201111 Racquet Sports Industry

Nov/Dec 2011Volume 39 Number 10 $5.00www.racquetsportsindustry.com

Court Apparel for SpringTips For Your Demo ProgramUSTA Outstanding Facility Awards

2011 Tennis IndustryHall of Fame

Nick Bollettieri

2011 Tennis IndustryHall of Fame

Nick BollettieriCourt Apparel for SpringTips For Your Demo ProgramUSTA Outstanding Facility Awards

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

R S I N O V / D E C 2 0 1 1

INDUSTRY NEWS

7 First Lady visits US Open,praises 10U initiative

7 USPTA members electnational board

7 Wilson team setsone-day string record

8 Stan Smith namedHall of Fame president

8 PTR Junior DevelopmentMaster Program begins

9 David Benjamin receivesUSTA President’s Award

9 ITHOF announcesballot for 2012

9 Chris Evert helps relaunchEllesse Sportswear

10 Peoplewatch

11 Weather can’t dampenUS Open attendance,web records

11 Aetna, USTA announceschool grant program

12 Short Sets

14 USPTA recognizesleaders in tennis

15 Tennis press honored inUSTWA writing contest

4 Our Serve

7 Industry News

17 TIA News

19 Retailing Tip

34 Tips & Techniques

36 Ask the Experts

38 String Playtest: Head FXP Tour

40 Your Serve, by Chris Nicholson

2 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY November/December 2011 www.racquetsportsindustry.com

Cover photo by Bob Kenas

20 2011 Tennis IndustryHall of FameNick Bollettieri created a new segmentof the tennis business, and createdchampions along the way.

24 Couture Look, Court FunctionFrom classics to contemporary, ten-niswear for spring takes its cues fromthe fashion runway—with functionalfeatures, too.

26 Demonstration SportDemo programs are a key to sellingmore racquets. Here are some tips thatmay help send more frames out yourdoor.

28 Promotional MaterialThe US Open is a cost-effective venuefor manufacturers to find a captiveindustry audience.

30 Helping HandsNeed help with funding, resources,advocacy or technical advice? Checkout what the USTA Facility AssistanceProgram can offer.

32 Annual ExcellenceThe USTA’s Outstanding FacilityAwards Program recognizes excellenttennis venues every year.

ContentsContents

Our Serve(Incorporating Racquet Tech and Tennis Industry)

PublishersDavid Bone Jeff Williams

Editorial DirectorPeter Francesconi

Associate EditorGreg Raven

Design/Art DirectorKristine Thom

Technical EditorJonathan Wolfe

Contributing EditorsRobin BatemanCynthia CantrellJoe DinofferGreg MoranKent OswaldBob Patterson

Cynthia ShermanMary Helen Sprecher

RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRYCorporate Offices

330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084Phone: 760-536-1177 Fax: 760-536-1171

Email: [email protected]: www.racquetTECH.com

Office Hours: Mon.-Fri.,8 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific Time

Advertising DirectorJohn Hanna

770-650-1102, [email protected]

Apparel AdvertisingCynthia Sherman203-263-5243

[email protected]

Racquet Sports Industry is published 10 times per

year: monthly January through August and com-

bined issues in September/October and Novem-

ber/December by Tennis Industry and USRSA, 330

Main St., Vista, CA 92084. Application to Mail at

Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Vista, CA and

additional mailing offices. Nov/Dec 2011, Volume

39, Number 10 © 2011 by USRSA and Tennis Indus-

try. All rights reserved. Racquet Sports Industry, RSI

and logo are trademarks of USRSA. Printed in the

U.S.A. Phone advertising: 770-650-1102 x 125. Phone

circulation and editorial: 760-536-1177. Yearly sub-

scriptions $25 in the U.S., $40 elsewhere. POSTMAS-

TER: Send address changes to Racquet Sports

Industry, 330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084.

RSI is the official magazine of the USRSA, TIA,and ASBA

www.racquetsportsindustry.com

Gaining Perspective

4 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY November/December 2011

The US Open is inextricably linked with 9/11. The tragedyin 2001 took place two days after Lleyton Hewitt beatPete Sampras in the US Open final in New York. Sept. 11

often will fall within the tournament’s two weeks. For the rest ofour lives, probably every US Open will have a commemorationof the day that changed America.

This year, a rain-interrupted schedule pushed the men’s final to Monday, Sept.12, but the women’s final and other matches did take place on Sunday. In a taste-ful remembrance of 10 years ago, the USTA had “9/11/01” painted on the side ofthe court and honored the victims and heroes of that day and of the years since.

As appropriate as all this is, I’m grateful for the simple realization that tennisis a game—that’s all. And I know the issues, controversies and disagreements wedeal with in this sport and industry need to be put into perspective in our lives.

Sure, we’d like more American champions in the pro game, and we differ onhow to achieve that. Yes, we need to increase overall participation and createmore frequent players and consumers, and we often differ on how to do that, too.While 10 and Under Tennis holds a lot of promise, there are issues about how tobest deliver tennis to kids. There are disagreements within and between plentyof organizations in this industry, too.

These and other issues are important to us in this industry, but think about it:Do we need to make these issues divisive? Can’t we appreciate the good thingsgoing on in tennis all around us, yet still work together for change and improve-ment in a way that doesn’t alienate or marginalize others?

I’ve always believed we can work together effectively in this industry. Yes, dis-agree, but keep debates healthy and fair—and realize that this is a game, after all.And that it should be fun.

I feel incredibly lucky to work in this industry. I know there are challenges onall fronts, but let’s keep this industry, this sport, in perspective. If we’ve learnedanything in the last 10 years, we’ve learned there are many more importantissues out there we need to deal with and work through.

And we’ve learned that no matter what it is, we work better together.

Peter FrancesconiEditorial Director

One way we in the tennis industry can work together isthrough the USTA’s Adopt-A-Unit program, which sendsneeded personal supplies to our military men andwomen overseas. During the Open, the USTA held a“packing party” at its Semi-Annual Meeting and morethan 150 people donated items to ship to units over-seas. The USTA then sent those units tennis equipmentto help provide recreation. Dozens of military units havebeen “adopted” by clubs, teams, CTAs and organiza-tions across the country. Visit usta.com/military to findout more, or email [email protected].

INDUSTRY NEWSINDUSTRY NEWSI N F O R M A T I O N T O H E L P Y O U R U N Y O U R B U S I N E S S

U.S. SenateAppropriations FundsPEP for 2012-2013In a victory for physical educationfunding, the U.S. Senate Appropria-tions Committee has followed therecommendation of the Labor,Health and Education Subcommit-tee and included $78 million infunding for the Carol M.WhitePhysical Education Program (PEP)for the 2012-2013 school year. Thevote took place September 21.

This is good news given the cur-rent budget environment and theuncertainty of PEP funding in theHouse of Representatives. TheHouse Education and Labor Com-mittee proposed elimination ofPEP citing duplication on PE inother “physical activity” programs.The House Appropriations Commit-tee has yet to take up Educationfunding. In recent years, the Senateand the House have approved sim-ilar funding levels for PEP andcompromised on the final fundingfigure.

“The quality physical educationprovided with the PEP grant is crit-ical to the physical well-being, aca-demic achievement and socialdevelopment of young people.Without dedicated PE funding,schools will not have the resourcesnecessary to train teachers andpurchase equipment needed forquality PE,” said Bill Sells, SGMA’svice president of government rela-tions. “The Senate’s inclusion ofPEP funding is a huge victory forthe physical education communityand a crucial step forward insecuring 2012-2013 PE funds.”

R S I N O V / D E C 2 0 1 1

November/December 2011 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 7www.racquetsportsindustry.com

First Lady Michelle Obama, in New York to participate in a 10 and Under Tennis clin-ic at the US Open, applauded the USTA for engaging millions of children in tennis,introducing tennis into thousands of elementary schools throughout the country, and

building more than 2,000 right-sized courts that provide aplace for young people to play tennis.

“I am grateful to the USTA,” said the First Lady (shownwith USTA President and Chairman of the Board Jon Veg-osen). “The courts you build, these kids sized courts, are justamazing. They will break that barrier; they will make tennisaccessible to kids.” Mrs. Obama visited the interactiveSmashZone at the US Open, playing with kids on the smallercourts.

The USTA’s efforts were part of its partnership with boththe President’s Council on Physical Fitness and the FirstLady’s Let’s Move! initiative to encourage more children tobecome active and lead healthier lifestyles. She was joined by several current and formerchampions including Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, John McEnroe, James Blake, Mali-Vai Washington and Katrina Adams, as she thanked children from the Harlem Junior Ten-nis and Education Program for participating in her Let’s Move! initiative.

USPTA Members Elect National BoardAfter a highly contested election for the USPTA’s national board of

directors, the new directors took office for a two-year term at the associ-ation’s World Conference on Tennis held in September.

The five vice presidents on the new board are: Nancy Cox, Gary Trost, JeffHawes, Dan Moster and Tom McGraw. They join USPTA President Tom Daglisand First Vice President Randy Mattingley. The USPTA bylaws do not allow additional nomina-tions for the positions of president and first vice president, so the choices of the NominatingCommittee for those two offices were final prior to the election.

The USPTA board manages the association’s affairs between meetings of the larger USPTAExecutive Committee, which includes the board, three past national presidents, and two elect-ed leaders from each of the USPTA’s 17 domestic divisions.

First Lady Visits US Open; Praises 10U Initiative

A Record Day forUS Open StringersWhen Hurricane Irene blew into New York the

weekend before the US Open, it delayed manythings, including the work of the Wilson US OpenStringing Team. But on Monday, Aug. 29, the first dayof the tournament, the Wilson team set things back ontrack by stringing a record 490 racquets. The previousone-day record, said Ron Rocchi, Wilson’s global tourequipment manager, was 370 racquets strung at the 2011 Australian Open.

Stan Smith Named Hall of Fame President

Former world No. 1 tennis player and past US Open and Wim-bledon champion Stan Smith has been named president of

the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. Smith, whowas inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1987, will succeed leg-endary tennis player and 1970 Hall of Famer Tony Trabert, whohas served as Hall of Fame president since 2001. Trabert hasbeen named a Life Trustee of the HOF.

Former members of the board of directors who are returningto the board are: Jefferson T. Barnes, who is Of Counsel at thelaw firm of Watts, Tice and Skowronek; Alan Hassenfeld, chair-man of the executive committee of Hasbro, Inc.; Kay Koplovitz,founder of USA Network and Chairman and CEO of Koplovitz &Co. LLC; and Thomas A. James, chairman of Raymond JamesFinancial.

Newly elected board members are: Claudio Del Vecchio,chairman and CEO of Brooks Brothers; Guillaume de Ramel,director of FH Prince & Co.; Michael F. Goss, managing directorand COO of Bain Capital LLC; Frew McMillan, a 10-time GrandSlam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, who was induct-ed to the Hall of Fame in 1992; Tim Phillips, former chairmanof the All England Lawn Tennis Club; John J. Ross II, managingpartner of Fidus Partners; Todd Traina, founder of Red RoverFilms; and Gene Yoon, chairman and CEO Fila Korea Ltd.

In addition to the new board members and the election ofSmith as president, the following officers were re-elected:Christopher E. Clouser as chairman, Donald L. Dell as vicechairman, Barbara A. Georgescu as vice chairman, Mark L.Stenning as CEO, Nancy von Auersperg as treasurer and PeggyH. Woolard as secretary.

N O V / D E C 2 0 1 1IN

DU

ST

RY

NE

WS


PTR Junior DevelopmentMaster Program Begins

The PTR’s new training program, Master of Tennis–Junior Devel-opment, will begin in November with external assessment of

coach skills, knowledge and abilities.The program’s qualification will match the National Standards

for Sports Coaches (NSSC) at Level 5, the highest level. The NSSClevels are used by many other sports and education bodies in theU.S. and endorsed by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“I am excited to announce the next phase of the PTR Educationand Certification Pathway program,” said PTR CEO Dan Santorum.“It is based on a number of courses in a unique mixture of onlinelearning and home study, as well as practical on-court learning insmall groups of fellow professionals. The program can be com-pleted in as few as nine months or can take as long as two years,and the schedule takes into consideration that most participantswork full time.”

The program leader is coach education expert Anne Pankhurst,who previously worked in this capacity for both the USTA and LTA.For the on-court sections of the course, PTR has arranged a num-ber of programs around the country—Orlando, San Diego, NewYork and Hilton Head Island. The Master of Tennis–Junior Devel-opment program is open to PTR members who hold a Profession-al rating, and is for those who are working with juniors age 4-16.Visit ptrtennis.org for more information.

Following the Signs

The Corpus Christi Tennis Association in Texas put upthis billboard in early August as part of its marketing

plan for 10 and Under Tennis. The billboard is located onthe Crosstown Expressway, one of the busiest thorough-fares in the city, where it will be up for six months, thenmay be moved to another location. Helping to make theadvertisement possible was one of CCTA’s members, whois a part owner of Cooper Advertising, the firm that is dis-playing the sign.

Dunlop Introduces Biomimetic 700

Dunlop’s newest frame is the Biomimetic 700, whichthe company says uses all of Dunlop’s Biomimetic

technologies, plus an advanced grommet system. “Over-all, this is the most advanced frame we’ve ever created.It’s absolutely loaded with technology aimed directly atproviding players a very powerful, yet comfortable andmaneuverable frame,” says Hunter Hines, Tennis ProductManager for Dunlop Sports Group Americas.

Among the technologies is the “3Dom” grommet sys-tem—a set of green pods made of material that is softerthan regular grommet material. The pods encase “Anti-Friction Grommets” and Dunlop says they perform a sim-ilar function to cartilage surrounding joints: provide

padding while allowinggreater freedom ofmovement for thestrings, which cre-

ates more recoil andgives shots more power, in addition

to dampening string vibration. For more info, visitdunlopsports.com or call 800-768-4727.

USTA CTDW Set for New Orleans

Don’t miss the 2012 USTA Community Tennis DevelopmentWorkshop, the largest annual gathering of CTA/NJTL and

community tennis leaders in the country. The CTDW will beJan. 13-15 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.

USTA officials expect more than 600 grassroots commu-nity tennis leaders to attend. Programming includes ses-sions by experts in the non-profit sector and the tennisindustry. For more information, visit usta.com/ctdw.

I N D U S T R Y N E W S


Capriati, Kafelnikov, Kuerten, Bollettierion Hall of Fame Ballot for 2012

Jennifer Capriati, one of America's most dominant tennis players in the1990s and early 2000s; Russia's first world No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov; and

Brazilian tennis superstar Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten have been nominated toreceive the highest honor available in the sport of tennis, induction into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame. All three are nominated for the inductionClass of 2012 in the Recent Player Category.

Also in the Recent Player Category, Wheelchair Tennis superstar and three-time Paralympic medalist Randy Snow has been nominated posthumously forinduction. In the Master Player Category, Thelma Coyne Long of Australia, whocaptured 19 Grand Slam titles between the 1930s and 1950s, and 1975 USOpen champion Manuel Orantes, a Spanish star of the 1970s-1980s have beennominated.

Three individuals have been nominated for their contributions to the sport.Legendary tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, who has guided 10 ATP and WTA starsto world No. 1 status; influential tennis promoter and administrator MikeDavies; and Eiichi Kawatei, who has played a vital role in the growth of tennisin Asia have all been nominated in the Contributor Category.

Voting for the 2012 ballot will take place over the next several months, withthe announcement of the inductees for 2012 expected early next year. TheClass of 2012 Induction Ceremony will be held July 14 at the International Ten-nis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. Visit tennisfame.com for more info.

Benjamin Receives USTA President’s Award

David Benjamin, the executive director of the Intercollegiate Tennis Associationand the retired Princeton University men’s tennis coach, received the 2011

USTA President’s Award during the USTASemiannual meeting in New York Cityduring the US Open.

“David has had a remarkable impacton the game of tennis and has been amajor contributor in our efforts to growthe game,” said USTA Chairman of theBoard and President Jon Vegosen. “Notonly collegiate varsity tennis, but alsothe entire tennis community has bene-fitted from his incredible passion, dedi-

cation and commitment.” The President’s Award honors an individual who hasgiven unusual and extraordinary service to the sport in the public’s interest.Since its inception in 1999, award recipients have included Billie Jean King, Lind-say Davenport, Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan and former New York City MayorDavid Dinkins.

Evert Helps RelaunchEllesse Sportswear

Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion ChrisEvert will serve as brand ambassador for

newly formed Ellesse North America. A state-ment from the company said Evert, 56, will beactively involved in design, promotion andmarketing, as well as thedevelopment of a signaturecollection, "Chris Evert forEllesse." During the US Open, Evert hosted acocktail party to help relaunch the Italiansportswear label in the U.S.

Ellesse North America has acquired themaster license for the Ellesse brand in allproduct categories for the North Americanmarket from Pentland Group plc. The compa-ny says it will relaunch in the U.S. in the fourthquarter 2011.

In addition to tenniswear, Ellesse says itwill offer clothing and shoes for other "life-time sports" like fitness, skiing, golf andequestrian. The company says it plans to havean online store and freestanding stores. Thecollection also will be carried in specialtystores, pro shops, ski shops, tack shops andhotel and resort shops.

Har-Tru ConsultingOffers Storm Assistance

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, Har-TruConsulting Services is providing free con-

sultation in the month of October to clubsin the Northeast whose courts were affect-ed by the storm. Har-Tru Consulting Servic-es specializes in providing advice on therenovation, construction and maintenanceof clay tennis courts.

“We have been advising clubs in theSoutheast for years when they faced hurri-cane damage but the Northeast isn’t typi-cally faced with this type of situation,” saidEd Montecalvo, Consulting Services Manag-er for Har-Tru Sports. A typical consultingvisit costs $500 per day or $190 per court,plus travel expenses, he said, but underthese circumstances he is waiving all fees.

“I am hopeful that we can not only pro-vide insight into what the damage level isand how to remedy it, but that we can alsoshare information on the latest trends incourts and technology that might makesense if a rebuild is required,” he said. Con-tact [email protected] or 877-4HARTRU.

ASBA to Offer Technical Meeting in Palm Desert

The American Sports Builders Association will hold its Technical Meeting Dec. 2-5 at the J.W. Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif. The meeting will

include a trade show featuring some of the newest products and techniques onthe market.

The program will have sessions on advanced techniquein tennis and sports facility design, construction and mate-

rials, as well as “how to” programs for those seeking a morehands-on approach. In addition, there will be social events to facilitate

networking, presentations of industry awards, exams for those interested in theASBA’s professional certification program, and more. Visit sportsbuilders.org.

N O V / D E C 2 0 1 1IN

DU

ST

RY

NE

WS


• Prince junior players, armed with EXO3 frames, captured titles atthis year’s US Open junior event. Oliver Golding, 17, of GreatBritain took the boys’ singles title; he uses the Prince EXO3 Rebel95, with Beast XP polyester string. Demi Schuurs of the Nether-lands captured the Girls’ Doubles title with her Prince EXO3 Black.She and her partner outlasted another athlete wielding EXO3 tech-nology, 15-year-old Taylor Townsend of Atlanta. Visit princewhos-next.com.

• Ajay Pant has joined the Tennis Center at College Park in Mary-land as the general manager of the 30-court facility. Pant comesfrom Tennis Corporation of America (TCA), where he has workedat key facilities around the country in his 18-year tenure.

• The Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Committee electedfour industry leaders to join its 2012 Class. The inductees, who willofficially be inducted at the NSGA Management Conference &Team Dealer Summit in May, are Don Lucas, Luke's Locker; RandyRuch, Schuylkill Valley Sports; Neil Stillwell, The Game; and the lateCliff Keen, Cliff Keen Athletic.

• Michael Mahoney, general manager of Midtown Tennis Club,announced that Head Tennis Professional Butch Staples is leavingthe club to build a new tennis facility in Bluffton, S.C. Staples will,however, continue his relationship with Midtown and its parentcompany, Chicago-based Tennis Corporation of America, acting ina special advisory position. Mahoney also announced the promo-tion of Mike Insko to the position of Head Professional at Mid-town.

• Todd Martin of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has been named aDirector at Large on the USTA Board of Directors. He will servethrough 2012, replacing Jeff Tarango, who resigned to devotemore time to his family and career. Martin is one of three elite ath-letes on the USTA Board of Directors, along with Patrick J. Gal-braith and Chanda Rubin.

• Earlier this year, Bob Pfaender of Lake Mary, Fla., received WilsonSporting Goods highest sales honor, the Jack Kramer Award.Pfaender, who also is an avid USTA volunteer, is a territory managerfor Wilson and he grew his sales index last year by 123 percentwhile raising performance racquets, footwear, accessories andapparel over 100 percent.

• RSI Contributing Editor Robin Bateman was named the 2011USTA Georgia Media Excellence Award winner.

• Top racquetball player Jansen Allen has signed a long-term con-tract with Wilson Sporting Goods and will be using the Ninja BLXracquet. Jansen, currently a senior at Colorado State–Pueblo, is the2010 US Open 24 and under National Champion, 2010 NationalSingles 24 and under Champion along with 2010 Texas StateChampion and 2010 Texas State Doubles Champion. He is also atop ranked player on the IRT tour.

• Scott Creelman, former CEO of Spalding Sports Worldwide, died

on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011 after a five-year battle with cancer.He was 68 years old.

• Grace Min, 17, of Duluth, Ga., upset top-seeded Caroline Garciaof France to win the US Open girls’ singles title. Min did not drop aset in six matches, which included an upset over No. 2 seed IrinaKhromacheva of Russia in the first round, and a victory over fellowAmerican Nicole Gibbs in the semifinals.

• Esther Vergeer, 30, of the Netherlands won the US Open Wheel-chair Tennis championship, her 19th consecutive Grand Slam sin-gles title and her 429th consecutive singles match. Vergeer first hitworld No. 1 in 1999. She has not lost a singles wheelchair tennismatch since January 2003. American David Wagner captured thequad singles title, and teamed with fellow American Nick Taylor towin the quad doubles title.

• Ashaway Racket Strings has signed multi World Doubles Cham-pion and Racquetball Hall of Famer Jacqueline Paraiso to its stableof sponsored players.

• John Hobart of Atlanta has been named USTA Southern Section10 and Under Tennis coordinator.

• Karin Buchholz has joined the USTA as Director, Community Out-reach and Education. She will direct the USTA’s efforts with NJTL,First Serve, USTA Schools and Tennis and Higher Education initia-tives. She leaves a position as Vice President of Community Rela-tions and Field Marketing/Fan Development for MSG Sports Teams.

• David Campisi, the chief executive officer and president of TheSports Authority Inc., has resigned. Darrell Webb has been namedthe interim CEO.

• Jim Gabel has been appointed to the position of Adidas grouppresident, Canada. He was previously president of Reebok NorthAmerica.

• Agata Cioroch of Atlanta, Ga., was crowned the women’s openchampion of the USPTA International Championships in September.Adrian Zguns of Orlando, Fla., won the men’s open title.

• Kevin Clayton, the USTA’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, hasleft the organization.

• The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced the departureof Jason Berney, media/web manager, and Alli Berney, manager ofpromotions and membership, as well as the arrival of three newstaff members: Joshua Rey and Nick Snow, who will each serve asmanager of communications, and Ellah Nze, who will take on therole of events and project management intern.

• Pancho Gonzalez, a tennis pioneer and two-time U.S. NationalChampion, is the 2011 inductee into the US Open Court of Cham-pions. He was inducted during a ceremony in Arthur Ashe Stadiumon Sept. 3.

P E O P L E W AT C H

Aetna, USTA AnnounceSchool Grant Program

Aetna and the USTA have announced anew grant program

designed to introducekids tto tennis. “AetnaICON Grants” will beused to help improvethe health, physical activ-ity and academic achieve-ment of youngsters indiverse communities through-out the U.S., through the integrationof tennis, health and education curricula inafter-school programs.

The grant program will be available ineach of the sections. The USTA will supplytennis equipment, tennis lines and person-alized training for teachers and coaches;Aetna will supply volunteers to conduct theeducation and health portions of the pro-gram. USTA Serves, the National CharitableFoundation of the USTA, will provide thefinancial grant, program evaluation andoversight.

Schools with at least 51 percent non-white enrollment will be targeted and willnot be required to currently provide a ten-nis program at the elementary school level,physical education or an afterschool pro-gram to be eligible for a grant. Teachersand coaches who would like to assist willnot be required to have a tennis back-ground, but must be committed to helpsupervising the tennis.



Congratulations To the FollowingFor Achieving MRT and CS Status

New MRTsDan McLaughlin Glenshaw, PANattie Chan Oberlin, OH

New CSsRussell Whitehead Athens, GAJared Shoops Athens, GA

Weather Can’t Dampen Open Attendance, Web Records

Despite four washed-out sessions at the 2011 US Open resulting in the need toreschedule the last five days of the tournament, the USTA says the Open attract-

ed more than 650,000 attendees and set Labor Day Weekend attendance records.The Saturday through Monday Labor Day Weekend saw 186,186 fans enter the

grounds. The men’s final, featuring Novak Djokovic capturing his first US Opentitle over defending champion Rafael Nadal on Monday, Sept. 12, also set the all-time attendance record of 24,713 in Arthur Ashe Stadium and on the grounds ofthe National Tennis Center, as did the men’s semifinal attendance of 24,071 onSept. 10. In all, 11 sessions sold out.Other Open highlights include:� 53.1 million viewers watched all or part of the Open on CBS Sports, up 17%from last year.

� The women’s singles final on Sept. 11, which saw Samantha Stosur beat SerenaWilliams, achieved a 3.3 national rating, with 13.1 million viewers watching allor part, an increase of 93% from viewership of the Clijsters-Zvonareva finalwhich aired in primetime on Saturday last year.

� The men’s singles final was seen in all or part by 11.8 million viewers.� USOpen.org set a new site record for unique visitors (15,421,675) surpassing2010’s total by 24%, and total visits to the site topped 51.8 million, the secondmost in history.

� More than 3.1 million hours of live streaming was viewed, an increase of 12%from last year’s record.

� USOpen.org also saw record mobile traffic across its mobile-friendly website(m.usopen.org) and the official iPhone and Android Apps, with more than 84.3million page views, a 173% increase over 2010.

New Green Dot Ball from Oncourt Offcourt

Oncourt Offcourt President Joe Dinoffer hasintroduced a new design on its USTA-tested

and -approved green level low-compressionball. Dinoffer says the new design is theresult of the “Green Dot” design first intro-duced in Europe by the ITF beingembraced in the U.S. Available in twohinged bucket sizes for easy access andstorage, the low-pressure balls meet allUSTA and ITF specifications for bothtraining and competitive play forsanctioned 10 and Under Tennisevents. For info: OncourtOff-court.com or 88-TENNIS-11.


N O V / D E C 2 0 1 1IN

DU

ST

RY

NE

WS

> The DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.,has been selected as the site for the 2012Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group IIFirst Round tie between the U.S. andBelarus, Feb. 4-5. Thirteen-time GrandSlam singles champion Serena Williamshas already committed to play for the U.S.team in 2012, while current world No. 4Victoria Azarenka is expected to competefor Belarus. For ticket info, call 888-334-8782 or visit www.usta.com/fedcup.

> DecoTurf was chosen as the officialsurface of the men’s and women’s ChinaOpen, held in October at the BeijingNational Tennis Center.

> Just before the US Open began, Wil-son sponsored a successful attempt by658 New York kids to break the GuinnessWorld Records Title for "the most peoplebouncing tennis balls on tennis racquets.”Wilson players Mardy Fish and AndreaPetkovic were on hand to mentor kidsand adults who received 500 free rac-quets.

> Babolat recently honored its annualSales Award winners: Retailer of the Year:TennisPlaza in Florida. Sales Rep of theYear: Rose Jones. “Tennis Runs in OurBlood” Award: Rich Francey and DavidDwelle.

> Dunlop Sports has extended its agree-ment as the official ball of U.S. Squash.The over two decade long partnership hasgrown in recent years; in 2010 Dunlopsigned on as the Official Eyewear of U.S.Squash, and this year the two companiesare working to develop a new Mini

S H O R T S E T SSquash program targeting 10 and underkids with appropriately sized equipment.

> Lee Tennis Court Products, which recent-ly changed its name to Har-Tru Sports, haslaunched a new web presence withhartru.com.

> Four tennis umpires filed a class- and col-lective-action lawsuit against the USTA onSept. 8 for wage and hour violations. Thecase was filed in U.S. District Court for theSouthern District of New York (Case No. 11-Civ-6268) on behalf of persons who workedas umpires in the main draw and in qualify-ing matches during US Open tournamentsheld in 2005 through 2011. The USTAemploys about 300 umpires during the tour-nament. The umpires claim the USTA violat-ed federal and/or state wage and hour lawsby failing to pay all wages due includingovertime. Judith L. Spanier of Abbey SpanierRodd & Abrams, LLP, and the Law Offices ofMitchell Schley, LLC, represent the plaintiffs.

> Tennis Channel is no longer part ofCablevision and Verizon FiOS TV's distribu-tion rosters. Starting Sept. 4, in the middleof the US Open, Tennis Channel was nolonger making its signal available to Cablevi-sion.

> Peter Burwash, president of Peter Bur-wash International, recently told TravelAgent magazine that, in the Caribbean,travel agents may one day make moremoney on tennis travel than they do in thelucrative golf travel market. Burwash saystennis “lends itself to family participation, isvery cheap to play, and takes a lot less thanthe five years it usually takes you to be able

to play golf successfully.” PBI has fiveresort partners in the Caribbean.

> Under Armour is looking to double thesize of its Baltimore headquarters toaccommodate additional employees, aswell as a 20,000 square-foot retail store,athletic fields and a company museum.The company, which employs nearly5,000 people worldwide, seeks to add400,000 square feet.

> Hinding Tennis rehabilitated threecourts in Astoria Park in Queens, N.Y., aspart of the American Express and USTA’sFresh Courts program. Chris Evert andworld No. 4 Victoria Azarenka were onhand right before the US Open to openthe courts.

> Wilson has entered into a new part-nership with Peter Burwash Internationalas its official tennis equipment brand.

> Izod is the 2011 "Official Apparel ofthe Champions Series" 12-city tennistour. All Champions Series officials, ballkids, and staff will be in Izod apparel.

> The soccer club Barcelona has com-plained to Nike that its jerseys absorb somuch moisture it slows them down. TheSpanish newspaper El Pais reportedBarcelona players claimed the jerseysdouble in weight by halftime. Tennis starRafael Nadal experienced a similar prob-lem with his own Nike Dri-FIT gear at theAustralian Open. A Nike statement saidthe problem is limited to home jerseysand only versions issued directly to playersrather than any sold at retail.

Balboa Tennis Club SendsTennis to the Troops

The USTA’s Adopt-A-Unit effort took over SanDiego’s Balboa Tennis club recently, as BTC sent

care packages and needed personal supplies to 250service men and women at different units inAfghanistan and Iraq. Organizations (clubs, CTAs,teams, etc.) organize “packing parties” for the sup-plies, ship them overseas, and the USTA then sendsthose same units tennis equipment to provide recre-ation for the troops. Visit usta.com/military to findout more, or email [email protected].


N O V / D E C 2 0 1 1IN

DU

ST

RY

NE

WS Hassan Named USPTA Pro of the Year

Feisal Hassan of Midlothian, Va., who has been involved in ten-nis and has been a USPTA member for more than 20 years,

received the USPTA’s Alex Gordon Award for the Professional ofthe Year. Hassan was recognized at the USPTA’s World Conferenceon Tennis in September.

The professional of the year is judged in seven areas, includ-ing contributions to USPTA and USTA; as a teaching professional,player and coach; education, research and publications; organi-zational affiliations; and contributions to the community.

Hassan, who is also a USPTA Master Professional, grew upplaying junior tennis at the local and national level in Zimbabwe

before moving to the United States. Afterplaying collegiate tennis for four years at Vir-ginia Commonwealth University and earn-ing a degree in marketing, he began histennis-teaching career.

He is currently a USPTA tester and on thenational education and diversity commit-tees. He also has been heavily involved atthe USTA sectional and national levels,including as a USTA High Performancecoach. Hassan has coached internationallyfor Zimbabwe. And he and his family areinvolved in giving back to their commu-

nity through many programs. Hassanalso is on the Head/Penn NationalAdvisory Board and Speaker’s Bureauand the TIA’s National Cardio TennisSpeakers Team.

USPTA Recognizes Leaders in Tennis

The USPTA honored those who stand out and go aboveand beyond in all aspects of the tennis industry, from

tennis coaches to players to volunteers, during its annualnational awards breakfast at the USPTA World Conferenceon Tennis, held at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel,Fla., in September.� Alex Gordon Award for USPTA Professional of the Year:Feisal Hassan of Midlothian, Va.

� USPTA Presidential Award: Ben Press of Coronado,Calif., and Steve Wilkinson of St. Peter, Minn., (co-win-ners).

� USTA/USPTA Community Service Award: MichaelAndrews of Fort Wayne, Ind.

� USPTA Industry Excellence Award (sponsored by theTIA and Tennis Tutor): Matthew Boughton of Eau Claire,Wis.

� USPTA Star: Philip “Fitz” Paccione of Portland, Ore.� Lessons for Life Individual Award: Fernando Velasco ofAustin, Texas.� Tennis Across America Individual Award: Bill Mecca of

Garden City, N.Y.USPTA Diversity Award: Ira Peskowitz of West PalmBeach, Fla.

Manager of the Year Award: RaulSaad of Shreveport, La., for Pierre-

mont Oaks T.C. (small facility) and Der-rick Barnett of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.,for BallenIsles CC (large facility).Other honorees are:� Kendall Brooks, Austin, Texas – TouringCoach of the Year

� Mike Gennette, Newbury Park, Calif. – CollegeCoach of the Year

� Peter Smith, Rossmoor, Calif. – College Coach of theYear

� Jackie Mueller Egelhoff, Mequon, Wis. – High SchoolCoach of the Year

� Ben Rakusin, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – George BacsoTester of the Year

Division Players of the Year are:� Tony Larson, Minneapolis, Minn. – Men’s Open� Kamil Kuchta, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Men’s 35-and-over

� Vincent Horcasitas, East Hampton, N.Y. – Men’s 45-and-over

� Kimm Ketelsen, Tyler, Texas – Men’s 55-and-over� Gewan Maharaj, Tampa, Fla. – Men’s 55-and-over� Amy Alcini, Malibu, Calif. – Women’s Open� Robin Keener, Melbourne, Fla. – Women’s 35-and-over� Kathy Vick, Lubbock, Texas – Women’s 45-and-over� Binki Thalheimer, Prescott, Ariz. – Women’s 55-and-over

USPTA divisions receiving awards are: Texas–LargeDivision of the Year; Southwest—Small Division of theYear; Southern—Newsletter of the Year

Two Earn USPTAMaster Pro Distinction

Emilio Sánchez Vicario of Barcelona andDarryl Lewis of Nellysford, Va., were recognized recently as

USPTA Master Professionals, the organization’s highest rating.Members must hold USPTA’s highest certification rating (Pro-

fessional 1) for more than 10 years before becoming eligible forthe Master Professional designation. Then, each must fulfill abroad spectrum of requirements, including making significantachievements in areas such as tennis teaching and coaching,business, education and volunteer work.

Sánchez Vicario is a former pro tennis player who led tennisin Spain during the 1980s and into the '90s, reaching No. 7 inthe world in singles and teaming with Sergio Casal to claim a No.1 world ranking in doubles. He has been a certified USPTA pro-fessional for 13 years.

Lewis is the director of tennis at Wintergreen Resort in Win-tergreen, Va. He has been a certified USPTA professional for 24years and previously served as the director of junior recreationaltennis for the USTA Southern Section and on the AtlantaCommittee for the Olympic Games as the assistant competitionmanager.

Cardio Tennis OffersFall Training Workshops

Find out how you can offer a CardioTennis program at your facility by

attending a Cardio Tennis workshop inyour area. The workshops aredesigned for new Cardio Tennis pro-gram participants as well as those whohave not been to a workshop in over 2years.

Topics include the importance ofCardio Tennis, key ingredients for ahealthy curriculum, calculating heartrate and using heart rate monitors,warm-up and cool-down drills, recom-mended feeding approaches, drill-based and play-based exercises,marketing your program, integratingCT into current programming, andmore.

“Any tennis professional whoattends one of these workshops isgoing to be fully equipped to offer afun, safe and quality Cardio TennisProgram at their facility,” says BillPhillips, USTA Southern Section TSRand USPTA Southern president. “Theywill learn how to keep the programfresh and exciting, under-stand the importance ofheart rate monitors, andwill make a lot of money inthe process."

The high-quality, profes-sional workshops includeboth classroom and on-court training. They runfrom 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. andcost $140 (lunch is includ-ed). Visit CardioTennis-Training.com to sign up,and for more information.� Oct. 15: Acton, MA—AllSeasons Tennis Club

� Oct. 23: Orlando, FL—RDV Sportsplex AthleticClub

� Oct. 23: Lutherville,MD—Green Spring Rac-quet Club

� Nov. 4: Raleigh, NC—Raleigh Racket Club\

� Nov. 19: Destin, FL—Tops’l Racquet & BeachResort

MEMBER CLASSIFIEDS



FOR SALE—Used Lighting System for Indoor Tennis. Indirect 1000 watt fixtures andballasts. Excellent condition. $5000. Bud 937-669-5552.

Tennis Press Honored in USTWA Writing Contest

Eleven writers whose work placed in the 12th Annual U.S. Tennis Writers'Association Writing Contest were honored in the media center during the

US Open. The winners are:Feature Story (Pro Tennis)1. Doug Robson’s "Life in the Doubles Lane" in USAToday

2. Joshua Rey’s "What You May Have Missed at theSony Ericsson Open" in Florida Tennis

3. Doug Robson’s "Death Match: The curse of the2004 French Open lives on" in USA Today

Feature Story (Non-Pro Tennis)1. Dave Seminara’s “One for the Ages: Davis Cup’sunlikely record holders" on TENNIS.com

2. James LaRosa’s "Tennis Uninterrupted: Nothingkeeps Leon Sanit, 97, off the court" in TENNISMagazine

3. Paul Bauman’s “It’s Schnack Time” in the Sacra-mento Bee

Game Story (Pro Tennis)1. Greg Couch’s "Isner, Mahut Match at WimbledonWill be Remembered for its Numbers" on AOLFanhouse

2. Bill Dwyre’s "Warm Embrace for U.S. Tennis" inthe Los Angeles Times

3. Joshua Rey’s "Tipsarevic Rocks Rattled Roddickout of the US Open” on USOpen.org

Game Story (Non-Pro)1. Cindy Cantrell’s "Borg Succumbs to Mac" on Ten-nisLife.com

2. Joshua Rey’s "Sock Rallies past Kudla to Win

Boys’ Final" on USOpen.org3. Joshua Rey’s “Davis Destroys Gavrilova,France and USA Sweep 16s Semis” onUSTA.com

Hard News/Enterprise1. Bill Dwyre’s "Sampras is Robbed of StoriedHardware" in the Los Angeles Times

2. Bill Simons’ "Glam Slam: Glitz, Glamour andthe History of Tennis Fashion" in Inside Tennis

3. Douglas Robson’s “New-Look WTA Tour: Teenphenoms rare, veteran thrive" in USA Today

Column/Commentary1. Greg Couch’s "From Forest Hills to Flushing,Tennis is at Pivotal Moment" on AOL Fan-house

2. Bryan Graham’s "My Sportsman: SurpriseFrench Open Champ Francesca Schiavone," onSportsIllustrated.com

3. Greg Couch’s "The Curious Case of Andrea Col-larini” on AOL Fanhouse

Service Story1. Paul Fein’s "The Importance of Momentum inTennis," on TennisOne.com

2. Paul Fein’s "Defend and Conquer" in Aus-tralian Tennis Magazine

3. Cindy Cantrell’s “Fit for a King” in USTAChampionship Magazine

November/December 2011 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 19

Retailing 105


This is part of a series ofretail tips presented bythe Tennis IndustryAssociation and writtenby the Gluskin Townley

Group (www.gluskintownleygroup.com).

11 Use name tags for staff. It will make iteasy for shoppers to identify and find

help.

12 Providing shopping baskets or nylonshopping bags will make it convenient

for shoppers to browse your store.

13 Seating shows you care. Provide com-fortable seating where you can.

14 Provide for kids. If you keep kidshappy and occupied, then their par-

ents can shop worry-free and spend moretime in the store.

15 Pay attention to lighting. Well-thought-out and well-placed lighting

will attract attention to your store’s dis-plays and merchandise, and show off yourstore.

16 Always make sure your rest roomsand changing rooms are super-clean.

If you can, make your changing rooms aslarge as possible, and include mirrors. Alsoinclude a chair, if there’s space, and plentyof hooks for hanging clothing.

Coming Up:Manufacturers’ representatives—a tennisretailer’s best resource. �

that it’s easy for shoppers to makebuying decisions. This way, bothshoppers and staff will enjoy theshopping experience.

4 Go with the flow. Organize your storeinto departments. Shoppers need to

understand where they are and be comfort-able with the journey through your store, nomatter what size it is.

5 Signs sell. Have an in-store sign strategyto make it easy to find things and

understand them. It will also make it easyfor consumers to navigate your store andbuy your merchandise.

6 Aisles are important—even in a smallspecialty retail store. Make sure your

aisles are wide enough for a stroller, andthat two people can pass without knockinginto each other.

7 Slow your shoppers down as they jour-ney through the store. Make sure your

displays are eye-catching; use mirrors undermerchandise and on posts; and use lightingto attract attention.

8 Keep things fresh and new. Changesome or all of your displays as fre-

quently as the average customer visits yourstore.

9 Keep up with housekeeping—everyday. Clean, sweep, mop, dust, vacuum

and do display recovery every day. Shop-pers want a clean store environment, andwill remember if a store is clean or not.

10 Flowers and green plants will help tomake your store more hospitable.

here are a lot of different spe-cialty retail store environments,from tiny shops to huge, 5,000-

square-foot or more stores. While it’salways tempting to want to go biggerand bigger with your store’s squarefootage, research clearly shows thatwhen it comes to a new retail conceptstore, bigger isn’t always better. In fact,the data shows that more squarefootage doesn’t matter as much as howcomfortable shoppers feel before, andafter, they enter the store.

For tennis specialty retailers, mak-ing the store environment comfortableis the key, and Operationally Excellentspecialty retailers have cracked thecomfort code. Here is our list of keystore environment comfort points youshould employ in your store:

1 Start with the windows and frontdoor. Get rid of or minimize any

stickers that may obstruct views. Youwant to make sure consumers—andespecially potential shoppers—have aclear view of store window displays orthe interior of your shop.

2 Clear the entryway. We don’tprocess what we see as quickly as

we walk, so make the entryway intoyour store a “neutral zone,” where shop-pers can stop and catch up, where theycan look around before starting theirshopping experience.

3 Eliminate clutter! If necessary,reduce how much you have out on

the sales floor (while making sure youhave plenty of merchandise stocked inthe back) and simplify your selection so

T

Create a ComfortableShopping Environment High-profit tennis specialty retailers maketheir shoppers as comfortable as possible.


2011 Tennis Industry

Hall of Fame

Nick Bollettieri has a hard time walking across the plazaat the US Open. He constantly has to slow down andstop along his route.

It’s not age that is stopping him, however. In fact, the 80-year-old Bollettieri is suntanned and fit, always with a readysmile, and of course wearing his trademark Oakley sunglass-

es. But he is so recognizable, he can barely walk 10 feetbefore someone tries to stop him to chat or shake his hand.The legendary tennis coach has become adept at graceful-

ly cutting short a conversation and moving on—otherwisehe’d never be able to accomplish half the things he’s beenable to do. And he shows no signs of slowing down.Most people know Nick Bollettieri as a world-famous

coach, working with players such as Andre Agassi, Boris Beck-er, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova and Venus and SerenaWilliams. But what they may not know is Bollettieri—a formerhigh school quarterback, Army paratrooper, law schooldropout and resort teaching pro—literally created a sector ofthe tennis industry when he started the Nick Bollettieri TennisAcademy in 1978. It was the first full-time tennis boardingschool to combine intense training on the court with a cus-tom-designed academic curriculum, and his methods changedthe way elite junior players are developed.Of course, he has had many other achievements in this

industry, too, and in August, just before the start of this year’sUS Open, Bollettieri was recognized for his significant impacton tennis with induction into the Tennis Industry Hall ofFame. Although Hurricane Irene forced the cancellation of theTIA Forum in New York City, including the ceremony and pre-sentation of a plaque (which will be on permanent display atthe International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I.), Bol-lettieri nonetheless joins previous Tennis Industry Hall ofFame inductees Howard Head (2008), Dennis Van der Meer(2008), Alan Schwartz (2009) and Billie Jean King (2010).

Helping All Players“I’m thrilled to be honored with induction into the TennisIndustry Hall of Fame,” Bollettieri says. “I’ve dedicated my lifeto helping players of all ages and abilities enjoy the sport oftennis, and I’ve always supported and promoted the entireindustry—that has been very important to me. It’s quite anhonor to be recognized by the industry in this way.”“Nick has been an innovator in the industry for the last 30

years,” says TV analyst and former pro tour player BradGilbert, “and he has many more great years ahead of him.”Gilbert, a former student, was to introduce Bollettieri at thecancelled Hall of Fame ceremony.“We’re excited that Nick has joined our industry’s Hall of

Fame,” says Tennis Industry Association President Jon Muir.“He’s very deserving of this honor, and of the specific recog-

Nick BollettieriThe newest inductee into the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame createda new segment of the tennis business, and created championsalong the way. B Y P E T E R F R A N C E S C O N I

2011 Tennis Industry

Hall of Fame


nition toward helping to pioneer the academy business,which has not just impacted tennis in our country, but dri-ven a business segment of our industry.”“Because of his influence on pro players and their games,

he’s really one of thearchitects of the mod-ern game as wewatch it being playednow by such pros asNovak Djokovic andRafael Nadal,” saysJeff Williams, co-pub-lisher of RacquetSports Industry andgroup publisher ofThe Tennis MediaCompany, whichincludes Tennis mag-azine and Ten-nis.com.Bollettieri did not play tennis in high school in Pelham,

N.Y., instead opting for the gridiron. “In my junior year atSpring Hill College in Mobile [Ala.], my uncle, who was avery good tennis player, took us to a club to play,” he says.“Later, I made the tennis team at Spring Hill.”After college, he became a paratrooper. “During my ser-

vice, I played football and also began teaching tennis to fel-low cadets. Then I went to the University of Miami lawschool for five months. To make some money, I startedteaching tennis. My first student was Brian Gottfried. I made$6 an hour. That started my career.”

Taking the OpportunitiesBollettieri says he was very fortunate after that. “All sorts ofopportunities came my way. I started summer camps, and Iworked as tennis director at the Dorado Beach Hotel in Puer-to Rico, which was owned by Laurance Rockefeller.” Heworked at Rockefeller resorts for 17 years.In 1977, he moved to the Colony Beach and Tennis

Resort in Longboat Key, Fla., then a year later opened theNick Bollettieri Tennis Academy near Bradenton, Fla. “I start-ed the first live-in academy with students living in myhouse,” he says. In 1981, he bought a small motel in Braden-ton to house students; a few years later he borrowed a mil-lion dollars to buy 40 acres of land.“In 1984, a sports psychologist said I was crazy to do

what I was doing,” Bollettieri says. “But from that crazy ideais now the largest sports complex in the world.”International Management Group (IMG) bought the acad-

emy from Bollettieri in 1987, seeing a template for othersports. Bollettieri is still heavily involved in the developmentof the tennis academy and ancillary programs, but now, IMGAcademies is on 500 acres and has 900 students, teaching

sports that include golf, football, soccer, baseball, basketballand lacrosse.When he’s not traveling around the U.S. and the world

conducting clinics, speaking at industry events, giving moti-vational speeches andmaking other appear-ances, Bollettieri is atIMG Academies. Hegets up every morn-ing around 4:30, is atthe gym by 5 to workout, then starts coach-ing at 5:30 a.m., gen-erally stopping onlyfor a quick lunchbefore finishing hislast lesson at 7 p.m.Bollettieri, his

academy, and hismethods have often

been fodder for the media, but the results speak for them-selves: Since 1978, when he started the NBTA, there havebeen 42 men and women tennis players ranked No. 1 in theworld. Bollettieri has had a hand in coaching 10 of them—ornearly 24 percent of the world’s best tennis players in thelast 33 years.The No. 1’s he’s worked with are Agassi, Becker, Jim

Courier, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, Marcelo Rios, Seles,Sharapova, and the Williams sisters. He’s also worked withmany other world-class players, including Tommy Haas,Anna Kournikova, Jimmy Arias, Mary Pierce and NicoleVaidisova.“Since the 1970s there has not been a more influential

coach, author, promoter and analyst in the sport of tennis,”says Jose Lambert, an IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy coachfor 35 years. “Nick is a ferocious competitor. What driveshim is a challenge. He is a straight-shooter and has alwaysstood behind his staff. Through his vision he has created somany jobs and opportunities for others.”“I’m proud to have established something the entire

world has copied,” Bollettieri says. Today, if you were to hirehim as a coach, you’d pay $900 an hour.

Serving the CommunityWhile his list of awards and honors is long, he’s more proudof the service he’s given, and continues to give, to the game,to communities and to kids.“My legacy is that I’m giving children an opportunity to

achieve, to gain confidence in themselves and prepare forreal life,” he says. “I want them to take good care of themind and body. That’s what I really stand for.”In 1987 he co-founded with Arthur Ashe the Ashe-Bollet-

tieri Cities’ Tennis Program (ABC), providing tennis lessons,


academic tutoring, health education and collegiate financial aid to 15,000 inner-city youngsters. Although the ABC program ended in 1993, when Ashe passedaway, Bollettieri continues to give his time to helping kids.Among his ongoing special projects are Camp Kaizen, a fitness camp for

overweight girls between 9 and 14, founded by Bollettieri and his wife, Cindi. Healso is on the board and is a spokesperson for the Inner City Tennis Program inthe Twin Cities in Minnesota. In 2000, he developed the “Tennis-In-A-Can”Youth and High School Program, a comprehensive national tennis wellness

program.Currently, he has become an

advocate and spokesman for the10 and Under Tennis initiative.“In the beginning, I thought it wasa gimmick,” he says. “But I’veseen the results. I have [10 andUnder Tennis] at my place. It’sfantastic that kids have successright away.”“One of the qualities I admire

most about Nick is his willingnessto take risks and try new things,”says Kurt Kamperman, theUSTA’s chief executive of Com-munity Tennis. “He’s never beenshy about expressing his opin-ions, so his endorsement andenthusiasm for 10 and Under Ten-nis means a lot to not only the ini-

tiative, but to the industry as a whole. At 80, he’s still excited about learningnew ways to improve the players he works with.”

More Honors Ahead?This past July, Bollettieri was in Newport, R.I., for the International Tennis Hallof Fame induction of Agassi, who praised and thanked his former coach: “I wantyou to know how much I appreciate the love and devotion you have for tennis.You lived and breathed tennis. The International Tennis Hall of Fame will not becomplete until you are there.”While that honor has yet to come to Bollettieri, it just might soon. He was

considered for the ITHOF two years ago, and this past September, he was againplaced on the ballot, one of eight nominees being considered for 2012. “What-ever the decision is by the people who vote, I am just very appreciative of beingon the list,” he told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.Bollettieri’s devotion to this sport, though, has crossed all levels, and all ages.

He’s taught and promoted tennis to everyone, and as a much visible maker ofchampions, he’s brought attention to the sport, and in that way, he has had ahuge impact on growing the game itself.“Nick’s years of success in teaching tennis and the related business expan-

sion, along with his great support of 10 and Under Tennis, demonstrates hisongoing commitment to driving long-term frequent-player development,” Muirsays. The growth of frequent players is a key goal to help grow the industry.For his part, Bollettieri is appreciative of the tennis industry as a whole. “I

think everyone is doing a terrific job,” he says. “Without the total support of theindustry, tennis would not be where it is. That we can continually improve theproduct is fantastic.”His confidence in the industry and the people involved is inspiring, although

it’s not all that surprising. Bollettieri himself has always been a confident man.“I knew I was going to be darn good, but to reach this success—I sort of pinch

myself and say, holy mackerel,” he says. “But I have a lot more to do and a lotmore to bring to the world.” And you can bet he won’t be slowing down.


Record of SuccessNick Bollettieri coached every level of playerthroughout his career, including personallyworking with these top pros:� Ten No. 1 ATP/WTA Tour Singles Players:Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier,Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, MarceloRios, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, SerenaWilliams, Venus Williams

� Two No. 1 Tour Doubles Players: MarkKnowles, Max Miryni

� Ten Top 10 Tour Singles Players: JimmyArias, Carling Bassett, Thomas Enqvist, BradGilbert, Brian Gottfried, Tommy Haas, AnnaKournikova, Mary Pierce, Mark Philippousis,Nicole Vaidisova

� Five Top 20 Tour Singles Players: TatianaGolovin, Xavier Malisse, Max Mirnyi, VinceSpadea, David Wheaton

Among the honorsBollettieri has received are:� 2011: Sixth Annual Dick Vitale Gala honoree� 2010: LTA Lifetime Contribution to CoachingAward

� 2009: Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee� 2008: N.Y. College of Health Professions—Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters andCommencement Speaker

� 2007: USPTA Florida Division Hall of Fameinductee

� 2006: Manatee County Government—“Bol-lettieri Boulevard” Street Dedication

� 2005: Tennis Magazine’s list of 40 GreatestMoments in the Last 40 Years

� 2004: Florida Sports Hall of Fame inductee� 2003: Arthur Ashe Institute for UrbanHealth—Spirit of Sports and Service Awardhonoree

� 2002: American Cancer Society—CartierGrand Slam Legend Award

� 2002: Italian-American Hall of Fameinductee

� 2000: Tennis Magazine list of 50 Most Influ-ential People in Tennis

� 1999: International Tennis Hall of Fame—Tennis Education Merit Award

� 1999: U.S. Olympic Committee—NationalCoach of the Year for Tennis

� 1998: Board of Child Care—National Sym-posium of Children and Poverty—Award forDevotion to Child Health

� 1994: Spring Hill College Hall of Fameinductee

� 1991: USPTA Coach of the Year� 1987: USTA Community Service Award� 1983: USPTA First Master Pro Group� 1981: Florida Professional Tennis AssociationPro of the Year

FILATalk about contemporary classics: The cheerleader look of the apple green and whiteof Fila’s poly/spandex Center Court Semi Circle Skort also comes in black/white andwhite/black. Any combination is sure to shine with Fila’s take on the Varsity Jacket,updated in a nylon spandex French terry in black/white/apple. For the style-con-scious traditionalist, Fila’s Heritage line for men still has the fashion-forward edge dueto a combo dip-dye of its signature red, white and blue in a men’s crew and solidpoly Heritage short.

www.fila.com • 410-773-3000


COUTURE LOOK,COURT FUNCTION

S P R I N G A P P A R E L


Tennis apparel has become as much about function as it hasabout fashion. In addition to combining the technical fab-rics that emphasize moisture-wicking and breathability,

durability and UV protection are also part of the mix.The tennis-fitness category for spring 2012 continues to take

its cues from the runway. From preppy classic to contemporary

patterns, the clothing also reflects the fashion colors of nextspring: neutral dark blues, white, black paired with brightspring greens to the softer teal-hued shades, brighter yellows,vibrant rosy-pinkish reds, pinky-lilacs, deep purples, and hottangerines. All these shades integrate into traditional tenniswhites.

COUTURE LOOK,COURT FUNCTIONFrom classics to contemporary, tenniswear for spring takes its cues fromthe fashion runway—with functional features, too. B Y C Y N T H I A S H E R M A N

WILSONWilson, which previewed its new collec-tions at a runway show in New York dur-ing the US Open, follows spring colorstrue to form with pops of super pink,bold cyan blue and white in its Passionand Sweet Spot lines. What Wilson callsa “liquid stretch finish” on its garmentsaids in movement, comfort and breatha-bility. Skorts, dresses, tops, jackets andpants are available in a variety of combi-nations. A cut-in tank dress sports ahexagonal dot patterned tri-color burn-out mesh. The striped back waistbandgives way to a box pleat and front seamvents. An internal bra makes the smash-ingly colorful dress complete.

www.wilson.com • 773-714-6400


BOLLEBolle’s Sea Breeze group sports theocean’s color hues that are so preva-lent for the season. Done in aqua,black and white, movement on thecourt is easy due to the incorporationof moisture-wicking properties and aforgiving poly/spandex blend, whichhas a shapely but forgiving fit. Thebold geometric print on skirts, topsand dresses updates this spring colorpalette.

www.bolletenniswear.com301-362-0360

TAILThe Chip and Charge collection portrays the palettes of the season. The use of dark blueas a neutral to offset the white and vibrant pinks of the pebble pattern is a direct reflectionof designer colors for 2012. The “hydrotech” and performance jersey in the racer-backdress focus on moisture-management and enables comfort and shape-holding stretch.

www.tailactivewear.com • 305-638-2650

ELIZA AUDLEYBlack and white never goes out ofstyle and can be worn year round. Atthe forefront of fashion in Eliza Aud-ley’s spring collection is Fancy Fila-gree. Maintaining the qualities of formand function, this group could gofrom court to cocktails and wasinspired by English wrought iron thatAudley says was present everywhereduring the coverage of the Royal Wed-ding last April. The curls and swirls ofthe stitching create the filigree lookand lends softness to the color-blocked fabric.

www.elizaaudley.com262-691-4770


UNDER ARMOURUnder Armour’s basics will be available now throughspring and they’re worth noting, because while theypossess the shaping fit and breathability that’s desir-able, the palette is straight out of the design playbook.A solar yellow Charged Cotton Crew makes a state-ment with the Perfection Pink and yellow-trimmedGreat Escape short—suitable for tennis and running.Both pieces come in a vast array of colors. All colorswill suit up nicely with their ribbed-waist Slice SolidSkort in either white or black.

www.underarmour.com • 888-727-6687

RACQUETS

B Y K E N T O S W A L D

Tennis retailers have the most difficult matchmaking taskever conceived. They oversee the courtship of players andracquets, a process fraught with the challenges of too

many choices and too much information, which is determined,ultimately, by the unquantifiable “this one feels right.”“Every person comes in and says they want power and con-

trol,” says Chris Gaudreau of the Racquet Koop in New Haven,Conn. “We all want that. … I try to look at the person: big, small,man, woman. I interview them to try and find out what they arelooking for out of a new racquet that they are not getting fromtheir current racquet.”The goal is to find the right fit, but there is no mathematical

formula to which one can plug in how a customer describestheir game in order to choose from all the technologicallyadvanced racquets available. They really need to try before theybuy.From the eight manufacturers represented on his wall and

80 or so frames, Gaudreau will suggest a likely six frames to betested—two at a time for up to five days at a time. The store’sdemo program—including otherwise unlimited playtesting—applies a $20 upfront charge to a credit card against a racquetpurchase. The idea is not just to guarantee the racquet’s return,but reduce the chances of customers shopping around.

It’s All About Service“Service is No. 1 for small retailers,” says Kevin Klabunde, Babo-lat’s Southeast sales rep. He sees the personal connection as alocal retailer’s great advantage over the online vendors whodon’t have to pass along tax charges or pay local rents.As much as Klabunde supports demo programs, he is also

aware of their biggest drawback. Customers walk in the doorwith money to spend, but the usual practice of trying out a rac-quet “doesn’t keep people in the store.” If there is any chance atall for a store owner to take advantage of a nearby hitting

Demo programs are a key to selling more racquets. Here aresome tips that may help send more frames out your door.


DEMONSTRATION

SPORTDEMONSTRATION

SPORTDemo programs are a key to selling more racquets. Here aresome tips that may help send more frames out your door.


space—or even create one within the store as one of his accounts did—it will be a great boost for sales.Klabunde believes retailers should carry demos in every SKU (if pos-

sible, with a couple different grip sizes) even if they will need to special-order the racquet, as another strategy to avoid losing sales to onlinevendors promising a full inventory. Since demo racquets need to havetheir strings and grips constantly kept fresh—a hidden cost for demoprograms—Babolat reps, like others, often are willing to make deals onreasonable requests, as well as offer the company’s sales incentive onframes and the rest of the line.As an example of the types of incentives available to support a

demo program, Wilson’s Jim Haneklau notes that, “When we introducenew products we offer demos at a greatly reduced price, sometimesfree, based on a retailer’s commitment to the sales program.”Haneklau, RSI’s 2008 Sales Rep of the Year, adds that as an addi-

tional incentive, stores can sell that free frame at the end of its lifecycle,emphasizing that the sale has to be made after it has been discontin-ued. And, like other manufacturers, Wilson will sometimes highlight thenewest member of the line, in the past offering promotions such as acan of balls or pair of socks to customers demoing a particular racquet.

Test, Test, Test!One of the biggest challenges to a good demo program is that there areso many good choices from so many manufactures. “I would be able tofind a racquet in every brand for you, for me, for everybody,” saysBruce Levine, general manager of Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon,N.J.Not wholly unsurprising from someone who is a technical advisor to

Tennis magazine, Levine “strongly, strongly encourages people to test,test, test” racquets before they commit to one. That said, he also appre-ciates how manufacturers have expanded their lines, offering “tour,”“standard” and “lite” versions of the racquets pros are playing withbecause for some players what they see—in this case that they playwith the “same” racquet as their favorite—is just as important as whatthey feel.Levine says that like most of the tennis industry, the bottom line

revolves around “the personal.” He recommends considering bothnear- and long-term inventory needs when fostering a relationship withany manufacturer. His pro shop often will order a number of racquets,but split delivery. To maximize the benefits available, they might takeimmediate shipment on half their order and agree to take the remain-der within six months, and based on what sticks customers actuallydemo and decide upon.The club also tries to buy heavy into the overall line to maximize

benefits and deals that combine purchase of racquets, shoes, bags,clothing and accessories, which can be particularly useful when itincludes special deals on a “house” string that can be used either for thedemos or as an additional sales incentive for racquet sales.The fact is there is at least one perfect match for every player, and

the demo program almost always is the best vehicle for pairing them up… unless the player is commitment-phobic. Unfortunately, as Gaudreaunotes, some of those folks do exist, and they throw a monkey wrenchinto the working of even the best demo program.“We have people who try for six weeks and still can’t make up their

mind,” he says. “We can guide them; we can’t choose for them.” �

Tips for aSuccessful DemoProgram� Stock demo models for lines you willsupport through sales, so as to maxi-mize manufacturer support.

� Ask your sales rep for specific supportand to find out about all availablesupport. Don’t just assume your needswill be met.

� On demo models, offer different gripsizes, particularly smaller sizes forwomen and juniors.

� Have as many demos as possible—if you can, at least two of popularmodels.

� Keep demos fresh with new stringsand grips. But also, don’t forget totake into account the cost of re-string-ing and re-gripping your demos.

� Consider charging a fee to demo rac-quets, which then can be applied topurchase.

� Be aware of customers who will takeracquets to weekend tournaments.

� Consider (re)stringing a demo to aspecial customer’s exact tension.

� Maintain contact with customers whilethey have your demo racquets; don’tlet too many days go by without inter-action to avoid their shopping around.

� Use your customer database to knowwhen a customer has been playingwith his or her current racquet for awhile, so that you can suggest theymay want to demo a newer model.

� Do whatever you can to create a hit-ting space in or near your store. Ifplayers can actually hit balls whenthey’re at your store, there’s a betterchance they’ll purchase.

MARKET ING

B Y K E N T O S W A L D

Every day for a two-week period on a US Open show court,the player with more natural talent and better preparationwins. Offstage at the same time, during the industry’s

informal annual convention, success is not as easily assured.Manufacturers can spend well into the hundreds of thou-

sands of dollars on individual events to maintain and expandtheir tennis presence in the industry. Most spend less, but all pro-mote their products to members of the media, to retail accounts,to teaching pros, to others in the industry and even to their ownstaff in some cases, in an indirect attempt to influence consumerpurchases.

The question for all is how to alchemize promotional spend-ing into sales receipts. From the heads of companies downthrough the marketing and sales departments, the questionsbounce around. What strategy should they be targeting? Whatcan they afford to spend? How should they measure the successof their efforts? Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a defin-itive answer to even one of these questions.

If you want to reach a captive industry audience, “the USOpen is a cost-effective place,” says Kai Nitsche, Dunlop’s vicepresident of racquet sports. Last year, when the company intro-duced its Biomimetic series of frames, there was a launch partyat the Union Square Ballroom in Manhattan, emceed by JohnMcEnroe and featuring the top pros under contract and a fullcomplement of company staff ready to answer questions,arrange interviews and make sure product information was athand. Industry and entertainment media, buyers, teaching pros,retailers and others from throughout the industry were invited tothe pre-tournament event.

Talking return on investment, Nitsche would only say, “Thesales generated there were on par or slightly exceeded the costof the overall event.”

Determining Success?While it would be comforting to be able to budget for any eventwith a formula such as $1 spent on the party will yield $1+ insales, dollars booked are not the only way to determine success.

“My feeling is that for most companies, event sales are notthe primary way they measure their return on investment,” saysDoug Drotman of sports public relations firm Drotman Commu-nications. “Being at a major event like the US Open, Super Bowlor NBA All Star Weekend is more about branding, establishingyour position in the industry, connecting with consumers andclients, and building upon the marketing campaigns you areeither culminating or launching.”

In keeping with Dunlop’s release only of racquets extendingthe line this year, 2011 was much more low-key. Reps still talkedwith their accounts. Staff still helped media members arrangeinterviews. And people in town for the Open were accommo-dated by Dunlop folks on an individual basis. The big event,washed out by Hurricane Irene, was to bring together a smallernumber of media and industry members for a breakfast andplay-testing session at McEnroe’s Tennis Academy the Sundaybefore the tournament began. “It’s always great to get people tohit with the product,” said Nitsche.

Most of the non-sales specific efforts offstage focused onbuilding word-of-mouth, trying to create sales from exposure.Clearly, the continued blooming of social networks—the Twitter-ing, Tumblring, Facebooking and YouTubeing of the world—hasbeen a boon to these attention-grabbing efforts. This year’s win-ner at the Open for maximizing attention while keeping costsdown was probably a Head “press conference,” featuring script-ed and improvised Novak Djokovic-Maria Sharapova interplay.

An “interview” began with a blond be-wigged Djokovicimpersonating the Russian, only to have her interrupt in mockoutrage. Still photographers, video cameras and print and digitalreporters captured it all, and for the cost of an hour media eventat a midtown Manhattan hotel (making it exceedingly conve-nient for NYC’s print, video and digital media to attend), tennisand celebrity fans were led onto the web, where they could seemore of the stars and their YouTek racquets in video “faux”action.

Without getting into any cost-benefit specifics, Allison Bar-nett, communications manager at Head/Penn Racquet Sports,

The US Open is a cost-effective venue for manufacturers tofind a captive industry audience—and they target that audiencein different ways.

PROMOTIONALMATERIAL


PROMOTIONALMATERIALThe US Open is a cost-effective venue for manufacturers tofind a captive industry audience—and they target that audiencein different ways.


explained, “The goal [was] to get Novak and Maria in the mediawith the Head products and showcase them with our brand. In theend, the exposure helps generate hype with our productsand translates into sales.”

Nontraditional ApproachesDonnay, which has been re-introducing itself as a rac-quet company to the North American market for thepast year, also took a nontraditional approach on theindirect selling route. For most, the brand is remem-bered for its Laver-Borg-Agassi past, rather thanthought of for its Blake-Courier-Wilander present.

Bill Gray, Donnay USA marketing director, saidthat in addition to a limited budget, the company’schallenge was, “We’re an old brand/new brand.We have little market share and … knew we'dhave to be different and kind of off-the-wall toattract [tennis and mainstream media], whichis why we went for the ping-pong joint instead ofthe usual stand-with-a-drink-and-try-to-out-shout-the-deejay variety [of party].”

For a few hours on the Friday eveningbefore the Open began, the company took overthe trendy table tennis/bar SPiN New York.Describing the event as a very cost-effective“soft sell,” costing less than five-figures, Gray saidthat combining an attendee tournament withDonnay pros available to talk up the racquets’ ben-efits resulted in attention from tennis media, as wellas Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone,Men’s Health—all of whom he plans to follow upwith in the spring when they do their annual ten-nis/lifestyle stories.

Gray also received requests from local televi-sion media, although potential coverage waspre-empted by their need to cover preparationsfor Hurricane Irene. The planning and mea-sure of success did not include a direct paral-lel between the party budget and sales, butarea racquet dealers, some carrying the lineand some not, were invited; and amongthose who accepted was one “big time NYCretailer” who sales staff had been toldwould not handle the line but who cameand gave the reps a chance to “convincehim why we belong on the wall.”

Not So Much PartyingNeeding no such convincing about why their racquets belongedon “the wall” were the retailers, media, players, fans, and othersthroughout the industry touched (in marketing parlance) by themulti-front efforts of Prince. Rather than a traditional US Openparty, the company chose this year to “focus our energy andresources on activities surrounding the event,” said Zach Perles,vice president of marketing/communication at Prince.

Coupons for the EXO3 racquet and T-shirts were handed outthroughout New York City to drive traffic to retailers as well as toencourage fans to interact with the company’s Facebook page.

Prince had its usual presence on the National Ten-nis Center grounds. And since it also uses theOpen as a way to connect with their juniorplayers—bringing them in to hit with the Tourteam and having them participate in some rac-quet testing—the investment seemed to showthe potential for a future payoff in sales asPrince junior Oliver Golding (who was also usingcompany string and footwear) won the US OpenJunior Boys’ championship and two of the fourplayers in the Junior Girls’ doubles championshipswere playing with EXO3s as well.“Parties aren’t necessarily done for sales,” said

a sales rep for a different company, who didn’t wantto be named. “To be able to quantify whether they’reworth it, I think that’s difficult. If dollars are tight,instead of blowing thousands of dollars on alcohol,you get creative.”

One of the industry’s biggest players, Wilson,decided to let its ubiquitous US Open balls and play-ers led by Roger Federer and Serena Williams talkfor it on court. Off the court, the company put itsemphasis on promoting to the industry at anevent at the ExitArt gallery on Manhattan’s WestSide, featuring juniors, tour players and IMGmodels strutting down a catwalk in 2012 fash-ions.

“The fashion show intention is to scaledown from the huge parties that Wilson usedto have and concentrate on growing ourbusiness,” said Laura Lualhati, communica-tions manager for Wilson Racquet Sports.

“This year, we had outside [non-tennis] media[attending, including] GQ, Men’sHealth, WWD, Fitness and Self. …Our intention was to spend timewith our top accounts, our topmedia, and to introduce Wilson tothose who may not know us as fash-ion-forward and high-performanceapparel.”Even if you can’t figure out an

agreed-to formula on spending versussales, there is still the bottom line thatlooms over company finances. Accord-

ing to Bruce Levine, veteran of many a US Open party and gener-al manager of Courtside Racquet Club in Lebanon, N.J.: “You needto have the exposure. You need credibility for the line and brand.Later on you might use the money for promo money and salesincentives. ...I think they need to do those kinds of things to pro-mote the product. But do I order more? I think I’m going to orderbased on performance.” �

In New York for the US Open, the Prince team (facing page) gathered in Grand Central Terminal, Wilson apparel (this page, fromtop) hit the runway, Head showed off Djokovic and Sharapova, and Donnay President Jerry Choe and fitness adviser Dr. AndersCohen played table tennis with James Blake.

F A C I L I T Y A S S I S T A N C E

B Y R O B I N B A T E M A N

We’ve all seen the emails or stories announcing avail-able USTA funding: line grants for 10 and UnderTennis, matching funds for resurfacing, fencing,

lighting; percentage grants for new courts and facilities.Money’s great, of course. But the USTA has more than

cash available for tennis facilities. The USTA has a plethora ofresources, from facility concept designs through contract bidreview—and many things in between.Who benefits from USTA funding, resources and recom-

mendations? Everyone, at all types of facilities, including pub-lic parks and private clubs; elementary, middle and highschools; college campuses; and even private educational insti-tutions. If you’re in the business of promoting tennis, increas-ing traffic, or training your staff, check out what the USTA hasavailable.While applying for benefits is involved, the applicants

aren’t made to jump through hoops. However, you do have tohave your ducks in a row—but generally, if you have a fewstragglers, the USTA helps you get them in line. Visitwww.usta.com/facilities for more info, and to apply.

Resources and AssistanceAdvocacy: There’s no question—standing before the

city council or county commissioners asking for large sums ofmoney will spark heated discussions. The USTA understandsthe importance of connecting with local governments in posi-tive ways and provides tools to help you create effective, pol-ished presentations for your money/project asking sessions.This allows you to not only score big in developing con-structive working relationships, but also helps get policy

makers to buy into your facility’s wants and dreams.“The Big Serve,” the USTA’s advocacy initiative

(www.usta.com/thebigserve), offers a “how-to” handbook forcreating effective advocacy goals tailored to local needs so youcan get your ideas and projects up and running while givingsuggestions and tips for overcoming some common, and notso common, obstacles. Further, the USTA employs advocacyconsultants to help jump-start your objectives. “Many of ourclients have visions, but they don’t know where or how tostart,” says David Lasota, USTA’s National Technical Consul-tant. That’s where USTA advocacy consultants come into play.

Technical: Technical consultants provide assistance inthe development of facility concept plans, design and techni-cal reviews, submissions, and development of specs for 10and Under Tennis. They also make recommendations so thatyour facility is safe. Tech consultants can review constructiondocuments and bid documents and make sure you are askingthe right questions.When Stratford Academy, a private school located in

Macon, Ga., wanted to build a new tennis court complex onits grounds, Jim Daws, president of Sierra Development andchairman of buildings and grounds at the Academy, discov-ered how beneficial the technical advice could be. “We werestarting from scratch,” says Daws. “We needed to remove sixexisting out-of-date courts.” Questions buzzed: What orienta-tion do the courts need to be? What about drainage?The school’s tennis coach, Jaime Kaplan, hooked Daws up

with Robin Jones, USTA National facilities consultant. “Robinthen put me in contact with David Lasota,” Daws says. “Theentire process was very involved. We’d submit a proposal and

The USTA’s Facilities Assistance Programcan help you out with everything fromfunding, to resources, to advocacy, totechnical advice.


HELPINGHANDSThe USTA’s Facilities Assistance Programcan help you out with everything fromfunding, to resources, to advocacy, totechnical advice.

HELPINGHANDS


they’d get back to us with, ‘rethink your drainage.’”For Stratford, the idea was hatched in May 2009 and con-

struction began that fall. Despite some weather hiccups, theschool played its first high-school season matches on brand newcourts in April 2010. “We have eight new lighted courts, fourwith blended lines for 10 and Under Tennis, locker rooms, anda concession area,” says Daws. “The (technical) reviews kept usfrom making so many mistakes. And the end result is that wewill have a beautiful tennis complex for years to come.”

Funding: USTA allots funding under three different cate-gories. Category 1 includes basic improvements like fixed courtamenities such as backboards, lighting, fencing, and 10 andUnder lines. USTA will contribute up to $4,000, but that moneymust be matched by the local community.Category 2 provides 20 percent of the total cost for resur-

facing courts (up to $35,000). Courts must be located in publicparks. Category 3 provides 20 percent with a $50,000 max fornew facility construction or existing facility reconstruction andexpansion projects.Ken Sumrow, director of tennis at High Point Tennis in

Plano, Texas, applied for Category 1 funds. The facility wantedto resurface five courts and also wanted to install blended linesfor short courts. High Point had a heavily used practice wall withcourts laid end to end. Sumrow converted his backboard areainto a 10 and Under Tennis training/practice spot. Not only canfolks still hit on the wall, but now, kids can train, practice andplay matches on short courts.“Receiving the grant money made it easier to install the

blended lines,” says Sumrow. “Now, kids come out and practiceon their own. There’s more energy and excitement during

lessons. Kids are having fun and playing rather than [drilling],where their lessons were centered on instruction.”Kids aren’t the only ones who love High Point’s new short-

er courts. At first some of the coaches were apprehensive, butnow they fight over them. Sumrow applied for money duringJanuary 2010 and students stepped onto the shorter courts inJune.

Rolling DeadlinesWhat about deadlines? There aren’t any. All USTA FacilitiesAssistance and Resources have rolling applications. Simply com-plete and submit an online Facilities Assistance Form; correctlycompleted forms generate an automatic email notification.Next, within 30 days a national consultant will contact your

organization to assess and clarify your community’s needs.After the assessment, the consultant evaluates your request. Ifgranted, communications between advocacy and/or technicalconsultants will begin. Roll up your sleeves, the work starts here.Then, if USTA believes your community qualifies, you’ll

receive an invitation to apply for money. Be careful not to jumpthe gun here. “There are some facilities who will apply beforethey should,” says Jones. “Grant applications are invitationonly.”Want windscreens, updated lighting or 10 and Under Tennis

lines for your tennis center? Fill out your Facility Assistanceform online today. “Our 2011 goal for 10 and Under courts is3,000,” says Lasota.Money and resources are available for you to whip your

courts into shape. Visit usta.com/facilities to see how your facil-ity can benefit. �

O U T S T A N D I N G F A C I L I T I E S

The USTA’s Outstanding Facility Awards Programrecognizes excellent facilities every year.

ANNUALEXCELLENCEANNUALEXCELLENCE

Private Facility Winners� Centercourt Athletic Club, Chatham, N.J.� River Hills Club, Jackson, Miss.Educational Institution� Jaime Kaplan Tennis Center, Macon, Ga.

Large Tennis Centers (11 or more courts)� Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville, Fla. (FeaturedFacility Winner)

� Southlake Tennis Center, Southlake, Texas� The Tennis Center at Steamboat Springs, Steam-boat Springs, Colo.

�Wagon Wheel Tennis Center, Coppell, Texas

Small Tennis Centers (2-10 courts)� Lone Tree Park & Tennis Center, Littleton, Colo.� QuickStart Courts at Kiest Park, Dallas, Texas

32 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY November/December 2011 www.racquetsportsindustry.com www.racquetsportsindustry.com

The USTA’s Outstanding Facility Awards Programrecognizes excellent facilities every year.

Every year the USTA honors tennis facilitiesthat meet criteria that includes overall excel-lence in such areas as site layout, accom-

modations, aesthetics, amenities and programsthat support the growth of tennis. For 2011, the30th year of the Outstanding Facility Awards pro-gram, nine facilities were honored, and one ofthose was selected for special recognition.

The Jonesville Tennis Center in Gainesville, Fla.,was named the USTA’s Outstanding Facility of theYear and honored during the Awards Breakfast atthe USTA’s Semi-Annual Meeting held in New Yorkduring the US Open. A day earlier, Jonesville TennisCenter along with the other eight Outstanding Facil-ities were recognized during the USTA TechnicalCommittee meeting.

“I’m delighted to recognize these facilities thatpromote and develop tennis in their communities,”said Jon Vegosen, USTA president and chairman ofthe board, in presenting plaques to tennis directorsor managers of the nine facilities. Each winner hasa 10 and Under Tennis component as part of theirprogramming.

The 2011 recipients, in four award categories,were selected based on the following:� Overall layout and adaptation to the site.� Excellence of court surface and lights.� Ease of maintenance.� Accommodations for players, spectators,press/officials.

� Aesthetics: Graphical representation of facility,use of signs, landscaping, etc.

� Amenities: Casual seating for spectators, foodservices, and social area.

� Programs supporting the USTA and the growthof tennis overall.For more information on the USTA’s Outstand-

ing Facility Awards program, and to find out howto nominate facilities, visitusta.com/facilityawards, or email [email protected].

Jonesville Tennis CenterGainesville, Fla.

November/December 2011 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 33www.racquetsportsindustry.com www.racquetsportsindustry.com

Centercourt Athletic ClubChatham, N.J.

River Hills ClubJackson, Miss.

Jaime Kaplan Tennis CenterMacon, Ga.

Southlake Tennis CenterSouthlake, Texas

The Tennis Center at Steamboat SpringsSteamboat Springs. Colo.

Wagon Wheel Tennis CenterCoppell, Texas

Lone Tree Park & Tennis CenterLittleton, Colo.

QuickStart Courts at Kiest ParkDallas, Texas


tension head, though.8. Pull tension on the second cross string,remove the machine clamp and startingclamp.9. Clamp off the second cross string andcontinue as normal for the rest of thecrosses.The most obvious benefit of this tech-

nique is the avoidance of using a startingknot, the use of which can give rise to allsorts of issues. Using the starting clamp toback up the machine clamp after the firstpull avoids pulling against one starting clamponly, which occasionally leads to string slip-page, especially if the jaws of your startingclamp are not kept perfectly clean. Also youdo not have a starting clamp on that firstcross string for any great length of timewhere you may bang into it if not careful.5 sets of Unique Big Hitter Blue 17 to:Dr. J. Elkovitch, Auburn, NY

RACQUETBALL VIBRATION DAMPENERSAs one of those "other" stringers who con-centrates primarily on racquetball frames,I've noticed how frequently a stringer getsdone with one of these frames only to noticethat he (or she) has forgotten to include theimbedded vibration dampener. The easiestway I have found for remembering to stringthese dampeners into the mains is simplynot to remove it in the first place. Cut thestrings, but leave the dampener attached tothe mains in the throat area. If a dampenerdoes not require being strung into the stringbed, you can use a rubber band to attach itto the handle until the job is done, as othershave previously recommended.5 sets of Luxilon SuperSense 125 to:

POLYESTER PADSI see a lot of premature breakage of poly-ester-based strings near the tip of theframe. I find that polyester-based stringsdo not have the strength to withstand amis-hit near the top of the frame. I have now started to put “power

pads” on the top 8 to 12 main strings tohelp round the string along the frameinstead of such square corners. I useleather to provide a thin pad so the stringdoesn’t extend beyond the bumperguardand also because the leather can givesomewhat during ball contact. I use newleather grips and cut them up into smallstrips to use as pads for this. I do not use this method on Babolat

racquets because they already have arounded grommet called the “woofer sys-tem.”Since starting to use this method I’ve

seen fewer and fewer polyester-basedstrings breaking near the racquet tip.5 sets of Gamma Synthetic Gut withWearGuard 16 to: Doug Hofer, CS, Visalia, CA

TWO-PIECE STARTING TECHNIQUEI start the cross strings on two-piece jobsusing a finishing knot, but without pullingdirectly against the starting clamp.This is the technique I use:1. Weave the second cross.2. Weave first cross string.3. Tension both at the same time, byputting both strings into the jaws ofthe tension head simultaneously.

4. Set the machine clamp on the secondcross string on the far side, away fromthe tension head.

5. Back that up with a starting clamp onthe second string on the outside of theframe.

6. This allows you to pull tension on thefirst cross string, clamp, and tie offimmediately with the finishing knot ofyour choice.

7. Weave the third cross string. Makecertain you leave enough slack out-side of the frame between the sec-ond and third crosses to reach the

Tips & Techniques

Kelly Kirk, Chatfield, MNMAKING ROOM IN TIGHT TIE-OFF HOLESRacquet manufacturers usually try toplace tie-off holes where the anchorstring’s path through the hole is such thatit doesn’t block the passage of the tie-offstring. Sometimes, though, you runacross a tie-off hole where the anchorstring angles across the grommet, makingit difficult to get the free end of the stringthrough unless you are using a stiff poly.On tie-off holes such as this, I make a

little extra room for the tie-off string bybracing the palm of my hand against theframe, and using my index and middlefinger to pull the anchor string up andaway from the centerline of the racquet.Have the free end of the string already togo in your needle nose pliers before youdo this.The anchor string doesn’t deflect that

much inside the grommet barrel, but youshould be able to create just enough of agap to admit the end of the tie-off string.5 sets of Super Spin 16 to:L. Hodges, Apple Valley, CA

CUTTING KEVLARWorking with aramid (AKA Kevlar) stringscan be an exercise in frustration, not onlybecause it doesn’t stretch and yet is sosoft it often refuses to go through tie-offholes, but also because eventually youhave to cut it, and the jaws on your side-cutters must be perfect to sever it cleanly.Your best bet, then, when cutting

aramid string, is to have one end fixed (ifyou just tied off, you’re set on thisaccount), and pull fairly strongly on thefree end while applying the clippers.While the clippers alone often won’t do it,keeping the string under tension whilecutting gets the job done.5 sets of Babolat Revenge 16 to:Vern Blanchard, Ramona, CA

—Greg Raven �


Readers’ Know-How in Action

Tips and Techniques submitted since 1992 by USRSA membersand appearing in this column, have all been gathered into asearchable database on www.racquettech.com, the officialmember-only website of the USRSA. Submit tips to: GregRaven, USRSA, 330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084; or [email protected].

? Ask the Experts

ELECTRONIC CALIBRATORS

I READ WITH INTEREST GREGPeek’s reference to his handhelddigital scale, which he uses to cali-

brate his stringing machine.I went through Google and found

UltraSport scales on the Internet, butwhere do you buy one and how do youuse one for calibrating a stringingmachine? I have a Gamma stringer and Iuse Gamma's calibration device.

Can you give me a little more infor-mation?

ELECTRONIC CALIBRATIONmeters work very similarly to the

spring tension calibrator you currently use.You connect one end of the electronicmeter to the stringing machine turntable— either to a billiard or to the machineclamps, depending on what your machinemanufacturer recommends — and theother end to the tension head. Pull ten-

sion, check theread-out, andmake any need-ed adjustments.UltraSport scalesare probably available many places, partic-ularly those that cater to fishermen, but wegot ours from Grand Slam Stringers on-line(grandslamstringers.com).

APR�S LE D�LUGESOME OF OUR RACQUETS GOTcaught in a flood. Each was strungwith synthetic strings. The frames

are dirty, but seem fine otherwise.Should I restring them or will water notaffect them? Please advise.

SORRY TO HEAR YOU WEREflooded out. That must be miser-

able.The water shouldn't affect the string

itself, but it might have dissolved any

anti-friction coating on the string. If youare particular about strings and string ten-sion, there’s no point being sentimentalabout the old string: Cut it out and replaceit.

If the string and string tension are notthat critical on these racquets, though, youcan always hit with them and see howthey feel before deciding whether or notto restring them.

TESTING INSTALLEDSTRING TENSION

I WAS WONDERING IF YOU knewwhat string tension measurementtools are available in the US? I am

looking for a device that would enable meto check string tension of installed stringsto see if there has been any loss.

THERE ARE TWO BASIC technolo-gies. The first involves physically

deflecting the string and measuring the

A

Q


Your Equipment Hotline

AQ

A

Q

deflection, and the other involves lis-tening to the sound of the stringbed

when you hit it,applying a FastFourier Trans-form, and deriv-ing the tensionfrom the pitchand other vari-ables.

In the firstcategory, there isthe Babolat RDC

machine ($5,300), which pulls thecenter of thestringbed outof plane usingan electricmotor, andgives you anumber thatcan be used forlater compari-son. (Of course, the RDC also per-forms many other tests.) At the other

end of the scaleare the venerableTourna StringMe-ter from Unique($34.99) and theGamma StringTension Tester($17.99), whichmeasure deflec-

tion at the intersection of a main anda cross and gives you a relative ten-sion, which can — depending on thecircumstances — also be very close tothe actual installed tension.

In the second category, there isthe Beers ERT Tennis Computer (threemodels — 300, 700, and 1000 —$199 and up) that clip to the center ofthe stringbed, induce vibrations in thestrings, and then measure the

stringbed’s response, givingyou results in pounds or kilo-grams, as well as a “DynamicTension” reading. Finally, ifyou have an iPhone, you canuse the racquetTune app($1.99), which listens to the vibration of thestringbed as you manually ping it, and deter-mines tension in pounds or kilograms, and“Dynamic Tension,” too. racquetTune also

has the ability to check swingweight (iniPhones with cameras), and the fresh-ness of your tennis balls, although ten-sion readings and tennis ball tests mustbe done in a very quiet environment,which can limit their usefulness.

—Greg Raven �We welcome your questions. Please send them to Rac-quet Sports Industry, 330 Main St., Vista, CA, 92084;fax: 760-536-1171; email: [email protected].



String Playtest

EASE OF STRINGING(compared to other strings)Number of testers who said it was:much easier 0somewhat easier 6about as easy 20not quite as easy 11not nearly as easy 1

OVERALL PLAYABILITY(compared to string played most often)Number of testers who said it was:much better 0somewhat better 12about as playable 10not quite as playable 14not nearly as playable 2

OVERALL DURABILITY(compared to other stringsof similar gauge)Number of testers who said it was:much better 1somewhat better 12about as durable 19not quite as durable 5not nearly as durable 1

RATING AVERAGESFrom 1 to 5 (best)Playability 3.6Durability (11th overall) 3.4Power (20th overall) 3.4Control (5th overall) 3.7Comfort 3.6Touch/Feel 3.4Spin Potential (5th overall) 3.3Holding Tension 3.3Resistance to Movement (18th overall) 3.4

FXP Tour is a new three-layer, multi-core multifilament string from Head.Head’s goal with FXP Tour was totake advantage of the burgeoningacceptance of polyester string in thetennis world, capitalizing on the ben-efits of polyester while producing asofter, more playable string. Accord-ing to Head, FXP Tour gives playersmany of the benefits of polyester in apowerful, multifilament string. It alsohas very unique playing characteris-tics giving the racquet a lot of powerand a great solid feel.

At FXP Tour’s core are four poly-ester monofilament fibers. The poly-ester increases durability, while usingfour strands instead of one reducesvibration, and increases dampeningand comfort. According to Head, thecombination produces a great solidsound when the ball hits the string.Wrapped around the core are eightmultifilament layers, for increasedpower, enhanced playability, softtouch, and high elasticity. The outercoating is a non-friction liquid, toimprove string installation and increasespin.

Head FXP Tour is designed for allplayers who are looking to utilize thebenefits of polyester but need a power-ful, comfortable string.

FXP Tour is available in 16 gaugeonly, in Liquid Blue and Liquid Black. Itis priced from $12 for sets of 40 feet.For more information or to order, con-tact Head at 800-289-7366, or visithead.com. Be sure to read the conclu-sion for more information about get-ting a free set to try for yourself.

IN THE LABWe tested the Liquid Black FXP Tour.The coil measured 40 feet. The diame-ter measured 1.34-1.37 mm prior tostringing, and 1.29-1.32 mm afterstringing. We recorded a stringbed stiff-ness of 76 RDC units immediately afterstringing at 60 pounds in a Wilson ProStaff 6.1 95 (16 x 18 pattern) on a con-

stant-pull machine.After 24 hours (no playing),

stringbed stiffness measured 69 RDCunits, representing a 9 percent ten-sion loss. Our control string, PrinceSynthetic Gut Original Gold 16,measured 78 RDC units immedi-ately after stringing and 71 RDCunits after 24 hours, representinga 9 percent tension loss. FXP Tour added13 grams to the weight of our unstrungframe.

The string was tested for five weeksby 38 USRSA playtesters, with NTRP rat-ings from 3.5 to 6.0. These are blindtests, with playtesters receiving


unmarked strings in unmarkedpackages. Average number of hoursplaytested was 26.7.

There are no special stringing instruc-tions for FXP Tour, so playtesters werefree to set reference tension as normal.However, out of the package FXP Tourexhibits a lot of coil memory and feelswiry, which might have led some toinstall it at a lower tension. FXP Touralso has a definite texture, but this didnot interfere with installation.

No playtester broke his sample dur-ing stringing, 11 reported problems withcoil memory, three reported problemstying knots, and two reported frictionburn.

ON THE COURTFXP Tour scored well above average inControl, Comfort, Playability, Durability,Power, and Touch/Feel. Out of the 157strings that we have playtested for publi-cation, Head FXP Tour’s overall scorewas — not surprisingly — also wellabove average.

CONCLUSIONBy incorporating polyester into the coreof a multifilament string, Head seems tohave covered a lot of bases with FXPTour. Both the ratings and the com-ments reflect the versatility of FXP Tour:You could recommend it to your cus-tomers either as a playable string withgreat durability, or a durable string withgreat playability.

If you think that Head FXP Tourmight be for you, fill out the coupon toget a free set to try.. —Greg Raven �

Head FXP Tour


FREE PLAYTEST STRINGPROGRAM

Head will send a free set of FXP Tour

to USRSA members who cut out (or

copy) this coupon and send it to:

Offer expires 15 Nov 2011

Offer only available to USRSA members

in the US.

Name:

USRSA Member number:

Phone:

Email:If you print your email clearly, we will notify

you when your sample will be sent.


USRSA, Attn: Head String Offer330 Main Street, Vista, CA 92084 or fax to 760-536-1171, or email the

info below to [email protected]

“ This is a lively string with superiorcomfort and exceptional tension mainte-nance.” 4.5 male all-court player usingVolkl Power Bridge 1 strung at 56/54pounds CP (Forten Dynamix 16)

“ Outstanding feel, especially in thebeginning. The texture adds bite.” 4.5male all-court player using Wilson n5strung at 60 pounds LO (Wilson NXT 17)

“ This is a very comfortable string withgood power and great control. The feel isexcellent.” 4.5 male all-court playerusing Wilson BLX Tour strung at 50pounds CP (Luxilon Alu Power 16L)

“ Very little string movement. The roughtexture increases bite and control.” 4.5male serve-and-volley player using WilsonK Three strung at 58 pounds LO (BabolatRPM Blast 16)

“ Great power and control, but a littleFor the rest of the tester comments, visitwww.racquetsportsindustry.com.

TESTERS TALKrough on the tendons.” 4.0 male all-courtplayer using Wilson BLX Pro Open strung at56 pounds CP (Weiss Cannon Black 5 Edge16L)

“ This is a comfortable string with extrapop. Hitting heavy balls is easy. For such adurable string, the touch is great.” 4.0male baseliner with heavy spin using WilsonnSix One (16x18) strung at 60 pounds LO(Wilson Natural Gut 16)

“ Decent tension maintenance and durabili-ty. The bite is underwhelming despite the stifffeel.” 5.0 male all-court player using Tec-nifibre T Flash 315 VO2 Max strung at 56pounds CP (Tecnifibre Black Code 17)

“ Control and feel are adequate. This is agood overall string, if not superior in any onecategory.” 4.0 female all-court player usingPrince O3 Tour MP strung at 56 pounds CP(Tecnifibre NRG2 17)

Tennis insiders know that some ofthe most exciting singles matchesof the US Open’s second weekend

happen on the side courts—in the juniorfinals. Unfortunately, those insiders areabout the only people who know.This isn’t by necessity, but because

the spectator market has been largelyuntapped for this event. The scene isalmost sad in a way: two courts withgreat tennis surrounded by mostly emptyseats. The scene is saved simply by thenature of unspoiled competition and theenergy and excitement of youth.It doesn’t need to be this way. Just a

little marketing nudge could build acrowd, which would benefit everyoneinvolved: the players, the tournament,the USTA and the local sports fans whodon’t know what they’re missing.Currently, the boys’ and girls’ finals

are played simultaneously, which halvesthe potential audience. Instead, playthem back-to-back on the new Court 17.It’s a great venue—it has an atmospherenot of a “side court” but of a smallstadium.Then advertise it a bit. The USTA has

the means to market to the core demo-graphic practically for free. During thepreceding 13 days of play, mention thejunior finals on the Arthur Ashe Stadiumscoreboard at changeovers; put an ad orarticle in the program; push the event onUSOpen.org. Plug the list of big playerswho are former junior champs: AndyMurray, Lindsay Davenport, Andy Rod-dick, Magdalena Maleeva, Marcelo Rios,Natalia Zvereva, Stefan Edberg and Jen-nifer Capriati, to name more than a few.Sell it as, “See the stars before they’restars.” People will watch this—it’s whythey watch minor-league baseball andhockey, too.

Yes, recent history has shown thatmost Ashe ticketholders don’t come tothe NTC five hours before the men’sfinal to watch juniors play. That’s fine.They’re not the target audience anyway.Instead, woo the locals. Savvy New

York City sports fans will watch justabout any good game if you just letthem know where it’s being played. Thesame people who come to the US OpenQualifying tournament could also bedrawn into the junior finals (so advertisethere, too).

Make it a bring-your-child event andnotify local tennis clubs and youthsports leagues. What parents wouldn’tlove the opportunity to have their sonsor daughters see the best young athletesin the world? It would be exciting, edu-cational and (who could frown on thisresult?) help instill a love of tennis.Even offer free admission, then let

the fans stay around to watch the men’sfinal on the big screens while eating din-ner in the food court.Or charge $5 or $10 (except for

kids—they watch for free) to add per-ceived value. Use the profits to help paythe finalists’ expenses for maybe havingto stay in New York City an extra night,or donate the funds to USTA Serves or

Chris Nicholson is a tenniswriter based in New York Cityand author of the book Pho-tographing Tennis (www.PhotographingTennis.com).


‘In the ideal world, wewould play the boys’final and the girls’ finalback-to-back on thesame day in a biggerspace. It would be alovely experience.’

the Grand Slam Development Fund.This all is, of course, not as easy as it

sounds. Lew Brewer, the director ofJunior Competition for USTA PlayerDevelopment, notes that the schedulingramifications can be complex. Potentialproblems ripple through the schedulefrom days before the final to the hoursfollowing, when players are trying toleave the city after the tennis is done.But Brewer also agrees that the junior

finals could be an event with a more spe-cial feel. “In the ideal world, we wouldplay the boys’ final and the girls’ finalback-to-back on the same day in a biggerspace,” he says. “It would be a lovelyexperience, and I think it would draw fanattraction and increase the number ofpeople who watch the match. The prob-lem is that you would change the matchinventory that’s available for the tourna-ment as a whole. But I never rule any-thing out. I always say, ‘Let’s talk about itevery year. Let’s never say never.’ ”That tenacity is great. Let’s amplify it

and say “2012.” The USTA can figure thisout. After all, this is the same organiza-tion that pioneered tie-breaks, equal prizemoney and video replays. They can cer-tainly hurdle the obstacles to making thejunior finals extraordinary. If for no otherreason, do it for the kids. Maximize theexcitement for their final match.There’s a lot to love about this event,

and it’s time to share that with the fans. �

We welcome your opinions. Please emailcomments to [email protected].

Your Serve


Junior ClassA longtime tennis writer says with just alittle marketing nudge, the USTA can make theUS Open Junior Championships a true ‘event.’B Y C H R I S N I C H O L S O N

Documents

201111 Racquet Sports Industry