Is This the End of the PTR?
Who Will Save the PTR Dennis Van der Meer Built?

• A Wave of Departures Under the Hale/Rolley Leadership — and Now the Coach Developers Have Walked Out.

• Dennis Van der Meer Would Roll Over in His Grave.

• Is the Organization Worth

Formation of the Hale/Rolley Leadership Team

I was told that 2022 was a bad year for the PTR/PPR organization. It was February of that year when Lynne Rolley was elected Chair of the PTR Board of Directors. She succeeded Karl Hale for a three-year term as only the second woman in that role. (In 1999, Jean Hughes Mills became the first PTR chairperson.)

2024 – The Departures Start

When Dan Santorum departed in March of 2024, the writing was on the wall: The leadership team wanted fresh blood for the organization. Seems to me that no one cared about Dan’s history or his countless accomplishments during his 38-year tenure. And was there also a lack of respect for Dennis Van der Meer and his legacy in the U.S. and international tennis industry? Fortunately for our industry, it didn’t take Dan long to restart his career, and he’s now the highly respected CEO of the Directors Club of America. Jarrett Chirico had the foresight to grab him and, with him, a myriad of connections in racquet sports.

More staff departures followed that year, much to the chagrin of the rest of the staff.

When Dan Santorum’s replacement, Peter Hurley, was hired in August/September of 2024, I thought that was a very good choice, considering his accomplishments, experience, and connections in our industry.

That September was also the month of PTR’s rather controversial move from Hilton Head Island to Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

2025/2026 More Staff Exodus and CEO Merry-Go-Round

In early 2025, another highly successful 31-year staff member, International Director Inaki Balzola, left the organization, followed by Director of Membership, Helma Cap. Helma had been with the organization for 40 years.

Now the CEO merry-go-round started. Peter Hurley‘s tenure lasted about a year, until September of 2025. By November, 2025, Martin van Daalen had been announced as CEO. Martin resigned in March of 2026.

I’m not sure whether the Board started to actively search for a new CEO, but Lynne Rolley was made Interim CEO in March of 2026 and permanent CEO in June. At around the same time, Sarah Ansboury, pioneering Pickleball Managing Director and Padel Vice President, was let go.

At the end of October, bombshell resignations were reported to me: Vice President Milena Vidos, Director of Education Isaac McBroom, Director of Marketing Caitlyn Fries, and International Director Nicola Slater resigned within a day of each other.

To make matters worse, according to a letter obtained by Racket Business and addressed to the Board, many (or all?) of the Coach Developers resigned. I added the entire letter at the end of this article.

PTR CEO Lynne Rolley told Racket Business that no Coach Developers resignation letter was sent to the Board, and that a PTR statement is forthcoming.

The impactful paragraph in the DC letter was:

“Our decision to resign will stand unless the following actions are taken:

The immediate removal of Karl and Lynne from their respective leadership positions within PTR, accompanied by a permanent prohibition on any future involvement, affiliation, employment, advisory capacity, or influence within the organization, whether directly or indirectly.

The reinstatement of the staff members who have left their positions recently.”

Wow. That is a powerful statement coming from a group the organization needs to create new revenue.

How did we get here?

Lots of rumors have now begun to trickle down and have landed on my desk. Former staff members describe a workplace where people were afraid to speak up, and decisions were reversed without explanation 

The Departures:

• Dan Santorum

• Brian Parkkonen

• Inaki Balzola

• Peter Hurley

• Martin van Daalen

• Helma Cap

• Sarah Ansboury

• Milena Vidos

• Nicola Slater

• Isaac McBroom

• Caitlyn Fries

• Plus over a dozen Coach Developers

  

Think about it. According to my calculations from LinkedIn profiles, the departed staff alone represented 140 years with the PTR and 206 years in the industry. So many truly capable people gone. What organization can survive such a massive cannibalization of their workforce? These were all people who made the PTR run on a daily basis.

Let the hiring begin

Isaac McBroom left on Wednesday last week. By Friday, his replacement was already hired: According to a PTR press release, the organization had hired Hatem McDadi, formerly Tennis Canada's high-performance chief from Toronto. Another Canadian? Don’t get me wrong, I love Canada and most Canadians. But, really? Is leadership stacking the staff with friends?

Also on Friday, we received a press release that Randy Walker was appointed Global PTR Brand and Communications Advisor. Leadership must be very concerned about their reputation in light of the bad PR with all those resignations.

Lynne Rolley’s Response

I had asked Lynne for a statement about the resignations. Here is her reply:

We are very excited at the PTR and have received an overwhelming response to having world-renowned racquet sports experts joining our staff in the last week, such as former Tennis Canada and USTA executives Hatem McDadi and Randy Walker, respectively. They along with new staff hires that we will soon announce, will be part of our growing global coaching education team who will take the PTR to an even higher level of racquet sports education around the world.

With new vision and new direction there is often staff turnover in every line of successful businesses and we are personally sad to see some long-time employees leave. We wish them well and will always consider them part of the PTR family.

Lynne also sent me a link to the latest news item on the PTR website:
https://ptrtennis.org/en/news/

My final take

The situation where a CEO (Lynne Rolley) is located over 2,500 miles away (in the California Bay Area) and the Chairman (Karl Hale) is 2,400 miles away in another country (Toronto, Canada) is untenable, if you ask me. Does Lynne have any experience as CEO of a nonprofit organization? Karl is a tournament and club executive. When such outsiders try to lead an organization whose senior staff and Coach Developers have now walked out in protest, is that a recipe for success?

Rolley is clearly cleaning house. Is she trying to make the organization in her own image? She’s getting rid of good people and the Van der Meer connection/legacy.

Shame on the board members/board advisors, to whom Dennis was a friend and mentor, for letting this happen.

I have no skin in the game. I’m merely a friend of racket sports and a friend of the PTR as an organization with great staff members. But I agree with the Coach Developers. If Lynne Rolley and Karl Hale have any decency and backbone, they should resign immediately and ask all the people who resigned to come back. Including Dan Santorum.

I am sure the organization is worth saving. We owe it to Dennis Van der Meer to do so. And we owe it to all those people who put their sweat and heart into it. But saving it with Lynne Rolley and Karl Hale? Maybe not.

Letter from the Coach Developers to the Board:

Dear Members of the PTR Board of Directors,

It is with profound disappointment and a heavy heart that we, the Lead Coach Developers and Tennis Coach Developers, formally communicate our collective decision to part ways with the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) unless immediate and meaningful action is taken to address the current leadership situation.

We have dedicated countless hours, energy, and passion to advancing PTR’s mission, educating coaches, and strengthening the tennis community. Our commitment has always been to the organization, its members, and the development of coaches who positively impact athletes around the world.

However, recent decisions and actions have brought us to a point where we can no longer continue to support the organization under its current leadership structure.

Our decision to resign will stand unless the following actions are taken:

The immediate removal of Karl and Lynne from their respective leadership positions within PTR, accompanied by a permanent prohibition on any future involvement, affiliation, employment, advisory capacity, or influence within the organization, whether directly or indirectly.

The reinstatement of the staff members who have left their positions recently.

These conditions are not presented lightly, nor are they driven by personal agendas. They reflect our collective concerns regarding leadership, accountability, organizational culture, and the future direction of PTR.

We believe that leadership should embody the same values we strive to instill in the coaches we educate: integrity, respect, transparency, accountability, and a commitment to serving others.

An organization’s greatest asset is its people. The individuals who have dedicated their careers to building PTR, supporting its members, and delivering exceptional coach education deserve to be valued, respected, and supported.

We cannot continue to represent and promote an organization whose leadership decisions we believe are inconsistent with the values and mission that initially inspired our involvement.

This decision is particularly difficult because we believe deeply in PTR’s mission and the impact it has had on the tennis industry. We remain passionate about coach education, professional development, and creating opportunities for coaches to grow and succeed.

Our hope is that the Board will recognize the seriousness of this collective decision and take the necessary steps to restore trust, rebuild relationships, and protect the future of PTR.

We are not walking away from the mission of coach education. We are standing up for the people, principles, and values that make that mission possible.

We respectfully request that the Board address these concerns with the urgency, transparency, and accountability they deserve.

Sincerely,

The Lead Coach Developers and Tennis Coach Developers

TYPTI—the hybrid racquet sport created by Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and pickleball on a standard pickleball court—may still be kicking around, though it seems to operate more as an indie passion project than a mainstream overnight craze.

While it generated some initial buzz for its high-bouncing channeled foam balls, custom 22-inch carbon fiber paddles, and unique "Stakes" scoring system, it hasn't quite managed to unseat pickleball or padel in the public eye.

Bellamy and the small core team behind it keep the project ticking via their official site and social channels [@playtypti], but it remains very much a niche, grassroots curiosity for racquet sports diehards looking to experiment with heavy spin and deep baseline play.

Is anyone playing TYPTI at all?

Some people may be playing it, but it's very much in that early, grassroots phase where adoption depends heavily on who you know or where you live.

Backed by high-profile names like Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy alongside investors like Drew Brees and Tony Robbins, TYPTI launched with a lot of media noise.

A look at where the community stands reveals a few clear themes:

• The Enthusiasts: There are pockets of dedicated players—particularly tennis converts looking for a way to use full strokes and heavy spin on a smaller footprint—organizing local games. Players in places like North Carolina and parts of Southern California have picked it up and run local meetups.

• The Gear Hurdle: One of the biggest complaints slowing down wider organic adoption is the cost barrier. Because it requires specialized equipment—specifically a 22-inch strung carbon fiber racquet and channeled foam balls—starter packs can feel pricey for a casual experiment, keeping it from spreading as spontaneously as pickleball did.

• The Court Conflict: Some traditional pickleball players have been resistant to sharing their dedicated courts with a hybrid sport that uses a different ball, no "kitchen" (non-volley zone), and entirely different rules.

Ultimately, TYPTI hasn't sparked a massive nationwide craze, but I heard that if you look at regional tennis-and-pickleball crossover groups, you may find small communities giving it a shot.