Hello dear readers, friends, and racket sports enthusiasts.

Welcome to the July 2025 issue—sun’s out, rackets up, and the sporting calendar’s gone full throttle. Fuelled by golden weather and a tidal wave of on-court action, we’ve pulled out all the stops to bring you the biggest Racket Business issue to date. Buckle up—this one’s stacked.

Before we dive into the meat of the July issue, a quick word for anyone looking to get in front of 14,780 racket sports industry insiders: this newsletter is a labour of love—hours and hours of research, writing, and wrangling, delivered free to you, the reader. That’s why we occasionally raise our hand to say: if you’ve got a product or service that belongs in this space, we’ve got the audience. Advertising in Racket Business isn’t just smart—it helps keep this whole racket running. Get in touch with Rich to discuss.

In the thick of this latest flurry, it hit us just how many sharp minds we know tucked away in the outer edges of the racket sport universe. So naturally, we did what any good racket-stirrers would do: we pestered. Relentlessly. The result? Two brave souls (either generous or simply too worn down to say no) agreed to give Racket Business the exclusive treatment.

Wayne Goldsmith is a bona fide legend in elite sports coaching circles—a coach of coaches, the kind who doesn't just talk shop, but rewrites the manual. And true to his Aussie roots, he doesn’t mince words. In our full, unedited interview, he fires straight from the hip—and hits the mark every time.

Then there’s Jack Oswald, who five years ago did the unthinkable: launched an entirely new category of racket sports gear, solo. At the end of our chat, he admitted the interview turned out more reflective than he’d expected. We’ll take that as a win. His story is full of grit, insight, and the kind of daring that just might nudge you into making your own leap.

Elsewhere in this issue, we spotlight the burgeoning growth of padel, examining its global expansion and the challenges it faces, such as noise concerns that could impact its future development. Pickleball continues to captivate enthusiasts, with discussions on its enthusiastic community and its influence on traditional racket sports.

In our coaching and player development section, we explore the evolving landscape of tennis coaching, emphasizing the need for creativity and adaptability to attract and retain players in a competitive environment. We also delve into the importance of selecting the right coach, offering insights to make this process more scientific and less coincidental.

Our technology feature highlights the latest advancements in racket sports tech which are transforming how players and coaches approach the game.

Additionally, we present industry news and updates, including the upcoming RSPA World Racquets Conference in Hawaii, offering opportunities for professional growth and networking in a tropical setting.

And that’s a preview of just a few of the 20 in-depth features we’re delivering for free to all you rackets sports industry folk, so settle down with a glass of something cold and enjoy the July issue of Racket Business.

If you're reading this for the first time but not yet a subscriber, join us today—it's completely free, and it ensures you never miss exclusive content like From Inside the Lines.

We’ve got a new name on the court this issue: Mantis. A tennis brand with 18 years under its belt and a fresh set of owners at the helm, they’re stepping up with a clear mission—backing the “committed amateur.” No fluff, no empty promises—just a serious focus on players and coaches who grind because they love the game. If you're a coach or club looking for a brand that actually wants to partner—not just plaster logos—Mantis wants to hear from you.

Rich & Tim

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From inside the lines…

Talent: The Most Misused Word in Sport?

After sitting down with Wayne Goldsmith for our exclusive Racket Business interview, our suspicion was confirmed: the word talent deserves the bin. Wayne didn’t just agree—he lit the match. And in a stroke of perfectly timed serendipity, he’s just dropped a new book with a title that pulls no punches: ‘The Talent Myth: Why Talent Isn’t Worth Shit’. Subtle? No. Accurate? Absolutely.

Let’s get this out of the way early: “talent” is the laziest word in the racket sports dictionary. It gets tossed around courtside, in commentary boxes, and across club lounges with reckless abandon—usually to describe someone who’s a bit ahead of the curve. But what does it actually mean? Nothing useful.

Call someone “talented” and you’re saying they're good, but skipping the inconvenient part—why they're good. It’s a shortcut that hides the real mechanics: time, repetition, focus, and the very human art of getting better at something through process, not providence.

In truth, “talent” is a catch-all label slapped on top of a very specific strength. You’ve seen it: the kid with ridiculous hand-eye coordination is “talented.” The player who reads the game three moves ahead? Also “talented.” The one who never seems to miss a backhand? You guessed it. But these are all different attributes—pattern recognition, timing, adaptability, motor control. None of them arrived in a gift-wrapped box labelled "genetic destiny." They were developed, honed, obsessed over.

As Wayne says in the preview of his book, “Every day, millions of young athletes quit sports because they've been labeled "untalented." Parents watch their children's dreams die because coaches focus on genetic gifts rather than character. Meanwhile, the qualities that actually predict long-term success are completely ignored.”

Worse still, the myth of talent can be a get-out-of-jail-free card—for everyone else. “Oh, she’s just more talented than me” is a comfortable story to tell yourself when someone else puts in more deliberate work. It’s tidy. It lets you off the hook. But the truth is messier—and more empowering: you can improve. Dramatically. Maybe not in every domain, but in many. The ceiling is higher than most of us dare to test.

Coaches know this. The smart ones don’t go talent-hunting; they go trait-hunting. Is this player curious? Can they handle failure? Will they stick around long enough to smooth out the edges? Talent doesn’t answer those questions. Process does.

At Racket Business, we’re far more interested in the nuts and bolts: the biomechanical tinkerers, the pattern geeks, the mindset grinders. People who’ve taken one piece of the puzzle—say, tracking the ball early or recovering faster after the split step—and mastered it. You want to call that “talent”? Fine. But just know you’re flattening something far more interesting: skill layered on discipline, layered on curiosity, layered on time.

So next time you see someone labelled as “talented,” ask a better question: what part of the process are they good at? That’s where the real edge lives.