General Manager, Dill Dinkers Atlanta

Read the story

The Fort Shows Us How It’s Done! Part 2

Last month, we posted events at The Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This month we are posting regular programming. The Fort probably features more programming than any other club

We suggest that every Pickleball facility owner or manager should sign up for The Fort newsletter! The following list of weekly programming was mailed out to subscribers on July 14. We don’t have the space to post the entire newsletter, so here is just a list:

Mondays
"Master the Attack" (Offense & Fast Hands)

9AM - 11AM
Fort Junior Academy 5PM - 6PM

Tuesdays
"Defense Walls" Reset & Block Clinic (Turning Defense into Offense)

9AM - 11AM
Fort Adult Academy 4.0+ 6PM - 8PM
Beginner Advanced Pro-Led 90-Minute Open Play 7PM - 8:30PM

Wednesdays

Beginner Essentials: Build Your Game 9AM - 10AM
Doubles Essentials 9AM - 10AM

Thursdays

Fort Adulty Academy Co-Ed 3.5 9AM - 11AM
Fort Junior Academy 5PM - 6PM
Fort Adult Academy 4.0+ 6PM - 8PM
Advanced Beginner Drill and Matchplay 7PM - 9PM

Fridays

Soubles Synergy: The Fundamentals 9AM - 11AM
Beginner Advanced Clinic: Advance Your Game 10AM - 11:30AM
Ready, Set, FREEZE! 5PM - 7PM
Beginner Advanced Pro-Led 90-Minute Open Play 7PM - 8:30PM

Saturdays

Cardio Pickleball at The Fort 9AM - 10AM
Advanced Beginner Drill and Matchplay 9AM - 11AM + 11AM - 1PM

Sundays

Beginner Essentials: Build Your Game 10AM - 11AM
Unlocking Advanced Play 1PM - 3PM

To sign up for the newsletter, go here and scroll down.

Never Stop Learning

Cassandra Torojan — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:44:05 +0000

C. Toroian: The Pro Shop Amazon Can't Beat
- Your pro shop can be the one place a member discov …
C. Hagman: Steps to Health Span
- Four pillars and several ways to improve your heal …
M. Knowles: Game, Set, Cupcake
- Why This Is Your Problem, Not a Cupcake Problem

C. Toroian: The Pro Shop Amazon Can't Beat

Your pro shop can be the one place a member discovers something they'll tell their friends about.

The Pro Shop Amazon Can't Beat

By Cassandra Toroian, CEO Ruley.ai and Volleybird LLC

In a companion piece, I argued that handing your pro shop to a turnkey third-party management company in exchange for a 20% profit check quietly trades away the three things that make retail worth doing: your margin, your member data, and your identity. The objection I get to that argument is always the same, and it's a fair one: easy for you to say — running a shop well is hard, and most of us aren't good at it.

True! In this writing, I’m giving you the other half. If you're going to keep your shop because you don’t want to trade away your identity, here is how to build one your members can't replicate shopping in from the court bench with their phone — and why that's the only retail position that actually holds its price.

1. Stop trying to cover the category

The instinct in most pro shops is coverage: carry a little of everything so no member walks away empty-handed. The problem is that "a little of everything" is precisely the inventory Amazon and the big DTC brands carry in infinite depth, at prices you can't touch.

When you compete on the commodity SKUs, you've picked a fight on the one battlefield where your size is a big disadvantage.

So just flip the logic. The job of your shop is not to cover the entire category — it's to curate it. Show your club is “in the know”. Every square foot should be working to answer one question for the member: where else could I have found this? If the answer is "Amazon, cheaper, in two days," that product is costing you more than the shelf space.

If the answer is "nowhere — I've never seen this before," you're no longer in a price comparison at all. Differentiated products don’t get price-matched, because there's nothing to match it against.

Dominique Lemperle: Education, networking, and team building. My favorite things to do in the summer! Step outside the comfort zone of your club and learn from others.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Victor Bergonzoli: BUILDING SOCCER CULTURE STARTS IN THE STANDS
Look around MetLife Stadium today for the Spain vs. Argentina World Cup Final.
Read the full story and be inspired.

2. Curate for who your members actually are

Good curation starts with knowing your buyer, and most clubs know theirs better than they think — they've just never merchandised to it. At VolleyBird, our retail e-commerce platform data skews heavily toward a buyer most pro shops under-serve almost completely: the 35-to-65-year-old woman who is frequently buying for herself and doing the buying for the household. She is high intent; she's standing in your facility multiple times a week, and the typical shop offers her a portion of a wall or a rack or two of items she can find on Amazon.

Whatever your specific membership looks like, merchandise to them and not to a generic catalog.

Stock the brands that reflect their taste and aspirations, not just their functional needs. The member who can buy a paddle anywhere will buy in your shop the thing she's never seen before — the apparel brand from Europe that hasn't hit US mass retail yet, the design-forward accessory that is an impulse purchase, the gift she can't get at the mall or a big box online store.

And, she’s happy to buy it from you, because she has a relationship with you and would rather give her business to the person who took the trouble to find these items for her.

Mike Manzella: A club I work with in New York generated $75,000 in new membership revenue this summer. The GM knows what each one cost to acquire.. just under $300. And next week, they're raffling off a racquet at their ITF tournament.
Not for fun.

Read the full story and be inspired.

3. Padel is the clearest opportunity on the board right now

If you're building or running padel courts at your facility, you have a window that won't stay open. The center of gravity for padel is still in Europe, which means that is where the best apparel and equipment are located. A great deal of what European players consider table-stakes brands have little or no US distribution yet. That gap is a merchandising gift: for a brief period, you can stock product your members genuinely cannot buy anywhere else in the country and be the place that introduced it to them. The clubs that move early here won't just sell more — they'll own the brand discovery, and the loyalty that comes with being first.

Ken DeHart: Question?? When you go out to rally in practice, why do you start the rally by feeding the ball in underhanded? You feed in, work on your strokes for an hour, then say, "time to work on serves".
1. Why wouldn't you do an easy serve motion to start the rally for your hour practice?

Read the full story and be inspired.

Make discovery the experience

Differentiation isn't only about what's on the shelf; it's about how it's presented. A wall of brands with no story is just a more expensive version of the commodity shop. A small, well-told selection — where the staff can say this is who makes it, this is why it's good, this is why we chose it — turns a transaction into a discovery. Rotate it. Let pieces sell out! Treat a new brand arriving like a small event rather than a restock. Scarcity and story are exactly the levers Amazon cannot pull, which is the entire point of building where Amazon can't follow.

The margin math actually favors you

Here's what makes this more than an aesthetic argument. Commodity inventory forces you into a margin race to the bottom, because the member can check the real price instantly. Differentiated inventory holds its price, because there's no reference point to undercut it. You carry less product, tie up less capital in the long tail of SKUs that never move, and earn a healthier margin on the curated selection that does. A smaller, sharper, well-chosen shop frequently out-earns a sprawling one trying to be everything — and it does it while strengthening the club’s brand instead of diluting it.

That, by the way, is the part the turnkey pitch never mentions. A 20% profit-share on commodity volume can easily be less than full margin on a curated assortment you actually control — and the curated version builds your identity and keeps your member data in-house while it earns. "Easy" and "optimal" are rarely the same number.

None of this requires you to personally become a global brand scout or to take on inventory risk you don't want. The reason a model like ours exists is precisely to give clubs the differentiated, can't-find-it-on-Amazon assortment without the legwork of sourcing it brand by brand across two continents. The point isn't who you partner with to get there. The point is the position: a shop that sells what no one else can, to members who are already standing in front of you, at a price that doesn't have to apologize for itself.

Lauren Brown Sundstrom: Play is not a niche topic; it is a biological necessity that belongs in every industry, every workplace, and every conversation about human thriving. Watching Acey carry that message into construction management and HVAC sales: that is the movement. We are grateful and inspired!

Read the full story and be inspired.

Your pro shop can be the one place a member discovers something they'll tell their friends about. That's worth a great deal more than the easiest check on the table.

About the Author

Cassandra Toroian is the co-founder and CEO of VolleyBird, LLC, a multi-sport distribution and curation company that brings differentiated racquet sport and golf products and brands to clubs and specialty retailers. She’s a former D1 lifelong tennis player and entrepreneur with 3 previous exits. Reach out to chat with her at cass@volleybird.shop.

C. Hagman: Steps to Health Span

Four pillars and several ways to improve your health span.

Steps to Health Span

People say they want to live a long time, lifespan, yet what they really mean is they want a long, high-functioning life without disease or pain - health span. First, why do you want a better health span? Whatever your reason(s), make these big so you take daily steps to improving your health span! Knowing what to do and doing what you know can be very different. Here are four pillars and several ways to improve your health span.

The first pillar is to prioritize nutrition. Sound nutrition starts by limiting and then avoiding unhealthy foods and drinks. Initially, you may need to detoxify your body from what you are used to consuming, like processed foods, sugar, and alcohol.

Take small steps, like limiting items more and more over time. Choose whole foods and raw and organic vegetables. These are like putting premium gas in your car and allow your body to run better!

Part of my wellness journey includes spending 10 days at a holistic school where I learned these foods can significantly improve your health. Organic vegetables are nutrient-dense and heart-healthy, as they lower blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

Instead of one or two big meals, eat three or four small meals each day. This supports better food choices, keeps blood sugar more stable, and assists goal weight.

Depending on your gender, age, and activity, you need approximately 1,600 - 3,000 calories per day.

Emma Victoria Wells: Launching Monday 10 August. Writing GRIT: Building a Business, Leading with Purpose has given me the chance to reflect on the people, experiences and challenges that have shaped both my career and who I am today.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Hydrate and drink plenty of water. Our bodies are mostly water, approximately 60%. Take your body weight in pounds, divide by two, and that is approximately how many ounces of water you need each day. Adding activity, like playing tennis, requires more water. Being hydrated serves several body functions, including good cognition.

The second foundation to improve health span is to prioritize sleep. Prepare for quality sleep. How is the sleep environment? Depending on the type, mattresses are good for about 10 years, and cotton sheets are best. Is the room cool, dark, quiet, and well ventilated? Bathe or shower before going to bed, which assists in lowering body temperature. Follow the 3, 2, 1 guideline – avoid eating three hours before, limit drinking two hours prior, and end screen time one hour before bedtime. When is your preferred timeframe for sleep? Plan to go to bed then.

Get approximately seven hours of sleep each night. Your number could be six or eight, yet you need about seven hours of sleep for your body to recover. Reconcile before you rest, and do not let the sun go down on your anger. If you made a significant mistake or did something you regret, forgive yourself or apologize. Go to bed with a clear conscience.

Professional Tennis Registry: More value. More benefits. More reasons to be a PTR member. 🎾

We're excited to announce that Diadem Sports is now the Official Racquet, Bag & String Partner of PTR!

This new partnership delivers exclusive benefits designed to support you on and off the court, including:

Read the full story and be inspired.

The third pillar is consistent exercise. Find physical activities you like, which is the key to adherence. A trainer can put together a great routine, yet unless you adhere over time, it is useless. What activities do you enjoy? Those are the ones to be involved in, for you will continue and positively impact your health. Invite a friend to go with you or consider group exercise classes. Work up to 30+ minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five or six days each week.

Rest is part of an overall exercise plan, yet many people rest too much! Plan to exercise and schedule like an important meeting – with yourself! Then, keep your appointment. Cross-train and change routines. We can be creatures of habit, so occasionally do different activities to challenge yourself. This can be as simple as taking a different group exercise class or a new bike route with elevations. Be involved with cardiovascular, weight training, and flexibility exercises. These benefit your heart, lungs, muscles, bones, and mobility. Women have to lift light weights, and men need to do stretching routines. Do cognitive exercises too. This can be learning activities, like board games or chess, a foreign language or ballroom dancing. Take a new course or learn another skill. Read, write, and challenge your mind!

The fourth foundation to improve health span is to stay connected. Focus on your vertical relationship with God. When you do this and understand He loves you unconditionally, you can better accept and love yourself. A better vertical relationship with God serves your horizontal relationship with others. Love God and love others.

Do little things to be your best self. When you truly care for and like yourself, this puts you in a position to connect with others.

David Gutstadt: Ever since the launch of Ballers, we've been the lucky recipients of a LOT of outreach - from friends, contemporaries and a good number of cold calls.

Some simply want to catch up and hear how things are going. But many want to bring Ballers to their city or project, or simply want our help to pressure-test their own thesis and assumptions.

How should we program the space? Does the model actually work? What should we build, and what should we leave out? What does it cost to build and open? How do we raise the capital? Who should operate it? What have we learned the hard way?

Read the full story and be inspired.

Besides a mere “hello” or “good morning”, ask people open-ended questions about things that may be important to them. Ask and learn people’s names and say back their first name. This shows you remember them as a person. Join a new club or organization related to your interest(s), like Toastmasters or cooking, and be active! This allows you to make new contacts and friends! Ask and invite new people into your group. Host or co-host an annual event or party. This could be for your community, favorite cause, or charity. Volunteering and community service give you a sense of purpose and connect you to others.

To improve your health span, prioritize nutrition and sleep, consistently exercise, and stay connected. Let’s take steps together for a better health span! With these, we can have high-functioning lives and positively impact others on and off court!

Chris Hagman, ACE, RSPA, leads Atlantic Recreation and works in racquet sports and wellness.

You can contact him at chris@atlrec.net.

M. Knowles: Game, Set, Cupcake

Why This Is Your Problem, Not a Cupcake Problem

Every club I talk to is fighting the same battle. Better courts. Better technology. Better programming. Better coaching. Every one of them is convinced the win is in the product.

They're wrong. And I didn't learn that on a court. I learned it from a cupcake.

Not just any cupcake. Little Debbie.

The girl on the box you grew up seeing in every lunchbox in America. Oatmeal Creme Pies. Swiss Rolls. Zebra Cakes. For decades, Little Debbie has been the number-one selling snack cake brand in the country, holding roughly a third of the entire category on its own. I sat inside the brand at the time. Unaided awareness nationally was north of 95 percent. Almost nobody in America didn't know this brand.

That's the brand I was standing in front of. Not a startup pitching an idea. An American institution, asking my team to help it win a fight nobody thought it could win.

Stick with me here. This isn't a nostalgia trip. Every club, brand, and manufacturer in this industry right now is fighting the exact fight Little Debbie was fighting, and most of them are about to lose it the same way Little Debbie almost did. The answer that won that fight has nothing to do with cupcakes. It's the same answer your club needs.

Years ago, I led the team behind the biggest product launch in McKee Foods' history, the family-owned company behind Little Debbie. The competitor was Hostess. Ninety years in the category. Dominant. Entrenched. Ours was a cream-filled chocolate cupcake with a white squiggle on top.

Nobody in the room thought we could win on product. The cupcake was good. Hostess's cupcake was also good. CPG margins are thin, and this client ran lean.

Rob Norris: Every club has quieter periods. That is normal. What interests me is not always that numbers have dropped, but when the drop actually started.

Most people remember when they noticed the problem. They do not always know when it began. There is a big difference.

In my experience, the warning signs are normally there months before the numbers become obvious.

Read the full story and be inspired.

There was no budget to outspend a 90-year incumbent, and no time to build one.

So we didn't try to win on the cupcake. We picked a different fight entirely.

Hostess owned the cupcake. We were going to own the moment you shared one.

THE ANSWER TO A LOW BUDGET

We built the Share-a-thon. Not just a stunt, a full integrated campaign. TV. PR. Paid and organic social. A national giveaway. Consumer promotion. And at the center of it, Smart Cars wrapped to look like the cupcake, touring 21 cities, one goal: get people sharing, not just buying.

The math had to work without a Hostess-sized budget behind it. It did. The campaign generated more than a million sweepstakes entries. On National Chocolate Cupcake Day in New York alone, more than 11,000 people sampled the product. We gave away 125,000 cartons. 500,000 people joined the brand's Facebook page during the run.

Eight weeks in, Little Debbie was the number-one selling cupcake in America. Beating a competitor with 90 years and a real marketing budget behind it.

That result didn't come from outspending anyone. It came from answering a sharper question than the one everyone else in the category was asking.

NOW REPLACE THE CUPCAKE WITH YOUR CLUB

One of the biggest opportunities clubs, brands, and manufacturers have in this industry right now is asking the question that won us that category: what is the moment we own?

Brand equity in sports isn't built by facilities. It's built by rituals. The Sunday doubles group that has met every week for six years.

Tennis Insider Club: How does a country of fewer than 11 million people keep producing women capable of winning Wimbledon?
The 2026 women’s final was contested by two Czech players: Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova.
Noskova’s victory means that three of the last four Wimbledon women’s singles champions have come from Czechia:

Read the full story and be inspired.

The junior player who finally beats the guy who used to beat him every time. The adult beginner who walks off the court already planning to come back. Those are the moments that compound, and they're what make someone say I belong to this club, as an identity, not a subscription.

Amenities are what clubs build. Rituals are what clubs earn. You cannot buy your way into one. You have to design for it the same way we had to design around a budget we didn't have.

Ask your team one question: what moment are we engineering on purpose right now, not hoping for? If nobody can answer specifically, you're building a facility and hoping it's enough.

WHERE I LAND

We didn't have a better cupcake. We had a better answer to what the cupcake was for.

The clubs and brands that build 20-year equity in this industry won't be the ones with the most courts or the newest technology. They'll be the ones who worked out what their sport is actually for and built every decision around protecting that moment rather than the next amenity.

You can copy a court in six months. You cannot copy a ritual. Not what are you building. What moment are you selling?

HOW WE START WORKING TOGETHER.

The easiest way to work with me is the Growth Pressure Review.

Fernando Famoso: One of the greatest lessons tennis has taught me has nothing to do with forehands or backhands.

After a life time connected to tennis, first as a player and for more than two decades as a coach and educator, I have learned that this profession is about much more than developing technical skills.

Read the full story and be inspired.

The review helps you see where pressure is building across market position, execution, and alignment. It takes about five minutes. Your responses are analyzed personally. Not automated scoring - pattern recognition. You get a clear read on where to focus and what to stop.

That is where the work starts.

Request Your Growth Pressure Review: https://www.mikehknowles.com/review

Not ready for the review? Start with a conversation instead: https://calendly.com/mikehknowles/follow-up-conversation

mike@insidethelinesadvisory.com | 205.789.4006 | mikehknowles.com

Real growth pressure. Clear thinking. No fluff.

SOURCES

Chief Marketer — Little Debbie Share-a-thon campaign results: sweepstakes entries, cartons distributed, National Chocolate Cupcake Day sampling, Facebook growth, campaign scale as largest McKee Foods promotion to date. https://www.chiefmarketer.com/little-debbie-share-a-thon/

Mashed — Little Debbie's market share and sales scale relative to competitors in the snack cake category. https://www.mashed.com/70970/untold-truth-little-debbie/

Mike Knowles is the founder of Inside the Lines Advisory, a growth strategy practice built exclusively for the racquet sports industry. A former Division I All-American tennis player at the University of Mississippi, he spent two decades in marketing at agencies including Publicis and Young & Rubicam and on the client side at Flowers Foods before serving as CMO of the Racquet Sports Professionals Association.

The New York Playbook

Rich Neher — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 20:34:39 +0000

Toward the end of July, I spent a week in New York City celebrating a big birthday in the family. During that time, I was able to meet some quality people from the racquet sports industry.

Caitlin Thompson

I met Caitlin Thompson at a nice little coffee shop on Canal Street in Lower Manhattan (Chinatown) called Little Canal. She is the Founder of a magazine most of our readers are familiar with: RACQUET, a high-quality publication that’s only available a few times a year and is full of great content by very engaged writers.

Little Canal is at 26 Canal St., New York, NY 10002

Check out one of their latest articles written by George Timms: Can Green Clay Save the World? (Tennis has a complicated relationship with the climate, but new initiatives—including a switch to good ole Har-Tru—show it can be part of the solution.)

Timms writes: “There are roughly 700,000 tennis courts around the world. Of these, 17,000 are green clay—known as Har-Tru—dotted across the US. They’re often dismissed as somehow sub-par, but green clay courts save the carbon emissions equivalent to taking 4,200 cars off the road every year.” Read the article here.

In June, Caitlin’s company launched a new service: The Final 8 Club, “A travelling Racquet Media membership for people who plan their year around the game. Private tennis and padel journeys built around the world's great Racquet moments.” Check out their upcoming trips.

Chuck Gill

Chuck Gill, the Director of Tennis at Village of Wellington in West Palm Beach, Florida, was visiting New York, and we connected for the first time. Chuck is old school, straightforward, and knows the importance of good coaching and attracting the right kind of coaches to a facility. I liked what Jill Victoria Rokuskova wrote about him on LinkedIn. As current USTA Florida President, he is able to make a difference in one of the best-run USTA sections.

Wellington Tennis Center

Since Chuck is speaking highly of the USTA Coaching program, I wanted to learn more after being rather critical of it in the past. He says that the quality of their entry-level training is very good, comparable to RSPA and PTR. His take on the program: “USTA Coaching is good for tennis. It adds coaches, and that’s what we need!” Hmm, makes me think: Was I so wrong? Maybe I should participate in one of those USTA Coaching workshops to see it for myself.

Ryan Van Winkle

Ryan Van Winkle, the Co-Founder and CEO of BOUNCE, RACKET SOCIAL, and RFX FITNESS, found time in his busy schedule to meet and give me an introduction to the platforms his team developed in the past 4 years.

Ryan and I met in one of Soho’s best Italian Restaurants, Emporio, just around the corner from his office.

Emporio is at 231 Mott Street, New York, NY 10012

Definitely worth a visit!

Ryan writes on his LinkedIn page: “At Bounce we spend a lot of time thinking about the gap between someone being interested in racket sports and actually showing up somewhere to play. It’s easy to underestimate that gap if you already play regularly. Once you have a club, a group chat, a few people at your level, or a coach you trust, the sport feels easy to access. But for a lot of people, especially beginners or people new to a city, the first few steps are still weirdly hard.

If you want to learn much more about Ryan’s concept and experiences creating a working platform, read a larger essay here:

Software Can List a Market. It Cannot Make One..pdf

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Morgan Broady

Morgan Broady, the Founder and CEO of Beyond the Court, is quite an accomplished executive in a space that’s dearly needed in today’s racquet sports landscape: creating “hospitality-driven racquet clubs” that are profitable and have a good chance to stay in business.

We met at the fabulous Bluestone Lane 55 Hudson Yards Café in Midtown Manhattan. One of the attractions in the Hudson Yards Center is “The Vessel.” (right photo)

Much of Morgan’s work is currently focused on Padel, but her expertise is in all racquet sports: Tennis, Pickleball, and Padel.

In February of 2026, we featured an article written by Morgan and her partner, Sarah Kovacs: Why the Future of Racquet Clubs Is Built Beyond the Court - Courts Attract People. Hospitality Keeps Them. I’m sure we will read more of their work in future Racket Business issues.

Reserve Padel

Morgan showed me an interesting new Padel Club at 360 10th Ave (corner of W. 30th St.): Reserve Padel. Reserve has 5 East Coast locations, 2 in New York, and 3 in Miami.

Reserve Padel Hudson Yards

City Pickle

On our way to Reserve Padel, we came by a seasonal 1-court City Pickle installation.

CityPickle Hudson Yards

City Pickle has three clubs with 25 courts in New York City, plus 3 seasonal installations. They also have clubs in Philadelphia, and more are on the way in both New York (Brooklyn Bridge, 11 courts) and Boca Raton, Florida (19 courts).

City View Racquet Club

Caitlin Thompson encouraged me to visit CityView Racquet Club in Long Island City. I went on a Saturday morning and found the place pretty empty. The Front Desk ladies Savda and Xi explained that many members are on vacation and flee the city because of the oppressive heat.

Savda and Xi at CityView Racquet Club

CityView RC Tennis: 3 Indoor Clay Courts under the Bubble

CityView RC Pro Shop

CityView RC 3 Padel Courts

CityView RC Coffee Bar

Very nice club. They also have Squash courts, which I didn’t see. I’m glad I came and took the photos. Can you imagine how bustling this club is with people when it’s not hot outside?

Padel Power Sweeping the World 08/26

Rich Neher — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:15:42 +0000

USA Padel and Psycho Bunny. A partnership that goe …
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USA Padel and Psycho Bunny. A partnership that goes beyond the uniform

By Scott Colebourne, CEO and Executive Director, USA Padel

USA Padel and Psycho Bunny. A partnership that goes beyond the uniform

By Scott Colebourne, CEO and Executive Director, USA Padel

When we started conversations with Psycho Bunny about outfitting our national teams, the question I kept asking internally was the same one I ask about any partnership: what does this actually do for the sport?

Uniforms matter. Having our men's, women's, and junior national team athletes compete in premium kit, designed with genuine creative ambition rather than treated as an afterthought, is meaningful. It signals that padel in the United States has reached a level where a brand with nearly 150 stores and a global reputation for quality wants to be associated with it. And Alen Brandman, Psycho Bunny's Owner and Chairman, wasn't subtle about why. He described padel as "fast, dynamic, and edgy”, exactly where Psycho Bunny thrives. That's not a quote drafted by a marketing team hedging their bets. That's a founder who has played the sport, looked at it closely as an overall movement, and saw his brand in it.

But the uniform is the least interesting part of this partnership.

Psycho Bunny's retail footprint is concentrated in malls, many of which are already seeing padel clubs open and where the economics of court development actually work. That's not a coincidence I'm inventing a story around. Court operators across the country have been finding real success in mixed-use retail environments: the foot traffic is built in, the demographics overlap, and the visibility converts curious shoppers into first-time players.

Steve Shpilsky: The Wall Street Journal just profiled the padel boom in America. A million US players last year. Around 1,000 courts, up from 227 three years ago.

But padel isn't the next pickleball. Pickleball was built for the NASCAR crowd, and that crowd is awesome. Padel was built for the Formula 1 crowd. Just look at who's entering the sport: ROLEX, Audemars Piguet, Nike, On.

Meanwhile LA, the second largest metro in the country with 13+ million people, has 16 public padel courts. Sixteen.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Psycho Bunny's presence in those same locations creates a genuine conversation about what the future of padel retail and club development might look like in the United States. The opportunity to imagine padel courts and Psycho Bunny storefronts operating in the same complex, each sending traffic to the other, is one we're actively exploring together.

For Psycho Bunny, the access runs in both directions. Their nearly 150 stores provide a direct channel to an established, loyal customer base that hasn't yet encountered padel. That's an audience we can now reach together, not through advertising spend we don't have, but through a brand relationship that provides genuine access. Psycho Bunny's customers skew toward exactly the demographic that discovers padel and stays with it: active, social, style-conscious, and willing to invest in something new when it feels worth their time.

For Psycho Bunny, those same customers are primed for exactly what the brand is building toward. Connecting them to USA Padel member clubs in their area isn't just good for us; it puts their best customers inside the sport's fastest-growing community, wearing their products, at a moment when Psycho Bunny is actively expanding its athletic presence.

David Cano Gutierrez: An entire client base, gone overnight.

Not because of a competitor. Not because of the product. Because of a discount that worked too well.

"We trained our players to expect cheap courts," the owner told us. "When we adjusted the price, they all left. We should have called you before deciding without studying the market."

Read the full story and be inspired.

That expansion is worth explaining, because it's central to why this partnership has real legs. Psycho Bunny is not a passive sponsor writing a check and hoping for brand exposure. They are in the middle of a deliberate move into high-performance athletic wear (Other partners include Andy Roddick and Tennis Canada), and they are building out a customized apparel program for padel clubs and country clubs across the country. That means our growth is directly connected to theirs.

When a new padel club opens and is looking for a premium kit for its members, Psycho Bunny wants to be the answer. When a country club adds courts and needs branded apparel that reflects the quality of their facility, Psycho Bunny wants that conversation. For that business to succeed, padel needs more clubs, more members, and more visibility. We are aligned in a way that goes well beyond goodwill.

Our national team athletes, from professionals ranked in the FIP top 100 down through our amateur and junior competitors, will carry this brand onto courts at every level of the game. That range matters more than it might appear. A Psycho Bunny kit worn by a world-ranked professional on an international stage carries a certain kind of credibility.

The same kit worn by an amateur club player in Austin or Miami or Chicago carries a different kind: it says this is what padel players wear, this is the community you're joining, this is a sport that takes itself seriously enough to dress the part.

Both matter to Psycho Bunny's brand, and both matter to ours.

Shaun J Boyce: An elite academy in Spain just launched a full-time youth padel residency.

Academics, nutrition, sport psychology- the full model tennis has used for elite junior development for decades.

Nothing comparable exists in the US. The closest thing treats padel as a side activity inside a tennis academy.

If we don't build the next generation of American padel talent and coaches deliberately, we will be importing both for another decade.

Read the full story and be inspired.

I've been in sports development long enough to know that partnership announcements are easy and outcomes are hard. But I'm genuinely optimistic about this one, and not just because of what it does for USA Padel. I'm optimistic because Psycho Bunny came to this partnership with a clear understanding of what they're getting into and a commercial stake in making it work. Alen Brandman didn't see a charity case or a publicity opportunity. He saw a sport that aligns with his brand's identity, a community that matches his customer base, and a growth story he wants to be part of from the start.

When a partner sees the same future you do, you tend to build something that lasts. That's where we are with Psycho Bunny, and we're just getting started.

About Psycho Bunny:

Headquartered in Montreal, Psycho Bunny is a global premium clothing brand recognized for its bold designs, uncompromising quality, and iconic bunny logo.

Since its founding in 2005, the brand has redefined modern style by blending classic sophistication with a playful, irreverent edge. Originally known for its premium polo shirts, Psycho Bunny has expanded to offer a full range of apparel and accessories for men, women, and children.

With nearly 150 stores worldwide and a commitment to excellence, the brand continues to grow, crafting elevated fashion from the world’s finest materials.

Kyle LaCroix: Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.
I love padel. I love pizza. So instead of overthinking it, we simply brought people together to enjoy both.
Each week at both locations, 40 players of all ages and skill levels join us for our Padel & Pizza social at Xcel Padel. No elaborate format. No major production. Just a great game, great food, and great people.

Read the full story and be inspired.

About USA Padel:

USA Padel is the national governing body for padel in the United States, officially recognized by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and Padel America.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit association, USA Padel promotes and develops padel at every level, from local communities to the professional game.

USA Padel sanctions more than 250 tournaments annually across the USA, including the US Open Padel Championships, and fields USA National Teams across all competitive categories. Learn more at www.usapadel.org.

Shaun J Boyce: Padel courts in the US just crossed 1,000.

SFIA counted over a million American padel players for the first time in 2025. Credentialed coaching supply hasn't remotely kept pace. It's the single most-cited operational headache from club directors I talk to.

Facilities are getting built faster than the profession can staff them.

Read the full story and be inspired.

About the Author

Scott Colebourne is the Executive Director of the United States Padel Association and a twenty-year veteran of the racquet sports industry. He can be reached at scott@padelusa.org.

Subscribe to the latest Padel News (click and scroll down)

The Padel Paper (UK)

Liverpool to get new ‘padel, lifestyle and wellness destination’
Club Mona, opening in Liverpool in early 2027, is set to bring together padel, training, recovery, wellness, food, coworking and community in a “carefully curated lifestyle destination.” Launching on Great Howard Street near the Titanic Hotel, Club Mona will span almost 40,000 sq ft and will blend premium padel facilities with wellness, fitness and social spaces designed for everyday lifestyle. Read more.
PadelXpo to launch at NEC Birmingham in 2027
PadelXpo launches at the NEC Birmingham next year, promising to “unite players, fans, brands, clubs, operators and industry leaders in one high-energy setting.”
The large-scale event will take place on 5-6 June 2027 and will feature a familiar line-up of padel-loving celebrities including Aitch, Jason Manford and Chemmy Alcott, as well as a host of industry partners. Read more.
Padel Nuestro opens its new Barcelona flagship store with Agustín Tapia and hundreds of fans
Barcelona enjoyed a true celebration of padel with the opening of Padel Nuestro’s new experiential flagship store. The store is located at Rosselló 257, in the city centre, between Passeig de Gràcia and Rambla de Catalunya. Read more.
Jobs in padel - Find your next job in padel here
The Padel Paper is proud to promote these current jobs in padel. If you are looking for your next padel career move, or seeking a new employment opportunity, take a look at these job vacancies. Whichever job in padel you are seeking, you can find it listed here. Read more.
Designing padel venues for the erratic British weather
The growth in padel’s infrastructure in the UK shows no sign of slowing with over 1,825 courts and counting — but operators face a challenge their counterparts in warmer climates rarely encounter: making venues commercially viable in the British weather. Read more.
Barrio Padel’s ambition to become disability coaching centre
Newly-opened Barrio Padel in Nottingham is a “little bit different” to your average padel venue, with inclusion at the core of its philosophy.
Read more
New report highlights the padel boom in Ireland
It’s a big week for padel in Ireland — and the FIP Silver in Dublin comes amidst a boom period for the sport across the nation. Read more.
What makes a Premier Padel court? Inside MejorSet’s elite competition design
With Premier Padel set for its London debut in early August, all eyes in the padel community will be fixed on the next steps in the sport’s professional story. Locally, the London event signals another milestone in the growing relationship between the UK and professional padel, where some of the sport’s best athletes – and Premier Padel’s international audience – will turn their focus towards the UK’s sporting capital. Read more.
LTA backs launch of PadelFest roadshow
The LTA is backing the launch of PadelFest, a new roadshow series from the founders of last year’s hugely successful UK Padel Convention.
The first PadelFest event takes place on 19 September 2026 at Rocket Padel Bristol, and the series is the brainchild of George Modler and Ben Harris, co-founders of The Padel Directory and the UK Padel Convention. Read more.
Frankie goes to Lombok!
Former GB no.1 Frankie Langan is expanding his padel club empire all the way to Indonesia with an ambitious project on the idyllic island of Lombok.

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The District and M3 Padel Academy Partner to Bring World-Class Training Program to Canada

The District becomes home to Canada's first M3 Academy, introducing one of the world's leading player development systems

The District Padel & Pickleball Club, a premium racquet sports and lifestyle brand, today announced a partnership with M3 Padel Academy to bring its world-renowned training methodology to Canada for the first time.

Available in nine countries, M3 Padel Academy has helped develop 15 World No. 1 players, produced 243 international titles, and serves more than 1,100 active students worldwide, establishing itself as a global standard of excellence in padel training. The partnership marks a significant milestone for Canada's growing padel community and supports The District's mission to elevate the sport's credibility and long-term development nationwide.

“Our goal has always been to develop the sport in Canada by bringing the world's best resources and training opportunities to our community,” said Javier Rodriguez. “The M3 Padel Academy is the gold standard in coaching and player development, and we're proud to introduce its methodology to Canada at our flagship club in Mississauga, setting a new benchmark for player development in the country.””

Beginning in September, M3 Padel Academy at The District will offer a year-round training program for players built around three progressive trimesters focused on fundamentals, technical and tactical development, and performance. The academy emphasizes measurable progress through tailored instruction, continuous monitoring, and small-group training sessions. The academy also features a coaching certification program available for anyone in Canada looking to become M3 certified.

For younger players, The District will also offer the M3 Junior Academy, which applies the same methodology through age-appropriate instruction, specialized coaches, and small-group training designed to support long-term development.

“The M3 methodology is built on creating measurable progress and developing players at every stage of their journey,” said Jorge Martínez, M3 Academy. “Canada is an exciting emerging market for padel, and we believe The District is the ideal partner to introduce our methodology and help develop the next generation of players and coaches.”

Enrollment for the M3 Academy at The District is now open, and the program will run from September through June. Players can register through The District’s app, which is available on the App Store and Google Play. If interested in a coaching certification, The District is offering training opportunities over the coming months to any coaches from across the country.

About The District

The District is a premium racquet sports and lifestyle brand focused on building community through sport and social experiences. Combining high-design facilities, elite coaching standards, and global partnerships, The District is helping shape the future of padel and pickleball across North America.

A New Way To Plan Padel Training

How Racket_Bud combines methodology, artificial intelligence, and more than 20,000 exercises to build better training sessions.

Interview with Javier Iglesias

Padel’s rapid international growth has changed the daily reality of coaching. Coaches now manage more players, more varied groups, and less preparation time, while every session still needs a clear purpose. Racket_Bud was created for this challenge by Javier Iglesias—former Head Coach of Australia and Indonesia and current Co-Head Coach of Moldova—together with Ian Iglesias, a specialist in artificial intelligence and sports data analysis. The system turns a structured library into coherent sessions, helping coaches plan with greater consistency, variety and clarity.

INTERVIEWER: Why did you decide to create Racket_Bud?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: The idea came directly from the court. A coach may work with several groups in one day, all with different ages, levels and objectives. Preparing every session from zero takes time, and without a clear structure it is easy to repeat the same exercises. We wanted to give coaches a reliable starting point while keeping their own judgement at the centre.

INTERVIEWER: What makes the exercise library different?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: It contains more than 20,000 padel-specific exercises organised through technical, tactical and teaching criteria. The important point is not only the quantity. Each exercise must fit a progression, connect with the real game and help the coach correct or develop something specific. The tool currently works in seven languages.

INTERVIEWER: How does the planning process work?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: The coach selects practical variables such as the players’ age, level, number of students, the stroke or game situation to develop and the main objective of the session. The system then proposes five compatible exercises that work together as a complete sequence, rather than presenting a random list of drills.

INTERVIEWER: Is artificial intelligence replacing the coach?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: No. Technology can organise information, save preparation time and suggest logical options, but it cannot replace observation, communication or the ability to adapt a session in real time. The coach still decides what the player needs, makes corrections and changes the plan when the group responds differently from expected.

INTERVIEWER: Who is involved in the project’s development?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: Ian Iglesias leads the work related to artificial intelligence and data analysis. Martín Echegaray, a professional coach specialising in padel teaching methodology, also contributes to the system’s development. This combination is essential: the technology must always be tested against what actually happens on court.

INTERVIEWER: Why are you focusing on Australia at this stage?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: Australia is a growing padel market. New clubs and academies are opening, but many are still building their coaching structures and management processes. We believe there is a real need for integrated solutions that help clubs organise their programmes, improve the customer experience and maintain a consistent methodology as they grow.

INTERVIEWER: How is Racket_Bud connected to coach education?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: It follows the same methodology used by Pro Padel School. Our education pathway has three levels—Instructor, Coach and Head Coach—and is available in 14 languages. It covers teaching methodology, applied biomechanics, motor learning, coordination development and tactical understanding. Racket_Bud is the practical extension of that education.

INTERVIEWER: What is the long-term vision?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: We want to support coaches and players from the first lesson to professional performance. For coaches, that means better organisation, more variety and a clearer progression. For clubs, it means an ecosystem that brings education, planning, consultancy, bookings, academy management and internal communication together. Technology should make the work easier without removing the human and technical judgement that defines a great coach.

INTERVIEWER: Why build a wider business ecosystem around coaching?

JAVIER IGLESIAS: A strong academy needs more than good exercises. Clubs also need structure, reliable daily operations and clear communication. That is why we have created an academy management system, specialised consultancy, a booking system and an internal communication platform. The aim is to connect the sporting and operational sides of the organisation.

Francisco Javier Iglesias is an international padel Technical Director and Coach with more than 35 years of experience in racquet sports, academy management and high-performance player development. He is Technical Manager of the Indonesian Padel Federation and has previously served as Head Coach of the national teams of Australia, Indonesia and Moldova. Throughout his career, he has managed major padel facilities, developed academies, trained professional players and led multicultural coaching teams. He is also an Int’l FIP Referee and a qualified Spanish National Padel and Tennis Coach.

El Remate

I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here's What Ensued
A few weeks ago, I took a flamethrower to the US padel scene after playing extensively across Europe & Latin America. Then I listened to what people had to say. Read more.
European Deaf Padel & the Internat’l Padel Media Assoc. have teamed up to bring greater visibility to deaf athletes, starting with the European Deaf Padel Circuit Sevilla 2026. Read more.
Backed by the Mouratoglou brand, M Padel is launching a Malden, MA location in late 2026. The club will feature eight courts (7 indoor, 1 outdoor), a strength and conditioning gym, and locker rooms with saunas + showers. The club will provide private lessons, clinics, and court rentals for members and non-members. Read more.
Bay Area franchise Bay Padel officially opened its newest location in downtown San Jose, marking its fourth club in the metro area. Read more.
Tempe, AZ-based franchise Conquer Padel just signed a lease for its first Jacksonville, FL location, bringing the city its first dedicated indoor padel facility. Read more.

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The Wall Street Journal Just Covered Padel. Here's the Story It Didn't Tell.

Ballers Philadelphia, inside the old Delaware Power Station turbine hall.
Photo: Mike Knowles

Real growth pressure. Clear thinking. No fluff. For leaders navigating the racquet sports industry right now.

A couple of months ago I was in Philadelphia for an International Association of Pickleball and Padel Facilities meetup, and I played padel at Ballers.

Walk in, and the first thing you see is an indoor soccer field with the original graffiti still on the walls, left over from the building's old life. This was the Delaware Power Station, closed since 2008 after 85 years running the city's electricity. Above the soccer field, padel courts. Next to those, pickleball. A gym. A small pro shop. A full bar and restaurant downstairs that turns into a club by the time you're leaving at night. Golf simulators on top of all of it. I would have paid whatever they asked to play padel in that building. It is one of the best-designed sports and social spaces I have walked into, period.

I bring that up because The Wall Street Journal ran a feature this week on padel's expansion in the U.S., published Wednesday, July 22, and Ballers is the lead example in it.

Here's what's actually in it, what I can confirm firsthand, and the real constraint on this entire boom that the article never quite names.

WHAT THE ARTICLE SAYS

Ballers opened in that old turbine hall last November. Built by David Gutstadt, a former Equinox executive. Around 700 members now, paying $110 to $457 a month. He's since opened a second Ballers in Boston, which opened this past April, and is building a third in Los Angeles.

That retrofit pattern is playing out across the country. Parking lots. Distribution warehouses. Mall rooftops. Westfield Century City has a padel club on its roof. Westfield Sherman Oaks put three courts on top of a parking garage. The U.S. has crossed roughly 1,000 public padel courts, up from about 227 three years ago.

The (USTA) United States Tennis Association 2025 report puts padel at 1.1 million American players, the first year the sport got its own category instead of getting folded into something else. USA Padel reports individual membership up 53.5 percent and club membership up 51.5 percent in 2025. The Pro Padel League raised a real $15 million Series A in March, led by Charlotte Hornets co-chairman Rick Schnall, and picked up its first national TV deal: five championship matches airing on CNBC this year.

The construction cost cited in the article, roughly $50,000 a court per Alma Padel founder Abigail McCulloch, lines up with the broader market. Most fully installed U.S. outdoor courts now run $50,000 to $85,000. A bare $24,000 kit is the floor, not what most operators are actually building.

WHO'S WRITING THE CHECKS, AND WHO'S ACTUALLY BUILDING THE HARD PART

Look at who the article says is building padel right now. A former Equinox executive. Gary Sheinbaum, a former Tommy Hilfiger executive, backing a venture in West Palm Beach that hasn't opened yet. Jonathan Krieger, co-founder of the Bluestone Lane coffee chain, running Padel United in New Jersey. Ronnie Fieg, founder of streetwear brand KITH, built three padel courts into Kith Ivy NYC, his new members-only club in Manhattan. Initiation there is $45,000, plus $10,000 a year.

None of these are lifelong racquet sports operators, which raises the obvious question: do they know how to keep people playing once the opening-week energy wears off? Two of them, it turns out, do. Ballers has a director of athletics and a U.S. top-ranked padel pro on staff, and runs junior programs, women's clinics, ladders, and tournaments from day one. Krieger's Padel United Sports Club runs a structured ten-week coaching curriculum with named certified pros and weekly ladder play. Two former brand executives, building the unglamorous part on purpose.

Kith Ivy is the one that isn't, at least not publicly. Heavy on hospitality, an on-site spa, real design polish, a five-figure buy-in. No public evidence of leagues, ladders, a coaching pathway, or a single named pro on staff. It's already drawn outside criticism as a well-dressed club with a retention problem waiting to happen. Sheinbaum's West Palm Beach venture hasn't opened, so it's not evidence either way, though its own marketing already promises leagues and instruction.

So the honest version isn't "brand money doesn't build sport infrastructure." Some of it clearly does. The honest version is sharper: the operators who build the coaching underneath the experience are the ones with a real shot at holding onto members past year one. The ones who don't are betting the room stays interesting on its own.

THE ACTUAL CONSTRAINT, AND IT'S NOT COURTS

Here's what the article never names. The country has two bodies that certify padel coaches at their highest level. The Racquet Sports Professionals Association launched a four-tier padel certification pathway, and its toughest tier, Master Professional, requires 500 logged teaching hours in padel alone. One person has cleared it: Marcos Del Pilar - 𝗣𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗨𝗦𝗔. Padel Smash, another leading padel coaching and media platform, has its own top credential, Padel Master Coach, held by exactly one person too: its co-founder, Julian Wortelboer. Between the two organizations that actually certify padel coaching at the elite level in this country, that's two people. For a sport that just crossed 1,000 courts. Courts aren't the constraint anymore. Coaching is, and a first lesson that's sloppy or underwhelming doesn't get shrugged off. People don't come back.

This is not a new story in racquet sports. It's an old one repeating itself. U.S. racquetball went from 2.8 million players in 1976 to 12 million by 1980, with roughly 30,000 courts built almost overnight. Then it collapsed, eventually losing more than half its peak participation. One longtime observer of the sport points to a single cause ahead of the others: not enough teaching pros to turn new players into lasting ones. Squash, over the same stretch in the same country, built its coaching and junior pipeline early and never had racquetball's crash. Same era, same market, opposite outcome, and the difference was who invested in the teaching, not who wrote the biggest opening-week check.

U.S. pickleball is already running the same experiment in real time. More than 1,200 new indoor facilities opened in two years, and trade press was reporting closures and bankruptcies by early 2026. The operators still standing share the same traits every time: strong locations, experienced operators, real coaching, programming that gives someone a reason to come back next month.

Sweden and Chile, the two countries the WSJ article cites for padel's own mega expansions and mass closures (more than 100 facility closures in Sweden alone), are worth a closer look at what actually happened inside them. Overbuilding and bad financing triggered both shakeouts, not a lack of coaching. But the operators still standing share a pattern. A recent industry analysis of Chile's crash put it plainly: the clubs holding on are the ones that stopped treating themselves as court rental businesses and built real destinations instead, bundling hospitality, wellness, coaching, and events into something people want to spend time in, not just book an hour on.

Spain is the clean counterexample. Padel has grown there for decades, with the federation building coaching infrastructure alongside the courts the whole way, more than 1,400 licensed coaches, youth categories, referee pathways. The UK is running the same model live: the Lawn Tennis Association took over padel governance in 2020, when the country had 69 courts, and has grown that to more than 1,500 while building a coaching workforce from a handful of instructors to over 700 registered coaches. Infrastructure first, in both cases. That's the opposite of how the U.S. is building this right now.

WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW THAT NIGHT AT BALLERS

I didn't know, playing padel there, that the reason the place worked wasn't the graffiti or the power plant or the golf simulators. It was that Gutstadt had already hired real coaching talent and built the ladders and academies before he needed them to prove anything to anyone. That's not the story I would have told walking out that night. It's the one that actually holds up under a second look.

Here's what I still can't answer, even having been there. The two bodies that certify elite padel coaching in this country have a combined two people holding their top credential. Ballers and Padel United found real coaching talent anyway. Everyone building a padel club behind them is competing for a pool of qualified instructors that barely exists, and there is no version of this boom where all of them find their own.

That's not a data question. It's a decision question, and it's exactly what I built Inside The Lines Advisory to work through with operators, investors, and brands trying to figure out whether the club they're building, or backing, or advising, has actually solved for this before the capital is spent.

If you're building in padel right now, evaluating a padel investment, or deciding whether it belongs in your existing facility, that's a conversation worth having this month, not after the next round of court openings.

If you want to read the original Wall Street Journal piece, it's behind their paywall, worth a subscription if this space matters to you. If you want to go deeper on what any of this means for your specific situation, that's what I'm here for.

THREE WAYS TO WORK ON THIS

If any of this is live for you right now, there are three ways I can help, depending on where you actually are.

Start with the Growth Pressure Review. It's free. Tell me where your business stands and I'll send back a written read on where the pressure is building and what I'd address first. No score, no automation. My actual read on your situation.

If you already know the problem and need it solved, that's Growth Advisory. A focused, project-based engagement built around one specific decision: evaluating padel as a new market, building the go-to-market plan, sorting out positioning before you commit capital.

If you want me embedded through the build, that's Growth Partnership. A monthly retainer where strategy and execution happen together, not handed off in a deck.

Most people start with the Review. That's the right place to start.

mike@insidethelinesadvisory.com | 205.789.4006 | mikehknowles.com

Real growth pressure. Clear thinking. No fluff.

SOURCES

The Wall Street Journal: "Inside the Push to Make Padel the Next Pickleball," by Andrew Zucker, July 22, 2026.

Ballers background, coaching staff, and programming: Ballers' own site, Hospitality Design, Philadelphia Magazine.

Do You Know How To Make Money for Someone Else?

Rod Heckelman — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 18:16:31 +0000

It’s an interesting question that few teaching pros ask themselves. That may be because many of the facilities that will employ them are not profit-oriented, or at least not operating to build a growing bottom line.

Membership-owned clubs, for example, need to generate enough revenue to operate their facilities and meet members' expectations, but profit is usually not part of the equation.

Public facilities are similar but structured completely differently because their overhead focuses on meeting the demands of the community and the facility's maintenance. There may also be administration and operating expenses in most cases.

And of course, there are the growing number of tennis academies for juniors. They too are looking to increase profits, but that will more often be the task of a strong management team or leader to increase income by recruiting additional players.

When the tennis boom came along in the early 70s, most new facilities were established with the primary goal of being profitable.

In fact, the raw statistics show that today about 20 to 30% of tennis facilities are for-profit.

Amelie Brooks: I'm sitting around 1000 in the WTA rankings right now, and it's taken a lot to get here - travelling alone and everything that comes with that, early matches, late finishes, the losses that taught me more than the wins did, all the hours on court that nobody sees, the challenges to arrange hitting partners and training week to week. This is all part of the progression, and it's a choice I make. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

Read the full story and be inspired.

So, since there are at least 20 to 30% of tennis pros that are going to be working at those facilities, are they willing to make money for someone else, in this case, owners or investors? And maybe more important, do they know how to make money for those facilities?

This question is seldom, or never, brought up in an interview for a position as a tennis pro at a facility. But considering the commitment that has to be made for that criterion to be met, it must be in the minds of both people on both sides of the interview. Let’s start with the interviewer.

Usually, the interviewer of the facility has reviewed the pro's resume and will have a list of the most relevant needs at their facility and how that pro intends to meet those needs. There will be more questions, common to a normal interview, but woven throughout those questions will be an effort to find insight as to how this new pro intends to positively impact the facility's revenue, via increased membership, commission from lessons, or events and tournaments, to name a few.

On the other side of this interaction, the interviewee, who has already gone over the posted job offering, will also have their list of additional questions, but asking the question during the interview, “Do the owners or investors want to make more money?” is not likely to happen. The question becomes an avoided assumption, which can often evolve into undefined future job objectives.

José Luis Antonio Calderon: Tennis Has Its Own Intelligence.
One of the biggest misconceptions in tennis is the belief that excellence automatically transfers from one area of life to another. People often assume that someone who is disciplined, mentally tough, or highly intelligent in business, school, or another sport will naturally perform well on a tennis court.

Sometimes that happens.

Often, it does not.

The reason is simple: tennis has its own intelligence.

Read the full story and be inspired.

So, both parties, after the interview and after each has followed through with the normal due diligence common to the process of new employment, will start that new job with neither party discussing the actual financial expectations of that facility. How much more profit are they hoping to make? How many more members will this pro bring to the facility, or how much more income can be made from lessons? Those very important issues end up being a work in progress for most new tennis pros. But the actual roadmap that they will need to follow to make that happen is found through discovery and not usually planned. For this reason alone, tennis pros need as much input and education as they can find and learn to navigate that new roadmap.

Adding to this challenge is that very few industries have two types of economic operations. They are mostly either a profit-focused operation or a non-profit focused operation. This could explain why the annual turnover rate for teaching pros is 25% when the national average for total separations in the U.S. typically falls between 13% and 18%.

Tennis pros should not have to take this challenge by themselves. There are now three different entities that have formed, providing membership and training programs for tennis pros. You would think that because they are all struggling to either gain or even keep their members, this type of training would be more prevalent, especially because some of those lost members may have left as a result of losing their jobs or deciding on another career.

Lauren Brown: Play is not a niche topic; it is a biological necessity that belongs in every industry, every workplace, and every conversation about human thriving. Watching Acey carry that message into construction management and HVAC sales: that is the movement. We are grateful and inspired!

Read the full story and be inspired.

Doesn’t it seem rather important that these orgs spend more time training and educating their members on how to keep their jobs? And if they did, wouldn’t that be a great way to provide more education directed towards helping teaching pros obtain secure employment to improve retention of that employment? And at the top of that list of being compatible, are they helping and guiding their membership to be more comfortable with making more money for their owners or investors? Just food for thought. In fact, maybe this thought should be the main course…when these organizations are questioned about the service they provide, how will they respond? Do they provide a complete package of training, i.e., coaching techniques, organizational skills, people skills, and also be able or willing to help coaches navigate the skills and temperament needed to make their owners or investors more money?

Any time a significant issue is not addressed at the onset of employment, the future relationship of that employment is in jeopardy. But the interview is not the beginning of employment; the education and guidance of that employee is what should be the first chapter of that story.

Rod Heckelman

Rod Heckelman's career started in 1966 when he began his 5-year role as a teacher at John Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch in Carmel Valley, California. Later, he opened as the resident pro for Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch on Camelback in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In 1976, he took over as head professional/tennis director at the Mt. Tam Racquet Club in Larkspur, California, and added the title and responsibilities of general manager in 1982. After 48 years, he retired to work exclusively in helping others in the industry.

In 2010, he was awarded “Manager of the Year” for the USPTA NorCal Division and the “Manager of the Year” at the USPTA World Conference. Rod has written several books, including “Down Your Alley” in 1993, “Playing Into the Sunset” in 2013, and most recently, “250 Ways to Play Tennis.”

He also produced the “Facility Manager’s Manual” and the “Business Handbook for Tennis Pros,” which is distributed by the TIA.

FACILITIES - SUPPLIES - PEOPLE

Rod Heckelman — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 14:47:22 +0000

Tennis Faces Its Greatest Opponent: Real Estate Value

By Rod Heckelman

Tennis facilities, often developed by competitive tennis players, have always embraced a competitive market environment. Competition is the driving force behind most businesses, and tennis facilities are no exception. And just like playing the game itself, taking on new challenges is welcome. But this new opponent may be too much to handle. It’s not just too strong or too experienced; it’s an opponent with an agenda that’s focused on growth and expansion for tremendous economic gains. What makes it even more difficult is that it is not a head-to-head competition, but a competitor that is in another lane, a lane outside of our tennis world, focusing completely on supply and demand. These opponents are real estate developers.

Over the last 20 years or so, approximately 22% of tennis facilities have been bought or closed, not by competition within the market, but by investors looking to profit from the escalating growth and demand for housing and commercial property. They target property that is underproducing income for their current occupants, which makes tennis facilities a prime target.

And there is an additional issue: many of those current occupants are struggling with diminishing demand and the inability to continue to increase their profits by increasing fees.

The turf a single tennis court occupies is approximately 7,500 square feet, more or less. The revenue a single court returns can vary as a result of the cost of living at various locations, but the revenue a developer can get through housing, or some commercial operations, can be nearly fivefold, especially in areas of rapid growth.

These real estate occupants will also produce more revenue for the city, state, and the utility providers. As said, tennis people love competition, but this is not a fair fight.

Juan Garcia: Southern California is home to one of the most competitive racquet sports markets in the world.
How do clubs continue to grow when land is scarce, construction costs are high, and every square foot has to justify itself?

I’m honored to be moderating one of the featured conversations at the RacquetX City Series on August 18 at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe.

The Premium Stack: What’s Working in the Toughest Real Estate Market in the Country

Read the full story and be inspired.

The actual number of clubs and facilities that have closed is not easy to accurately count, as some of them morphed into multipurpose facilities adding alternative sports and activities. But as an example, in the Northern California area there were over 17 indoor facilities in the early 80s; now there are fewer than ten. The story is different for membership-owned clubs; they have been able to hold on in recent years, but some of those closed long ago when larger, multi-purpose facilities became their competition. Now those same multi-purpose facilities are succumbing to the demand for their real estate, and often they are located smack dab in the middle of communities where they occupy prime real estate.

One more piece of the equation should also be considered. With city real estate and suburban dwellings expanding due to demand for housing, the cost of starting up a new tennis facility has become much more expensive. Not just the land and the cost of building, but also the property tax, the utility cost, and the operating cost. Add to that the gradual loss of members and, in many cases, the inability to raise their fees, and it's not a pleasant situation for any tennis facility.

In the past, the multi-purpose facilities had the best shot at success by offering a variety of sports and exercise venues. But new free sports, like Pickleball, or new trends, like home exercise programs, have made diversity less valued.

The overall impact on the tennis industry will be fewer facilities, which will certainly impact the tennis instructors, especially those just getting started. It will also mean less equipment sold…rackets, shoes, clothing, tennis nets, ball machines…the list goes on. Lastly, just like a restaurant or popular social hangouts, fewer facilities will mean fewer people to find to interact with, and fewer locations to participate in leagues, tournaments, or just social tennis events.

Okay, there is the doom and gloom; what about the new possibilities? We can start by recognizing the success of new facilities that provide multiple racket venues. This provides both a variety of options for the new members and also cross-pollinates the social venues. There is also, within the current structure of the tennis world, a great example of tennis clubs working in unity; it is called Adult Leagues. There is also new software and technology that is helping players find others to share their racket sport of choice and find new social interaction.

Scott McCulloch: Over the past few weeks, I've been reflecting on a recent trip through England and Austria.
Standing at Wimbledon, the most iconic venue in our sport, was one of those moments that genuinely moved me. Watching the best players in the world compete on Centre Court, walking the grounds, and spending time with great people and soaking it all in reminded me why I feel so fortunate to be part of this industry.

A few days later, I found myself at Bio- und Wellnessresort Stanglwirt in Austria that is one of the most breathtaking properties I have ever visited. In a completely different way, it had the same impact. The people, the culture, the hospitality, and the setting have a way of slowing you down and giving you perspective. It's one of those rare places that reminds you to be present and appreciate the moment you're in.

Read the full story and be inspired.

The lesson learned from these three new options is that the entire racket industry has to stop competing and start operating as a united industry. That means more than just facilities that offer all these venues; it means uniting all facilities through these sports to share events and social venues.

And not just tennis, Pickleball, or Padel, but also Squash, Racket Ball, Badminton, Platform Tennis, and yes, even Table Tennis. We’ve said it before; isn’t it about time we host an event including everyone, call it The Racket Olympics? If we are going to compete with the cost of real estate in a world that is becoming increasingly populated, we need to compete with all our resources. Maybe more importantly, the large organizations that oversee all these racket sports need to get together and help each other grow, instead of always comparing and measuring who is the most popular or is growing the fastest. Not just for the survival of the business of racket sports, but also for those still enjoying all those sports and those who are making a living from those sports.

We need to increase the popularity of all racket sports to push cities and towns to insist that these racket sports be included in their communities. After all, the definition of community is: A community is a group of people connected by shared geography, interests, values, or identities. It provides a sense of belonging, mutual support, and collaboration, allowing individuals to pool resources and tackle challenges together.

So, it’s more than just an area of residence and housing; it is one of the foundations of a lifestyle that racket sports can provide.

The Directors Club, Jarrett Chirico: Palmetto Bluff is one of the most
breath-takingly beautiful properties in the world. A truly extraordinary place where timeless Southern charm, natural beauty, and world-class hospitality come together in a way that is almost impossible to describe.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Most people do not leave tennis because they have stopped enjoying it.

More often, tennis has simply become too difficult to keep in their life.

Read the full story and be inspired.

Rod Heckelman

Rod Heckelman's career started in 1966 when he began his 5-year role as a teacher at John Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch in Carmel Valley, California. Later he opened as the resident pro for Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch on Camelback in Scottsdale, Arizona.

He also produced the “Facility Manager’s Manual” and the “Business Handbook for Tennis Pros,” which is distributed by the TIA.

Racquet Sports Retail: Women’s Growth, How Clubs Buy Custom Gear

Shawn Winston — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:01:56 +0000

The Business Opportunity Behind Women’s Growth in Tennis, Padel, and Pickleball

By Li Feng

The racket sports boom is usually measured through participation, court construction, club openings, and equipment sales. Yet one of its most important commercial opportunities is more specific: women are becoming a larger and more influential part of the tennis, padel, and pickleball economy.

This is not only a participation story. It is also a retail, programming, club-experience, and apparel story. Businesses that understand the modern female player will be better positioned than those that treat women’s categories as secondary or purely cosmetic.

Women Are Driving More Than Participation

Across all three sports, women are forming groups, booking courts, joining clinics, purchasing gear, sharing recommendations, and influencing the social culture around play. Their participation can be especially valuable for clubs because it is often built around community, consistency, and habit—three qualities that support long-term retention.

Pickleball has introduced many women to racket sports through accessible rules, social play, leagues, and community sessions. Padel combines an easy-to-learn format with a premium, highly social club environment. Tennis continues to benefit from strong visibility and a large recreational base. Together, the three sports create multiple entry points for women of different ages, backgrounds, and experience levels.

Rob Norris: The biggest commercial lesson from Wimbledon is not how much money it pays the champion.

It is how much value the event creates before a ball is even hit.

Wimbledon’s revenues have grown from around £170 million to more than £400 million over the past decade. This year’s total

Read the full story and be inspired.

The New Female Player Is Multi-Sport

It is a mistake to view female tennis, padel, and pickleball players as completely separate consumers. A woman may take a tennis clinic during the week, play pickleball with friends, attend a padel event on the weekend, and fit in Pilates or strength training between sessions.

Her wardrobe does not reset for every activity. She wants products that move easily between the court, gym, school run, coffee, travel, and social time after a match. She shops around practical questions: Will this stay in place? Is it breathable? Does it offer enough coverage? Can it hold a ball? Can I wear it before and after I play?

Those questions are not small details; they are buying triggers. Brands and retailers that answer them clearly can build loyalty across several sports rather than within a single category.

Apparel Can Support Participation

Clothing affects the playing experience more than many businesses realize, particularly for beginners whose confidence may still be fragile. A skirt without secure ball storage, a top that rides up during a serve, shorts that shift during lateral movement, or a dress that lacks support can make a player feel unprepared or uncomfortable.

Court apparel must accommodate lunges, rotation, overhead movement, quick recovery steps, heat, sun, wind, and the long social periods that often surround recreational play. Women’s racket sports apparel therefore needs its own product logic, not simply a fashion-focused extension of general activewear.

The strongest products often solve straightforward problems well: secure waistbands, breathable fabrics, useful pockets, built-in shorts, appropriate coverage, sweat management, nonrestrictive shoulder construction, and sun-conscious layers.

Karl Hale: I recently overheard a version of this:
"When I was 20, I wanted to be a successful. Now that I'm a successful, I want to be 20." It made me think.

At 58, I wouldn't trade my experiences, the people

Read the full story and be inspired.

Inclusive sizing and design also matter because the market extends far beyond one age group or body type.

What Clubs and Retailers Can Do

For facilities, women’s growth creates opportunities beyond court fees. Beginner clinics, social leagues, cardio tennis, round robins, and mixed-sport events can become effective retention products. A player who joins a welcoming clinic may later purchase lessons, memberships, tournament entries, apparel, shoes, bags, and travel experiences—and bring friends or family into the sport.

The key is to lower friction. Clubs should offer clear beginner pathways, supportive coaching, flexible times, and social environments that do not assume every newcomer wants immediate competition.

The pro shop should also be treated as part of the player experience. A woman who needs a visor, a breathable layer, a second skirt, or advice for her first league match is already in a buying moment. The best shops solve the player’s next problem rather than simply displaying products.

Retailers can strengthen this approach by merchandising around complete playing moments instead of isolated items. “First tennis clinic outfit,” “pickleball league essentials,” “hot-weather court kit,” and “padel club weekend” reflect how customers actually shop. They also connect apparel, footwear, accessories, and sun protection, increasing the potential basket size.

Different Sports, Different Opportunities

Pickleball offers brands freedom to shape a category whose consumer identity is still developing. Its female players may come from tennis, golf, yoga, running, walking groups, or no athletic background, so the market will reward businesses that avoid assuming there is only one type of customer.

Padel offers a different opportunity. Its connection to modern facilities, hospitality, and social events creates a premium environment for apparel and lifestyle brands. Style may attract attention, but comfort and performance will determine repeat purchases.

The Real Opportunity Is Retention

The most valuable question is not simply how to attract more women to racket sports, but how to keep them. A retained player buys court time, lessons, apparel, footwear, accessories, memberships, event entries, and travel. She also helps build the social infrastructure that makes a club or community sustainable.

Women are not an add-on market. They are central participants in the next stage of racket sports growth. Businesses that invest in better programming, thoughtful retail, functional products, inclusive sizing, and a welcoming experience will be best positioned to convert participation into long-term commercial value.

Li Feng

Li Feng writes on behalf of Saltum, a women’s activewear brand focused on comfortable, movement-friendly apparel for tennis, pickleball, padel, training, and everyday active lifestyles.

Website: https://www.saltum.com/

What a Year of Quote Requests Taught Me About How Clubs Buy Custom Gear

By Shawn Winston

I run a company that makes custom tennis, pickleball, and padel gear — dampeners, overgrips, grip bands, the small branded things that end up in a player's bag. Every order starts life as a quote request, which means I get a front-row seat to something most of us in this industry only guess at: who actually wants custom gear, what they ask for first, and where the deal falls apart.

I went back through the last fifteen months of those requests — around 80 genuine ones — and a few patterns jumped out that are worth sharing with anyone running a club or a pro shop.

Dampeners are the front door. Nearly three-quarters of the people who contacted me asked about vibration dampeners before anything else. It makes sense: a dampener is cheap, it fits every racket, and it's a blank canvas for a logo a member sees every single time they play. If you're going to stock or sell one custom item, this is the one that gets people in the door. Overgrips were a distant second. Everything else — grip bands, wristbands, edge tape — trailed well behind.

The minimum is the decision. The median request was for exactly 100 units, which happens to be my minimum order. That's no coincidence. Most teams and clubs don't size their order to what they need; they size it to the floor. A high school coach with 20 players isn't ordering 20 dampeners — either they find a reason to buy 100 (the whole program, a season giveaway, something to sell in the shop) or they walk away. The most common follow-up question I get is some version of "can we do fewer?"

Right behind it is a request I've heard far more often this year: "Can we split the run across a few designs?" and "Can each one have a different player's name on it?" Clubs no longer just want their logo on 100 identical pieces. They want personalization inside a single order — a varsity design and a JV design, or every player's name on their own grip. Whoever makes small batches and variable data easy will win the school and club segment, because that's the friction killing these orders today.

Half my buyers aren't clubs at all. This was the real surprise. When I sorted the requests, only about half came from the racket-sports world — clubs, country clubs, school teams, academies, leagues, pro shops. The other half came from businesses with no obvious connection to tennis: a dental practice, a law firm, a land surveyor, a snack brand, a couple of marketing agencies, event planners, even a maritime company. All of them using custom dampeners and overgrips as branded gifts and event swag.

There's a lesson in that aimed squarely at club operators. If half the demand for this stuff comes from companies wanting promotional items, then your member-guest events, sponsor days, and charity tournaments are sitting on a merch opportunity you may be under-using. A local sponsor will happily fund 200 co-branded dampeners for a tournament goody bag — that's revenue and visibility you're currently leaving on the table, and the sponsor pays for it.

Demand is crossing borders and moving to padel. With zero international marketing, better than one in ten of my requests came from outside the US — the UK most of all, then Canada and Mexico. And I'm now getting unprompted requests for custom padel grips, from people who had to choose "pickleball" on my form because padel wasn't even an option yet. If padel's facility boom is already showing up in my inbox as merch demand, it will show up in yours. Clubs adding padel courts should plan branded gear for those players at the same time they're pouring the concrete.

None of this requires a big program. The through-line across every one of these requests is that custom gear is impulse-adjacent and event-driven — people want it tied to a season, a tournament, a sponsor, a moment. The clubs and shops that capture it are simply the ones that make it easy: a low barrier to start, room to personalize, and a reason to buy that's already on the calendar.

The demand is clearly there. Eighty-odd strangers found my quote form on their own in little over a year. The only real question is whether it's your logo on the dampener, or someone else's.

Shawn Winston runs Match Point Promotions, which makes custom tennis, pickleball, and padel gear — dampeners, overgrips, grip bands, and more — for clubs, teams, schools, and events. Because every order starts as a quote request, he sees firsthand how clubs and companies actually buy custom gear; his work is at matchpointpromotions.com.

Racquetball News

Rich Neher — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:02:48 +0000

2026 USA Racquetball Junior National Championships
U.S. Junior Team Named & All-Americans Recognized …
2026 Outdoor National Championships & World Champi …

2026 USA Racquetball Junior National Championships

By Cheryl Kirk

The Junior National Championships were hosted in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Wellmark YMCA, June 24-28, 2026. Much gratitude goes to YMCA of Great Des Moines Senior Executive Director Julie Trausch and her excellent staff for welcoming USA Racquetball and the many athletes, family members, staff, and volunteers to this outstanding location.

First up, let’s start with stats.

The ATHLETES!

Players numbering 186 competed, and this was the most number of participants at Junior Nationals since 2017 and more than 12 of the last 19!

Fifty-two athletes competed in two divisions and 120 played in three! In the 37 main divisions (Gold, both singles and doubles), 129 boys and 57 girls aged 6 to 22 hit the ball against the wall Wednesday through Sunday with finalists (1st through 4th) going home with medals in Olympic Format divisions (Gold plus Blue, Red, and White dropdowns) plus round robin and consolation divisions as well.

Results: https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=50993

Seventeen states were in attendance. Missouri brought 72 athletes, Texas contributed 35, and California brought 26!

U.S. Junior Team Named & All-Americans Recognized at 2026 USA Racquetball National Junior Championships

By USA Racquetball

The Team Qualifier event was the USAR National Junior Racquetball Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, June 24-28, 2026.

Representing eight states, a total of 34 athletes comprise Junior Team USA for the coming year. Nine athletes “triple qualified” and eight additional athletes “double qualified.”

All-American status is achieved by Athletes who, in each Team Qualifying Age Group, place 1st-4th in Singles (semifinalists and above) and 1st/2nd in Doubles (finalists). Each was presented with an All-American Certificate in Des Moines on June 7th.

2026 Outdoor National Championships & World Championships Recap

By Todd Boss

The 52nd Annual 3WallBall Outdoor National Championships & World Championships returned to Marina Park in Huntington Beach, California, bringing together many of the sport's top outdoor players for an exciting weekend of competition. From championship performances to Hall of Fame honors, the event showcased the very best of outdoor racquetball.

AI‐Supported Coaching: How OnCourtAI Helps Clubs, Coaches and Academies Build Stronger Player Pathways

Gareth Shaw — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:42:57 +0000

Whether you’re running a club programme, managing a performance squad, or coaching privately, the work extends far beyond the court. Coaches analyse video, write notes, set goals, track progress, communicate with players and parents, and try to maintain continuity across sessions, squads, and staff. The challenge is rarely a lack of expertise — it’s the lack of time, structure, and visibility needed to keep everything aligned.

Most clubs and academies still rely on WhatsApp threads, spreadsheets, paper notebooks, and memory. Coaches do their best to maintain consistency, but the system itself is fragmented. AI has entered the sports world promising to help, yet many platforms fall into the same trap: they analyse what players typically do, not what coaches consider correct. They produce numbers without context, or feedback that doesn’t match coaching reality.

OnCourtAI takes a different approach — one built around coach‑trained models and a mobile‑first coaching workspace designed for real club and academy environments. It doesn’t replace coaching. It strengthens it, giving coaches evidence, structure, and continuity while keeping human judgement at the centre.

This article brings together two sides of that story: how OnCourtAI trains its models with real coach expertise, and how the Coach Portal turns that intelligence into practical tools for clubs, coaches, and academies.

Why AI Needs Coaches — Not Just Player Data

Most AI sports platforms are trained on large datasets of player videos. That sounds impressive, but it creates a fundamental problem: the “average” technique in most datasets reflects club‑level norms, not biomechanical best practice.

A typical club‑level forehand often has a shorter backswing, slower transition into the forward swing, a contact point behind the optimal zone, and a follow‑through that varies significantly between shots. If an AI model learns these patterns as “normal,” it will compare every player to that baseline. A player who contacts the ball slightly ahead of the average club player might score well — even if that contact point is still far behind what coaches consider optimal.

This is the core flaw in data‑only sports AI: it learns what most players do, not what players should be working towards.

OnCourtAI avoids this by building its models around coach‑defined biomechanical reference standards, not statistical averages. Coaches define what optimal technique looks like for each stroke component — from tennis forehands to padel bandejas — and the AI measures players against those standards. The result is analysis that reflects coaching truth, not dataset bias.

How Coaches Shape the AI

Coach involvement sits at the centre of OnCourtAI’s model development. Experts first establish biomechanical reference standards for each stroke — the joint positions, ranges, thresholds, and deviations that define correct technique. These standards come from coaching consensus, professional norms, and sports science research, not from player averages.

Before any model is released, it goes through a calibration cycle. Coaches independently assess a set of player videos, the model analyses the same footage, and engineers compare both sets of results. Any disagreement is investigated and resolved. This continues until the model aligns with expert judgement.

Once coaches begin using the platform in real environments, their feedback becomes an ongoing part of model refinement. They highlight generous scoring, mismatched coaching notes, or patterns that should be flagged sooner. Explicit coach disagreement is treated as ground truth — more valuable than thousands of implicit data signals from players who may not know whether the analysis is accurate.

This continuous loop keeps the models aligned with coaching reality, not just mathematical accuracy. It ensures the AI reflects how coaches think, teach, and prioritise — not how an algorithm interprets movement in isolation.

Turning Intelligence into a Coaching Workspace

Accurate analysis is only useful if coaches can act on it. The OnCourtAI Coach Portal provides a mobile‑first workspace designed for clubs, coaches, and academies — a single place where player development, communication, and analysis come together.

Coaches invite players via a unique link or code. Once they join, the Players area shows recent uploads, technique scores, activity status, open threads, and outstanding goals and drills. Players can be organised into groups — squads, age bands, programmes, competitive levels — giving clubs and academies a consistent structure across staff and clear visibility of player progress.

When a player uploads a video, the AI processes it against more than eighty biomechanical metrics. Coaches see a technique score, component scores, coaching notes, attention flags, and stroke‑type filters. This gives coaches evidence to support decisions rather than numbers for the sake of numbers.

The portal closes the loop between analysis and action. Goals, drills, and lesson notes can be assigned individually or in bulk, creating structured development pathways for squads and programmes. Conversations stay attached to the item being discussed — a video, a goal, or a drill — rather than scattered across messaging apps. The Threads inbox keeps communication organised and visible across staff, reducing admin and improving continuity.

Coaches can generate structured reports summarising recent scores, trends, active goals, drill completion, lesson notes, and observations. These reports help communicate progress to players, parents, and academy staff, especially in performance environments where clarity and evidence matter.

A built‑in Draft Assistant helps coaches produce lesson recaps, weekly summaries, training plans, video feedback, and report text. Drafts are pre‑populated with the player’s recent data, saving significant writing time and ensuring consistency across coaching teams.

Every feature works from a smartphone. Players film on their phones; coaches review and respond on theirs. This reflects how coaching actually happens — on court, between sessions, and in the small gaps of a busy day.

Why This Matters for Clubs, Coaches and Academies

The combination of coach‑trained AI and a structured coaching workspace creates something rare: technology that amplifies coaching rather than competing with it.

For coaches, it means less admin, more clarity, stronger player engagement, and better continuity between sessions.

For club owners and managers, it means consistent coaching standards across staff, structured player development pathways, clear reporting for parents and performance teams, and scalable workflows for large squads.

For academies, it means alignment across multiple coaches, better visibility of player progress, stronger communication with parents, and tools that support long‑term development and high‑performance environments.

And for players — whether in clubs, academies, or independent coaching setups — it means access to coaching insight that was previously unavailable.

AI doesn’t replace coaching. It strengthens it, removes guesswork, and keeps the coaching relationship connected even when coach and player are not on court together.

Joining the Coaching Community

OnCourtAI’s Coach Portal is open to any coach, club, or academy. Registration takes about 30 seconds, and every new coach account includes a 60‑day free trial with full access to all features.

If you want to explore how coach‑trained AI and a structured mobile workspace could support your coaching programme — whether you’re working with ten players or running a full academy — you can join the coaching community at:

👉 oncourtai.co.uk/coaches

Gareth Shaw is the founder of OnCourtAI, a tennis platform using video and AI technology to make professional‑level tennis analysis accessible to every player and coach.

Letters from July 2026

Rich Neher — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:27:56 +0000

Re: USTA Coaching 15K Strong

Good morning,

Saw this on Facebook today. Had to look at the calendar. I thought today must be April 1.

15K...wow. From the same people who bring you the tennis participation numbers. Written by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm.

There was one comment. Mark Bishop from Hawaii commented, "When are you coming to Hawaii again? I want to get certified by the USTA."

Warning to tennis players in Hawaii: "You don't want to take lessons from anyone named Mark."

This is not certification. It is a participation trophy. Attend a clinic, pay a few bucks, and you are a USTA pro. The janitor where my kids went to school had more rigorous training than the USTA provides.

The RSPA and PTR deserve to go out of business for letting the industry think this is certification.

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Rich,

Maybe they are trying to bring better understanding to the phrase often used to describe someone who is not all there… ”They are certifiable.” 😜

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Rich,

The USTA states it has 15,000 coaching members. Every event they have is a sales job for it, with the USTA giving free 1-year rally memberships. I wonder how many of the 15,000 were free.... I bet more than 80 -90% on the conservative guess.

With all the policy changes, intentional players will find it much harder to stay after graduation and teach/coach. There could be a coaching shortage in the near future.

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Re: Tennis Stars Presented the World Cup Trophy

Rich,

Once again, tennis players are highlighted in the most celebrated global sports events. In the 2024 Olympics in Paris, our own Rafa Nadal was featured carrying the Olympic Torch in the opening ceremony. And yesterday, in New York, Carlos Alcaraz presented the World Cup Trophy to the stadium of fans and Team Spain and Argentina. What an honor for both men and our sport, showcasing them as role models…double wow.

That shows the world within sports: tennis players are recognized as some of the leading athletes not only for their winning championships on court but for their sportsmanship attitude and character…kudos and props to our competitive image worldwide.

Let’s grow our game…we have the popular stars!

Leo Estopare
Wichita, KS

Re: Updates coming to the ITF World Tennis Number

USTA is the winner of the 2026 Spiro Agnew/Dan Quayle Award for Being Irrelevant - and there are still five months in the year.

On 7/21, the USTA announced that updates are coming to the ITF World Tennis Number.

Wowwee, Zowwee!

The surprising thing about this notice is that it is debatable whether the USTA knows anything about WTN - they are still trying to figure out the meaning of WTF (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday).

USTA is fixated on promoting NTRP and pretending the UTR doesn't exist. Double Wowwee Zowwee!! They should get the award twice for 2026.

Rich,

The ITF (International Tennis Federation) officially rebranded to World Tennis on June 25, 2026, “aiming for a simpler, modern identity.”

The USTA sends out the “Update to the ITF World Tennis Number” email almost a month later and totally ignores the name change. Did they not get the memo? Or did they not want to bother with a headline that would read “Update to the World Tennis World Tennis Number?”

Did the ITF not think about that conundrum before announcing the change?

Boy, are they all screwed up!

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Re: The Big Bucket Hats Crisis

Rich,

Oh my goodness. Pickleball has a crisis on their hands.

Bucket Hats.

Which is more important: world peace or bucket hats or 75-year-old ladies in halter tops and short shorts?

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Re: RSPA Added 250 New Members

Hi Rich,

I saw on Instagram that there are 250+ new RSPA members. That is good news. Hopefully they can be retained.

As I glanced through the list, I noticed there were a lot of people with last names other than Smith and Jones. I am not opposed to that.

I am curious where these new members are from - U.S. or international? If they are U.S., why hasn't RSPA tapped this market before? If they are international, can they truly be served in a meaningful way in a fiscally efficient manner? If so, how will that benefit tennis in the U.S.? Is this an effort by RSPA to expand internationally to offset the inappropriate interference in the teaching profession from the USTA? Was part of the reason the USPTA became the RSPA so they can more readily pursue foreign members?

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Re: 2026 FIFA World Cup and The Championships

Rich,

What a compelling summer week of men’s soccer (a.k.a.football) and men’s and women’s grass court tennis at Wimbledon. The similarities and differences of athleticism are an interesting comparison.

We tennis players often are recognized as the best of athletes in sport, but soccer athletes are right at the top as well. Their footwork, body control, burst of speed, endurance, and all this with someone and/or multiple people trying to disrupt that movement, etcetera, etcetera. Getting thrown to the ground, tripped and stepped on, and being pulled on throughout a play requires full strength and agility.

I consider us tennis players more complete because we use our entire body, including hands and arms carrying a racquet. Tennis athletes have to be efficient on both sides for swings, reaching high on serves, bending on low balls, anticipating balls coming towards you or away at 100+ MPH. The mental capacity on every point, game, and match can be equivalent to several soccer games in time against one opponent. The physicality and mentality are one-of-a-kind on different court surfaces and atmosphere. Then do it again after a day’s rest and recovery.

The leg power of soccer players is amazing, and their accuracy with pinpoint control of the ball at 50 yards is truly special. The precision for tennis players is even better when they have to thread-the-needle and hit the white lines…often a millimeter is the difference.

Soccer, being a team game, is a different element and responsibility, whereas tennis is a lonely man’s game. The ruggedness of soccer, even though it’s known as the “Beautiful Game,” is graceful, and at any moment something special can happen for victory or defeat.

Tennis is a one-on-one battle with no time clock, so you can’t win unless you win the last point.

Tennis players have their all-round skill sets, as do the soccer athletes, but I give the edge to the men and women on the court over the Pitch as the ‘Total Package.”

However, I will say, tennis players are often seen kicking, bouncing, and balancing a tennis ball on their feet…and it’s not only for fun but for a purpose.

Concentration is the common denominator that is the “Trademark” of both sports competitors.

I’m having sport withdrawal since both major events are over…Congrats, Spain, and to Noskova and Sinner for their titles. Kids start playing tennis and/or soccer!

Leo Estopare
deucesomething@cox.net
(316) 573-7467

Who is The Commish?

Reminder: The (original) Commish has been writing for us off and on since June of 2021. Here is the first article: You CAN Fool Most of the People All of the Time. Over time, we allowed all readers submitting Letters to the Editor to remain anonymous and post them as The Commish.

We defined The Commish since then as follows:

The Commish is not just one single person; it is a real and true thought experiment of many different entities. That's also why The Commish has no preferred pronouns, and you can call The Commish anything, and any way you want. Makes no difference to The Commish.

The Commish lives in the minds of all tennis professionals, tennis players, and tennis organizers, everyone with a clear and logical thought process.

In the Trenches: The Orville Redenbacher Truth

Susan Nardi — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:23:21 +0000

In the Trenches: The Orville Redenbacher Truth

By Susan Nardi

For decades, tennis organizations around the world have searched for the Holy Grail of player development.

The question sounds simple enough:

"How do we identify the next Grand Slam champion?"

Millions of dollars have been invested trying to answer it.

Ranking systems.

National camps.

Talent identification programs.

Player tracking systems.

Physical testing.

Performance analytics.

Yet despite all of the resources, one uncomfortable truth remains:

Nobody truly knows.

Not at age 8.

Not at age 10.

Not at age 12.

And often not even at age 16.

That reality brings me to what I call The Orville Redenbacher Truth.

Talent development is a lot like making popcorn.

Put a hundred kernels into a popcorn maker.

Some pop immediately.

Some pop a little later.

Most pop during a furious burst in the middle.

Some take much longer than expected.

And a few never pop at all.

The challenge is that when the first kernels begin popping, nobody knows which

kernels will eventually become the strongest, most resilient, or most successful.

Yet much of American player development is built around exactly that assumption.

We see early success.

We mistake it for future success.

Then we direct resources accordingly.

The first kernels to pop receive the attention.

The funding.

The travel opportunities.

The special training.

The national recognition.

The expectation.

And sometimes the pressure.

Meanwhile, many of the kernels that haven't popped yet are quietly pushed to the side.

The problem is that athletic development doesn't happen on a predictable timetable.

Children do not mature at the same rate.

Bodies do not develop at the same speed.

Confidence doesn't emerge at the same age.

Neither does emotional resilience, competitive intelligence, discipline, grit, or love for

the sport.

Some players bloom early.

Others bloom later.

History is filled with examples of both.

The danger comes when we confuse current performance with future potential.

Those are two very different things.

The Traits We Can't Measure

One of the biggest misconceptions in Talent Identification is the belief that future greatness can be accurately measured through current results.

The reality is that many of the traits that ultimately determine elite success remain hidden during childhood.

Can we accurately measure:

Competitive courage?
Resilience after repeated failure?
Coachability?
Love of practice?
Long-term motivation?
Adaptability?
Problem-solving under pressure?

Not really.

Those qualities often emerge over years of development.

Not during a weekend tournament.

Not through a ranking list.

Not through a spreadsheet.

And certainly not through a formula.

The greatest predictor of long-term success is often not who is best today.

It is who continues developing tomorrow.

The Talent Identification Trap

The irony is that many Talent Identification systems unintentionally create the very problems they are trying to solve.

When young players are labeled as "elite" too early, several things often happen.

Expectations rise.

Pressure increases.

Parents become more invested in outcomes.

Training becomes more specialized.

The joy of the sport can begin to disappear.

Some athletes thrive under those circumstances.

Many do not.

Burnout is real.

Overuse injuries are real.

Mental fatigue is real.

And when a young player's identity becomes tied to rankings and results, disappointment can become overwhelming.

The very players identified as future stars sometimes leave the game before reaching adulthood.

What Sweden and Norway Understand

Over the past several years, I've had the opportunity to spend significant time observing tennis development in Scandinavia.

What struck me most wasn't their Talent Identification systems.

It was their patience.

Their philosophy begins with a different question.

Not:

"Who are our future champions?"

But rather:

"How do we create more players?"

That distinction changes everything.

Many clubs receive government support or community subsidies that reduce

participation costs.

Programs focus heavily on fun, engagement, and belonging.

Children are encouraged to play multiple sports.

Athletic development is valued as highly as technical development.

Competition is viewed as a learning environment rather than a sorting mechanism.

Most importantly, highly educated coaches are often working with beginners and

young players.

Think about that for a moment.

In many parts of the United States, our least experienced coaches work with our

youngest players.

In Scandinavia, it is often the opposite.

They understand something fundamental:

The foundation determines the future.

Not the roof.

The Bigger Talent Pool Theory

The Scandinavian model operates on a simple principle.

The more kids who play.

The larger the talent pool becomes.

The more kids who stay.

The larger the talent pool becomes.

The more likely exceptional players emerge.

That isn't complicated.

It is mathematics.

You don't create more champions by narrowing the funnel earlier.

You create more champions by widening the funnel and keeping players engaged longer.

Yet many American systems continue to function as if player development is about elimination.

The result is predictable.

We lose thousands of potential players before we ever discover what they might have become.

From Talent Identification to Talent Development

Perhaps the future of American tennis requires a shift in thinking.

Instead of asking:

"How do we identify talent earlier?"

We should ask:

"How do we develop more talent for longer?"

One question is about selection.

The other is about opportunity.

One focuses on finding a few.

The other focuses on growing many.

History suggests the second approach produces more champions.

And healthier sports communities.

The Final Kernel

The next Grand Slam champion may already be on a court somewhere in America.

They may not be nationally ranked.

They may not be attending a national camp.

They may not even be winning tournaments.

They may simply be learning to love the game.

That's the part many Talent Identification systems miss.

The future isn't always visible.

Talent doesn't arrive on schedule.

Development isn't linear.

And greatness rarely follows a formula.

Which brings us back to The Orville Redenbacher Truth.

When the popcorn starts popping, don't assume the first kernels are the best kernels.

The biggest surprise may still be waiting inside the popper.

Susan Nardi

Susan Nardi is a certified tennis professional specializing in creating and expanding innovative development programs for juniors 10 and under as well as developing high-performance players. She creates development programs that ignite children’s passion for the sport and also give them a solid foundation in playing the game.

Her company, Mommy, Daddy and Me Tennis, has produced dynamic videos and delivers staff training to help clubs train their staff to deliver this successful curriculum.

Susan played college tennis at Elon College (NC) and Radford University (VA). She was an assistant coach at Virginia Tech, Caltech, and Irvine Valley Community College.

She coached at the Van der Meer World Training Center on Hilton Head Island, SC, working with high-performance players. Coach Nardi was the head coach at Capistrano Valley High School, where numerous players went on to play college tennis on scholarship. She is the only female to be the head coach of the All-Army Tennis Team.

Susan F. Nardi
President & Fun Engineer
Rhino Crash Sports Group, Inc.
Website: https://playtennis.usta.com/RhinoCrashSportsGroup

2021 Positive Coaching Alliance National Double-Goal Coach
https://youtu.be/XgjTJ7WRuic

Building the Business of Racket Sports

Tim Farthing — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:16:31 +0000

The business of racket sports is evolving faster than ever. The explosive growth of padel and pickleball has transformed the UK's participation landscape, while established sports such as tennis, badminton, squash and table tennis are all looking for new ways to attract players, modernise facilities and build sustainable businesses. Yet despite this momentum, the industry has lacked a dedicated event focused not on the games themselves, but on the people and businesses driving them forward.

That's the thinking behind the inaugural Racket Sports Business Expo—a new event designed to bring together club owners, operators, coaches, governing bodies, suppliers and innovators from across every major racket sport. Rather than operating in silos, the Expo aims to create a space where ideas, technologies and commercial solutions can be shared across disciplines, helping businesses learn from one another and adapt to a rapidly changing market.

Ahead of the launch, Racket Business spoke with the Expo's founder, Alex Ayling, about the opportunity they identified, why collaboration across racket sports has never been more important, and the biggest commercial challenges facing clubs and facilities today. From AI-powered booking systems and multi-sport venues to new revenue streams and operational efficiency, the conversation offers a preview of the trends shaping the next chapter of the racket sports industry—and why this new exhibition could become an important date in the business calendar.

1. The UK racket sports landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years, particularly with the growth of padel and pickleball. What gap in the market did you see that convinced you the industry needed a dedicated Racket Sports Business Expo?

The growth of padel and pickleball has been incredible, but it also highlighted something that was missing in my opinion. While participation has increased across all racket sports, there hasn't been a dedicated business-focused event where the people responsible for running clubs, facilities and venues can come together to discover new products, services and transferable ideas.

Most existing events are either consumer-facing or focused on a single sport. We felt there was a real opportunity to create an exhibition dedicated to the business side of the industry—bringing together club owners, operators, coaches, governing bodies and suppliers in one place. Whether you manage a traditional tennis club, operate a multi-sport facility or are looking to diversify into emerging sports, the challenges are often very similar, and the solutions can benefit everyone.

2. This isn't just a tennis event—it brings together tennis, padel, pickleball, badminton, squash and table tennis under one roof. What opportunities do you think exist when these sectors collaborate instead of operating in silos?

I think there's enormous value in bringing the entire racket sports industry together. Although each sport has its own identity, the businesses behind them face many of the same challenges—growing participation, increasing revenue, attracting new members, recruiting coaches and investing in facilities.

When these sectors collaborate, ideas transfer much more quickly. A membership model that works in padel may inspire a tennis club. A technology platform developed for squash could improve operations at a badminton centre. Suppliers also have the opportunity to showcase solutions that work across multiple sports rather than targeting just one market.

Ultimately, the industry becomes stronger when it shares knowledge instead of working in isolation.

3. If you were a club owner or facility operator attending for just one day, what are the three biggest ideas or innovations you hope they'll take away from the exhibition?

Firstly, I'd want them to leave with practical ideas that can help increase participation and generate new revenue. Whether that's diversifying their offering, introducing new programmes or improving member engagement, there should be something they can implement immediately.

Secondly, I want visitors to discover innovative products and services that make running a facility easier—from court booking software and coaching technology to maintenance solutions, equipment and facility improvements.

Finally, I hope they leave having built valuable relationships. The conversations they'll have with suppliers, industry experts and fellow operators can often be just as valuable as anything they'll see on the exhibition floor.

4. The exhibition focuses heavily on business solutions rather than consumer products. What are the biggest commercial challenges you're hearing from clubs, coaches and operators right now, and how does the Expo aim to address them?

Across every racket sport, we're hearing similar concerns. Clubs are looking to grow participation while managing increasing operating costs. We as event organisers are no different in our own world and also there is a similar theme across other Industry Expos that we organise, for example Golf and General Aviation.

Many are exploring new income streams, trying to modernise ageing facilities and looking for better ways to engage members and attract younger audiences.

Technology is another major area. Operators want systems that simplify bookings, improve communication and help them make better business decisions without creating additional administration.

The Expo has been designed around those challenges. Rather than simply displaying products, we're bringing together companies that offer practical solutions, alongside educational content and networking opportunities that help operators return to their businesses with fresh ideas and tangible actions.

5. Looking around the industry, what trends or technologies do you think will have the biggest impact on racket sports businesses over the next five years—and which of those will visitors see reflected at the Expo?

We're entering a period where technology and customer experience will become major differentiators. Artificial intelligence, smarter booking and membership systems, data-driven coaching, automated court management and digital marketing tools will all become increasingly important.

At the same time, facilities are becoming more flexible. We're seeing more venues embracing multiple racket sports rather than focusing on just one, allowing them to maximise court usage and appeal to a broader audience.

Visitors to the Expo will see these trends reflected throughout the exhibition—from software providers and facility innovations to coaching technology, sustainability solutions and companies helping clubs improve operational efficiency and profitability.

6. Success isn't always measured by visitor numbers. When the doors close at the end of the day, what outcomes will make you feel the inaugural event has achieved its mission?

Of course we'd like to see strong attendance, but success goes far beyond just visitor numbers.

For me, success is hearing that clubs discovered a supplier who can genuinely improve their business, exhibitors generated high-quality leads that translate into long-term customers, and visitors left feeling inspired with ideas they can implement straight away.

If we've helped create new partnerships, encouraged collaboration across different racket sports and established the Expo as the place where the business of racket sports comes together, then I'll consider the inaugural event a success. My ambition is to build Racket Sports Business Expo into something that becomes an annual fixture in the industry calendar and contributes to the continued growth of racket sports throughout the UK.

Free Delegate Passes for RacketBusiness Readers

As part of our partnership with the event, RacketBusiness readers can now register for a FREE delegate pass (saving you the £25.00 ticket fee per ticket)

Go to https://www.racketsportsexpo.com/tickets/
Select ‘Expo Pass’ and 'Book Now'
Fill in personal details and select ‘Add & Continue’
If you want to add a guest, click ‘Add Another’ on the top right side of the screen, or simply ignore
Fill in your details and use discount code RS26403 in the righthand box under ‘Add Coupons’.
Click Apply to bring ticket price to £0.00 and then proceed to complete registration

Arthur Fery’s Wimbledon Run Reignites the Debate Over Education in Elite Tennis

Tim Farthing — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 07:03:41 +0000

Arthur Fery's run to the Wimbledon semifinals is remarkable for more than his tennis.

While establishing himself on the ATP Tour, the British player also graduated from Stanford University—one of the world's most academically demanding institutions. At a time when many promising juniors leave formal education in pursuit of professional careers, Fery's pathway offers a compelling counterpoint to the traditional narrative that elite tennis and academic achievement are mutually exclusive.

His success raises an increasingly important question for parents, coaches and player-development programmes: does education compete with athletic performance, or can it enhance it?

The Early Specialisation Model Is Being Challenged

For decades, high-performance tennis has largely followed the logic of early specialisation. Once a young player demonstrates exceptional potential, education often becomes secondary to training, travel and competition.

The assumption has been straightforward: more hours on court produce better players.

Yet evidence across sport increasingly suggests that this relationship is far more complex.

Research consistently shows that accumulating practice hours alone does not guarantee elite performance. Instead, long-term athlete development depends on a combination of technical training, psychological resilience, cognitive development and physical health.

The International Olympic Committee's Youth Athlete Development Consensus Statement argues that excessive early specialisation can increase injury risk, psychological burnout and dropout from sport, while diversified development often produces better long-term outcomes.

Dr Joe Baker, one of the world's leading researchers in talent development at the University of Toronto, has repeatedly argued that there is no universal formula for producing elite athletes.

"There is no single pathway to expertise," Baker has said. "Athlete development is highly individual."

Fery's career appears to reflect that philosophy.

Education May Be an Untapped Performance Advantage

Perhaps the strongest argument for remaining engaged with education is not academic qualification itself, but cognitive development.

Until recently, sports science focused primarily on physical conditioning. Increasingly, however, researchers are recognising the importance of mental fatigue and cognitive endurance.

Professor Samuele Marcora, whose work on mental fatigue has influenced endurance sport worldwide, demonstrated that prolonged cognitive effort can significantly improve an athlete's ability to tolerate discomfort and sustain concentration under physical stress.

Similarly, research into Brain Endurance Training (BET), pioneered by Professor Mathias Pessiglione and colleagues, suggests structured cognitive training can improve attention, decision-making and resistance to mental fatigue during competition.

Elite tennis places enormous demands on these abilities.

Players make hundreds of tactical decisions every match, maintain concentration for several hours and repeatedly regulate emotions under pressure. Developing the brain's capacity to sustain effort may therefore become another form of performance training.

Academic study naturally provides this stimulus.

Hours spent analysing complex problems, writing essays or maintaining concentration through demanding lessons exercise many of the same executive functions required during elite competition.

Rather than competing with tennis, education may strengthen the mental systems that underpin high-level performance.

Building More Than Tennis Players

Education contributes benefits that extend well beyond cognitive endurance.

Schools develop organisation, delayed gratification, problem-solving, communication and resilience—qualities consistently identified as predictors of long-term success across both sport and business.

Angela Duckworth, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Grit, argues that sustained achievement depends less on talent than on perseverance.

"Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare."

That observation resonates strongly within elite tennis, where careers are measured over decades rather than seasons.

Players must repeatedly recover from losses, injuries, ranking fluctuations and extended periods without visible progress.

Education provides regular opportunities to develop precisely those habits.

Identity Matters More Than Many Coaches Realise

Sports psychologists have increasingly highlighted the dangers of identity foreclosure—the process by which young athletes define themselves exclusively through sporting success.

Research published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology has linked overly narrow athletic identities with increased anxiety, greater emotional distress following injury and more difficult transitions out of sport.

Former Olympic psychologist Dr Michael Gervais frequently argues that elite performers should strive to be "extraordinary people first, extraordinary performers second."

Education naturally broadens identity.

When academic achievement, friendships and intellectual interests exist alongside tennis, competitive setbacks become easier to contextualise. Losing still matters, but it becomes less likely to threaten an athlete's entire sense of self.

For junior players navigating rankings, selection decisions and constant evaluation, that psychological buffer may be invaluable.

College Tennis Is Producing More Professional Players

The success of players combining education with elite competition is no longer an isolated phenomenon.

The NCAA has become an increasingly important pathway into professional tennis.

More than 35% of ATP and WTA Top 200 players under the age of 25 have collegiate tennis experience, according to recent analyses of tour pathways, while numerous Grand Slam competitors—including Cameron Norrie, Ben Shelton, Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro—developed through the US college system before breaking through professionally.

Rather than delaying development, college tennis is increasingly viewed as an environment that combines high-performance coaching, competitive match play, physical preparation and academic progression.

The pathway reflects a broader shift within player development: success is becoming less about reaching professional tennis as early as possible and more about arriving prepared to sustain a professional career.

Balance, Not Maximisation

None of this suggests every aspiring professional should follow Arthur Fery's exact route. Elite development remains highly individual.

Some athletes may require greater flexibility in schooling during certain stages of development. Others thrive within traditional academic environments.

The key question may no longer be how many training hours can be added, but whether every aspect of a young athlete's development contributes to long-term performance.

As renowned talent-development researcher Professor Jean Côté has argued, quality of development consistently outweighs quantity of training.

Parents and coaches therefore face a more nuanced challenge than choosing between school and tennis. They must build environments that allow both intellectual and athletic development to reinforce one another over many years.

A Broader Definition of High Performance

Arthur Fery's Wimbledon success should not be interpreted as evidence that every elite player ought to attend Stanford.

It does, however, challenge one of junior tennis' most enduring assumptions. Education and elite performance need not exist in opposition. Increasingly, research suggests they may be complementary.

As tennis continues to evolve, the most successful development programmes may not be those producing better tennis players in childhood, but those producing more adaptable, resilient and intellectually capable adults—qualities that often translate into better competitors when the margins become smallest.

Racket Business

Padel’s Next Challenge Is Not Growth. It’s Retention

The Squash Warning: What Happens When a Sport Stops Creating New Players

Participation Growth Is Not Enough

From Junior Sessions to Real Academies

The Coaching Model Problem

The Customer Lifetime Value Opportunity

The Window of Opportunity Is Now

Padel’s Defining Business Decision

August 2026 issue

From inside the lines…

The AI Question Every Racket Sport Needs to Answer

Artificial intelligence promises to transform coaching, clubs and competition. But before the industry embraces its biggest technological revolution in decades, it should ask a far simpler question: what, exactly, are we trying to replace?

RACKET SPORTS INDUSTRY

PADEL

PICKLEBALL

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

ICYMI

LAST MONTH’S RACKET BUSINESS …

USTA PNW - Questions Over Questions...

Dear Readers

Hello, dear readers, friends, and racquet sports enthusiasts.

Table of Contents

Meet me in San Diego August 16-17

Front Desk Staff, Facility Managers, Instructors, Directors of Racquet Sports, and Club Owners.

Things that make me go hmmm…

USTA PNW Section - Questions Over Questions…

Tax-Exempt Advantage to For-Profit Pivot: Is USTA PNW Redefining the Regional Racquet Economy?

This troubled USTA section, which was reported to me years ago as “the laughing stock” by the USTA national staff, is now rumored to plan a status change from nonprofit to for-profit. I asked myself, what’s going on?

$577,510 to an employee

who only worked 17 months!

The Camas High School Facility Controversy

The Potential Status Shift

I. The Lead: The Shift from Mission to Market

II. Legal & Structural Reality: How Would Such a Shift Actually Work?

III. The Strategic Motivations: Why Consider a For-Profit Pivot?

IV. Impact on the Local Racquet Sports Ecosystem

V. Key Questions & Verification Checklist (The Reporting Agenda)

VI. Conclusion: The Future of Community Tennis Governance

I can’t wait to see what’s evolving in the Pacific Northwest and want to encourage all those whistleblowers to come forward again.

USTA “Find A Court” Facility Search Crapshoot

My take: This was only a small sliver of land in Southern California. Since those erroneous listings are all in the USTA SoCal section, I am not surprised!

New: ARA Career Radar

Racquet Sports Director Job Board

My Thoughts On…

Why Am I Not Surprised?

US Open tickets top $20,900, pricing out everyday tennis fans

My Take: Every year, we are getting closer to the “Endziel” and (I’m sure) the dream of all USTA Board members:

Another One Bites The Dust

PTR + DIADEM

My Take: I checked around a little and found out that HEAD had dropped the PTR last year already. Somehow I missed that little piece of information. What happened? Maybe someone at the PTR can solve that puzzle for me? Email me.

Can We All Learn From the NFL?

That should keep them going for a while. No?

Is Pickleball Doomed?

My take: I understand his logic: Boomers carried Pickleball, and they’re aging out. Gen Z is not too eager to fill that gap. The young generations find it cooler to play Padel. And a lot of people think he’s right when he says that Padel actually is way cooler than Pickleball.

What do you think? Email me.

Updates - INTENNSE - RacquetX - Doping/Match fixing/ Abuse

Re: INTENNSE

Re: RacquetX

RacquetX City Series Calendar

Five Sessions, Five Real Questions

Re: Doping + Match Fixing + DQs + Sexual (and other) Abuse

This and That in Racquet Sports

BBC: 'Not a carnival sideshow' - doubles players fear cutbacks

Racquet Magazine: Wimbledon Postcard: Practice is a Privilege

SportsEdTV: What Is Grass Court Tennis? Rules, Strategy, Movement, and Winning Tips

SBJ360: “The Wolf in Winter”

Puntodebreak: The urgency of breaking a historical curse for American men's tennis

SportsEdTV: 5 Doubles Tennis Strategies That Helped Me Win More Recreational Matches

DEFECTOR: Tennis.com Lived And Died With The Internet

Sports Illustrated: What Tennis Could Learn From the World Cup

news.com.au: Tennis former world No. 1 penniless after $50 million ‘betrayal’

Shout-Outs

Big Shout-Out

Big Shout-Out

Big Shout-Out

Big Shout-Out

Multimedia Picks 08/2026

Table of Contents

🎧 Podcasts

~ Slow down and explore your inner world
~ Allow space for authentic unfolding

Coming soon:
HEAD Gravity Zverev 2026

HEAD Kids Racquets
Play Like Your Idols