Racket Sports Industry News 08/26

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

Author

Rich Neher
July 31, 2026

Table of Contents

VOLLEYBIRD

Introducing The Darling Collection


Introducing The Darling Collection

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

RACKET BUSINESS CALENDAR OF EVENTS


Your One-Stop Event Resource for Racquet Sports

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

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

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

HEAD RACQUET SPORTS PRODUCT NEWS

HEAD Extreme 2026:

Our hardest-hitting spin machine yet.

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

Enviable power has arrived


Coming soon:
HEAD Gravity Zverev 2026

Presale only.

Launch date: August 20, 2026

Introducing Penn: The Heartbeat of the Game

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

Instagram: @ThePennBall

HEAD Kids Racquets
Play Like Your Idols

Every great player starts somewhere.

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

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

WELCOME TO THE 5INNER ERA

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

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

SHORT ODDS & ENDS

===> SportsTechX

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

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

===> SportsTechX

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

===> SGI Europe

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

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

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

===> SGI Europe

Premier Padel names Fanatics master licensee in landmark retail deal

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

===> USTA Florida

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

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

USTA Florida

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

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

ONCOURT OFFCOURT GAME CHANGERS

PickleNet Plus Portable Pickleball Net System with Wheels


PickleNet Plus Portable Pickleball Net System with Wheels

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

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

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

COURTRESERVE: MORE RESOURCES FOR CLUB OPERATORS


Grow Your Company

Bookmark our blog – we share news, strategies & tactics  

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

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

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

Find guides and get live support – visit the Help Center 

Join us at a Catalyst user event – follow the Tour 

MORE LINKEDIN GOLD

Victor Bergonzoli: Why does NORWAY keep producing world-class athletes and teams?

Norway is now in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup.

For a country of just over five million people, that’s an extraordinary achievement. But if you’ve followed international sport over the past few decades, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Norway has consistently punched far above its weight—not just in football, but at the Winter Olympics, in athletics, triathlon, cycling, golf, handball, skiing, and many other sports.

Victor Bergonzoli: For too long, youth sports have been treated like a race to the finish line instead of a journey.

The pressure to specialize early, win now, and chase scholarships has led too many young athletes to burnout, overuse injuries, and walking away from sports altogether.

There is a better way.

In his article, Dr. Rick Howard explores the principles of Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD)—an evidence-based framework that puts the child first and builds the foundation for a lifetime of physical activity, confidence, and health.

SPORTING GOODS INTELLIGENCE EUROPE: 

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


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

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

BUILT ON TOUR: INTRODUCING THE WILSON DEFYER TENNIS RACKET


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

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

A new racket for a new kind of game

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

Mike Barrell: The RESPECT RESET

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

MORE LINKEDIN GOLD

This month, (WCRS) Women Coaching Racquet Sports is proud to spotlight Megan Fudge—a trailblazer whose passion, excellence, and commitment continue to elevate the sport of pickleball around the world.

A professional pickleball player, 3-time US Open Champion, and APP Pro Medal Record Holder, Megan has earned more than 100 professional medals in just five years of competition. Her remarkable success is a testament to her work ethic, resilience, and dedication to excellence.

Kyle LaCroix: January 1st, 2021 feels like a lifetime ago. The world was in the middle of COVID-19; I was a newlywed; we had just brought home a 10-week-old puppy (Duke), and our dining room had become my office. In the middle of all that uncertainty, I made what many would have considered a crazy decision: I started SETS.

I believed the racquet sports industry needed something it didn’t have. Too many talented professionals were navigating their careers alone, trying to figure out leadership, programming, operations, hiring, and growth through trial and error.