Letters from September 2026

Re: USTA Coaching Shop

Hi Rich,

$48 for a t-shirt with their logo - $58 with $10 shipping. $40 for a freaking baseball cap! $65 for a bath towel!!!!!

Everything is about money with these guys.

Who pays close to $60 for a non-brand "performance" T-shirt?

Instead of "USTA Coaching" on the front, why not just print "I'm an idiot!"?

This is what happens when you hire six-figure Millennial "marketing professionals." Why wouldn't you sell these at cost to get thousands of tennis coaches across the U.S. wearing "USTA Coaching" gear, start conversations, increase memberships and build the brand? 

At ZERO expense to the "nonprofit" USTA. That's how to build a brand.

$58-wise, $1 million-foolish.

Hi Craigs!

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Rich,

The USTA argument for wanting to control coaching is that all the other countries’ national governing bodies do it that way.... but does that mean it will work in the US? Of course not. We are a capitalist society that does best when we innovate and compete. The USTA wants a monopoly. Maybe they never took a history class, thus never read the Sherman, Clayton & Federal Trade Commission Antitrust Acts. 

So much they do wrong... the whole thing is a joke!

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Re: Get Certified in TYPTI at WRC26!

Rich,

This is news to me.  RSPA Certification in TYPTI.  What is next? Hackysack?

The Commish***
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Re: Drag Queens and US Open Ticket Prices

Wow you have some great readers with those homophobic comments. There has never been any proof that Drag Queens reading to people is harmful. Guess it was ok for our pedifile president to read to children.

I applaud the USTA for having this activity and not allowing homophobic comments to keep this event from happening.

Name withheld out of courtesy to the writer

Hi Rich,

Absolutely loved your Publisher's Notes, especially the UGLY - Drag Queens, Ticket prices, Honey Deuces, and Tiley's salary.  You said it all.  The USTA has no shame.  As you said, it's all about the money; who cares about grassroots tennis?

Jim Block
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Reminder: The (original) Commish has been writing for us off and on since June of 2021. Here is the first article: You CAN Fool Most of the People All of the Time. Over time, we allowed all readers submitting Letters to the Editor to remain anonymous and post them as The Commish.

The (original) Commish has defined The Commish since then as follows:

The Commish is not just one single person; it is a real and true thought experiment of many different entities. That's also why The Commish has no preferred pronouns, and you can call The Commish anything, and any way you want. Makes no difference to The Commish. 

The Commish lives in the minds of all tennis professionals, tennis players, and tennis organizers- everyone with a clear and logical thought process.