The New York Playbook

Caitlin Thompson

Check out one of their latest articles written by George Timms: Can Green Clay Save the World? (Tennis has a complicated relationship with the climate, but new initiatives—including a switch to good ole Har-Tru—show it can be part of the solution.)

Timms writes: “There are roughly 700,000 tennis courts around the world. Of these, 17,000 are green clay—known as Har-Tru—dotted across the US. They’re often dismissed as somehow sub-par, but green clay courts save the carbon emissions equivalent to taking 4,200 cars off the road every year.” Read the article here.

In June, Caitlin’s company launched a new service: The Final 8 Club, “A travelling Racquet Media membership for people who plan their year around the game. Private tennis and padel journeys built around the world's great Racquet moments.” Check out their upcoming trips.

Chuck Gill, the Director of Tennis at Village of Wellington in West Palm Beach, Florida, was visiting New York, and we connected for the first time. Chuck is old school, straightforward, and knows the importance of good coaching and attracting the right kind of coaches to a facility. I liked what Jill Victoria Rokuskova wrote about him on LinkedIn. As current USTA Florida President, he is able to make a difference in one of the best-run USTA sections.

Since Chuck is speaking highly of the USTA Coaching program, I wanted to learn more after being rather critical of it in the past. He says that the quality of their entry-level training is very good, comparable to RSPA and PTR. His take on the program: “USTA Coaching is good for tennis. It adds coaches, and that’s what we need!” Hmm, makes me think: Was I so wrong? Maybe I should participate in one of those USTA Coaching workshops to see it for myself.

Ryan Van Winkle, the Co-Founder and CEO of BOUNCE, RACKET SOCIAL, and RFX FITNESS, found time in his busy schedule to meet and give me an introduction to the platforms his team developed in the past 4 years.

Ryan writes on his LinkedIn page: “At Bounce we spend a lot of time thinking about the gap between someone being interested in racket sports and actually showing up somewhere to play. It’s easy to underestimate that gap if you already play regularly. Once you have a club, a group chat, a few people at your level, or a coach you trust, the sport feels easy to access. But for a lot of people, especially beginners or people new to a city, the first few steps are still weirdly hard.

If you want to learn much more about Ryan’s concept and experiences creating a working platform, read a larger essay here:

Morgan Broady, the Founder and CEO of Beyond the Court, is quite an accomplished executive in a space that’s dearly needed in today’s racquet sports landscape: creating “hospitality-driven racquet clubs” that are profitable and have a good chance to stay in business.

We met at the Bluestone Lane 55 Hudson Yards Café in Midtown Manhattan. One of the attractions in the Hudson Yards Center is “The Vessel.” (right photo)

Much of Morgan’s work is currently focused on Padel, but her expertise is in all racquet sports: Tennis, Pickleball, and Padel.

In February of 2026, we featured an article written by Morgan and her partner, Sarah Kovacs: Why the Future of Racquet Clubs Is Built Beyond the Court - Courts Attract People. Hospitality Keeps Them. I’m sure we will read more of their work in future Racket Business issues.

Reserve Padel

Morgan showed me an interesting new Padel Club at 360 10th Ave (corner of W. 30th St.): Reserve Padel. Reserve has 5 East Coast locations, 2 in New York, and 3 in Miami.

City Pickle

On our way to Reserve Padel, we came by a seasonal 1-court City Pickle installation.

Caitlin Thompson encouraged me to visit CityView Racquet Club in Long Island City. I went on a Saturday morning and found the place pretty empty. The Front Desk ladies Savda and Xi explained that many members are on vacation and flee the city because of the oppressive heat.

Very nice club. They also have Squash courts, which I didn’t see. I’m glad I came and took the photos. Can you imagine how bustling this club is with people when it’s not hot outside?