U.S. College Tennis Exodus

Idea: Across the three NCAA divisions, approximately 800 total schools sponsor tennis. How about putting pressure on the USTA not to spend $800M on upgrading the US Open, but to pay a $1M grant to every DI, DII, and DIII tennis program? That must be about the average budget for one season for all NCAA division schools. No? 

Steve happens to be the organizer of one of the West Coast’s most successful tennis learning events, the Annual Tennis Seminar for Professional Coaches, Assistant Coaches, and Parents. This year, on June 28, Steve will host the event for the 15th time! Location: Great Park Tennis Center in Irvine. Information/Registration.

Information/Registration.

Break The Love and Break Sports News

Here’s what Trisha asked me to post for our readers:

After 7 years, we’ve seen firsthand that real connection happens on the court and on the golf course.

So, we're going back to our roots and doubling down on bringing people together in person through our social sport experiences across racquet & golf.  

With this, we are going where our community is, on social, shifting away from our site and partnering with Pie, where players can exclusively access our lineup & stay connected after the final set or round, and drops can be discovered on Instagram & TikTok. We're excited to continue to grow and evolve with our community. Click here to access the lineup 

My take: In other words, Break The Love events will be listed on the Pie booking platform going forward. I wish Trisha and her team all the best for the future. Can’t wait to see more events coming to Southern California. (Hint: sponsored by The Botanist, please!)

*Insider Tip: Intelligentsia Coffee at 1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice is nice for casual business meetings (and they make a very good Cappuccino!)

Lots of good news coming from the INTENNSE team this month. Scroll down to all Updates for INTENNSE news. Also interesting: The 2026 INTENNSE Draft will be live on YouTube on Thursday, May 7 at 8pm ET. I can’t wait to watch it.

Clicking on the image above takes you to the INTENNSE Draft link.

For years, our industry has relied on static directories—digital phone books that tell you where a club is, but never who is playing there right now. We’ve all felt the frustration of driving to a park only to find the courts full, or sitting at home because we were "one player short" for a doubles match.

Next month, CongaX is changing the game.

We are moving beyond the directory. We are launching a proprietary real-time utility in Los Angeles County that transforms the map into a Live Inventory of play.

• No more "Ghosting": Real-time signaling that tells you exactly who is on-site and ready to hit.

• Verified Skill Matching: Find the right game, at the right level, at the right time.

• Spontaneous Play: The "Waze" for racquet sports is almost here.

We’re starting our pilot in LA before scaling to 100 markets nationwide. We aren't just mapping the industry anymore; we’re activating it.

Stay tuned for the official Beta launch. If your business is in Los Angeles County, and you want to be part of the Beta Test, please email us.

P.S. We are currently vetting a final round of technical partners to help lead our national expansion. If you’re a senior developer who knows Wix Velo and loves racquet sports, connect with our CEO.

Reach for the Stars at the World Racquets Conference 2026

The Racquet Sports Professionals Association is proud to present the RSPA World Racquets Conference 2026, coming to the Dallas Omni Hotel this September 20-23. This is the premier racquet sports event, where teaching professionals like you get the tools to shape the next step of your career. You will leave the conference with the skills, mindset, and community support you need to shape a lasting professional legacy in a rapidly evolving racquet sports industry.

Set in Dallas, Texas, a bold city defined by possibility, the RSPA World Racquets Conference 2026 immerses you in practical leadership, coaching, and operational learning designed for a fast-evolving industry. You will gain the skills and mindset needed to lead multi-sport facilities, engage new generations of players, innovate programming, and build thriving communities.

This immersive experience brings professionals together to learn, share, and grow, surrounded by peers who are also committed to progress.

 Register today while our limited early bird pricing lasts!

Continued PTR Woes - Ken DeHart chimes in

Where do I begin? So much is going on at Saddlebrook right now. One CEO gone, another hired. That CEO is gone, and Lynne takes over. Where is the Board? Who is holding the strings?

A friend texted me, “When Dan was let go, I quit the PTR. Seemed to me it was politics. They can’t seem to keep a CEO. I don’t know if it is the board or Lynne. The only reason I rejoined was that Julie called me. I don’t know if I will continue next year. She gave me a great deal. I hear Nigel Pugh quit. I may continue if Dan comes back.”

A number of people asked me, “What’s going on with the PTR?” I talked to some people. I listened to some people. One of my good friends, a RSPA Master Pro, said, “The purposes of PTR shall be to educate, certify, and serve tennis-teaching professionals and coaches around the world; support programs that increase play and participation and advance the mission to grow the game of tennis; support groups that promote and/or develop the growth of tennis; maintain and enforce a Code of Ethics; and engage in any other lawful activity necessary to carry out PTR’s mission. (click here).

This is from their purpose in the bylaws. I have never seen any organization say they would do whatever is necessary to get their way.”

Since I have no real history with the PTR other than my respect for the people who were treating me well, I decided to ask the one person I trust to give me a straight answer, to tell me how he honestly feels: Ken DeHart. Here’s Ken’s reply:

Most of us as PTR members dedicated our professional and sometimes personal lives to the values that Dennis bestowed upon us through the TennisUniversities, the PTR, and our personal contact with Dennis and Pat.  That connection made the PTR unique in professionalism, relationships built, and the PTR's core values.

There needs to be a mending of the relationship with the PTR Board, the International Master Professionals, and clarity with the membership.

The history of the PTR promoted voting for the PTR Board and new candidates by the membership at the annual PTR Conference/Symposium.  There became a period where that did not happen, and it created a great divide. The PTR Board, since that time, has extended its life without the voting approval of the PTR membership.

Questionable changes to those who we associate with the leadership, values, and legacy of the PTR, as we have experienced these recent years, created doubt as to our direction.  While these directions may not be seen by new PTR members, the main body of the PTR longs for the leadership, values, and directives we were given by Dennis.  

The Professional Tennis Registry membership has long counted upon values and experienced leadership to continue the path of "Making a World of Difference" in the history, direction, and coach development of the PTR as a worldwide organization, which Dennis gave to us.

As a Charter Member of the Professional Tennis Registry, I hope to always be a member and actively carry on what Dennis envisioned the PTR would be to the world of tennis professionals. Dennis and the PTR staff and members supported me in an amazing career as a PTR tennis teaching professional with a wide world of international friends I will never forget.

I sincerely hope someone at Saddlebrook will take Ken’s words to heart and get some sanity back to right a ship that’s apparently listing a little. Why? Because it is a good ship that needs to get back on the right course!

Playbypoint sent out this email last month, which I found extraordinary for two reasons:

1. It introduced a brand-new Squash facility in (where else?) Miami, Florida, Sol Squash (the City's First Dedicated Squash Club).

2. It showed how you can quite cleverly create an ad for your product (Playbypoint club management platform) by introducing a client talking about their facility and your platform.

The email read: Meet Bruna and Vini, two Brazilian pros who moved to Miami with one goal: give squash a proper home. 

Sol Squash opened a month ago, and community showed up before the paint dried. They built the club they wanted to run, and let Playbypoint handle the rest. 

Watch the full Partner Spotlight to see how Sol Squash runs behind the scenes, and why Bruna says "Playbypoint takes away the burden so we can just think about creating the experience we want."

Click on the image below to watch a 4-minute Sol Squash Spotlight.

Nice! 

After joining the RSPA SoCal folks during the second day at their convention for a few hours, I promised myself to go to more of these events in the future. The venue (Burbank Tennis Center), the crowd (great SoCal teaching pros), the organizers (Simon Peak and Carlos Cruz-Aedo), and the program were outstanding.

My favorite part: Watching Simon Peak’s Q+A with legendary College Coach Peter Smith (four consecutive NCAA Championships for USC). More about Peter Smith’s College Tennis comments next month.

Greg Moran is one of America’s most experienced and respected tennis teaching professionals. With more than forty-five years in the industry, Greg has coached thousands of players, led national training programs, and traveled to Africa to conduct development workshops for players and coaches.

A prolific tennis writer, he is the award-winning author of the Tennis Beyond Big Shots series and The Truth About Tennis. Greg spent over forty years at the Four Seasons Racquet Club in Wilton, Connecticut, serving as its Director of Tennis and later as owner before selling the club to focus on writing and mentoring the next generation of teaching professionals.

Beyond Hours & Dollars is a giving back to the industry project where I have funded the publishing. I’m now promoting (through podcasts, speaking engagements, etc.) and sending the book free of charge to anyone who would like a copy.  This past weekend, I had the privilege of speaking at the USTA New England Convention.  All attendees received a complimentary copy of the book.”

"I’ve run into a bit of a puzzle with RecycleBalls lately. After collecting 15,000 balls and shipping them to their Virginia facility—a significant logistics effort—I noticed their box prices recently increased from $200 to $475. I reached out to understand the change better, but communication has unfortunately stalled.

Does anyone in the community have an update on what might be happening behind the scenes?

I’m planning on driving to San Diego for the 2026 Tennis Fest, probably the biggest event of this kind in the whole country. Any of our readers planning on going? Wanna meet up? Email me.

The Molly's Angels San Diego Tennis Fest is a free, all-ages event on Sunday, May 17, 2026, from 10 AM to 4:30 PM at the Balboa Tennis Club. It features clinics, 70+ coaches, racquet demos, and games for all skill levels. Register on Eventbrite to get a free shirt.

Event Details

• Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026

• Time: 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM PDT

• Location:

  Balboa Tennis Club, 2221 Morley Field Drive, San Diego, CA 92104

• Cost: Free
  

CourtReserve just launched Reserve with Google. When a club enables it, a "Book online" button shows up directly on their Google Business Profile. Players searching for courts nearby can book without navigating to a website, creating an account, or holding a membership. It's one of the lowest-friction ways a club can capture new players from demand that already exists in their market. Read more

Racquet Sports Conferences Now Pay-for-Play

Rich,

Is it my imagination, or have racquet sports conferences and workshops devolved into nothing but sponsor advertisements, with "All-Star Panels" consisting of pay-for-play participants?

It seems like conferences are no longer run to benefit the organizer first and the attendees at least second, with vendors getting fair value from their booths, sponsorships, program book ads, mailing lists, etc. Today, conferences are run solely to sell sponsorships, mainly by giving sponsor CEOs or other wannabe employees of exhibitors a "speaking opportunity," usually on a panel.

At one recent pickleball and padel conference, virtually every speaker came from an exhibitor, association sponsor, or other partner, and these "experts" droned on and on about their company's product or service. Each gets the mic two or three times to share their opinion on a topic, as if those people are the best to educate our industry.

It was so disgusting, there were more panelists than paid attendees at this conference. This pay-for-play model needs to stop if we're going to advance different racquet sports.

What happened to researched presentations by people who are experts in their fields?

Time to start calling out these CEOs and marketing directors who flit from conference to conference, bestowing their "wisdom" on us. Lose your ego and let someone else speak, please.

The Commish
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

USTA Mission

Rich,

USTA – The USTA is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. Its mission is to grow tennis to inspire healthier people and communities everywhere. It strives to make tennis accessible and enjoyable for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. 

When I clicked on their stated mission, I was initially impressed with what they said they did.  After about 5 seconds, the word "monopoly" flashed before my eyes. Then I thought, "Jack of all trades - master of none." 

Sad

The Commish
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

TYPTI - the Perfect Racket

Rich,

It looks like Bellamy found the perfect racket to make money by copying an existing sport (Touch Tennis) and selling expensive equipment. I compared the equipment of 4 similar racquet sports and couldn’t believe how expensive TYPTI really is.

• Lite Tennis advantage: Use your own tennis racquet; no new purchase required.

• SkyBall has different kits and ball options available.

• Touch Tennis claims to be the original sport played on a Pickleball court since 2002.

• TYPTI racquets are super expensive, and the sport needs topspin skills usually not found in the average recreational tennis player. If you don’t have those skills, you may not enjoy that sport.

The Commish
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

College Tennis Program Cuts

Rich,

Yesterday, USTA Southern flooded social media with the following notice.

A competent governing body would have supported college tennis so that programs were being added and not cut - such a notice would not have been necessary. 

The USTA Southern response is not about supporting college tennis or the sport of tennis, it was intended to promote the USTA. The bottom line is that USTA doesn't give a rat’s ass about college tennis.  College tennis is the source of most teaching professionals. Obviously, the USTA does not understand that.

A competent organization would have had a message sent from its headquarters, not the people in a satellite office.

If the USTA was a car company, it would be making Edsels, Studebakers, Corvairs, and Pintos, and the Southern Division would be manufacturing Pintos.

This is an embarrassment to the sport in more ways than one. The USTA does not care about the industry, and it is not capable of communicating with the industry in a professional manner.

The Commish
Everywhere, USA
Pronouns: They/Them

Re: USTA

• USTA Coaching Virtual Career Fair on May 5th

• Olympia Park Tennis Courts To Receive Grant From USTA (Florida)

• THE CONVERSATION CRAIG TILEY WILL NOT HAVE Because Some Answers End Business Models

• USTA Coaching and WeCOACH Announce New Strategic Partnership

• Craig Tiley plans to take ‘big swings’ at changing the tennis calendar when he becomes USTA CEO

• SPORTIME Randall’s Island Named USTA Member Organization of the Year

• THE MUCH-NEEDED TILEY TOUR, SO WE DON’T BECOME TENNIS AUSTRALIA

• National Hit to Be Fit Weekend May 15th

• Molly’s Angels San Diego Tennis Fest May 17th

• USTA signs Oura as U.S. Open, USTA Coaching sponsor

• USTA Integrates PlayReplay ELC at Hard-Court Events

  Re: INTENNSE

• INTENNSE™ EXTENDS DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP WITH SWERVE SPORTS

• Sloane Stephens Joins INTENNSE™ as Pulse Partner for 2026 Season

• INTENNSE Names Host Clubs for 2026 Team Season, Bringing Players and Coaches into the Community

• Shep Rose, Southern Charm Star and Lifelong Tennis Enthusiast, Joins INTENNSE™ Team Ownership Group as Pulse Partner for 2026 Season

• Payment labs named proud sponsor and payment platform partner of INTENNSE tennis league

• Former NFL Standout Tre Boston Joins INTENNSE as Pulse Partner and League Ambassador

• INTENNSE Unlocks Global Platform and Secret Media Network in Ticket Partnership with Fever

• Martin Brodeur Joins INTENNSE as Pulse Partner and Part-Owner of the Freeze

• Vita Coco to Serve as Exclusive Electrolyte Beverage Partner of INTENNSE

• INTENNSE Names Tennis Legend Dave Fish to Advisory Board

Re: RacquetX

• RacquetX Trends Report 2026

• RacquetX 2026 Session Recordings

U.S. College Tennis Exodus

While we are reading that the Canadian government pledged to help sports organizations to the tune of $750M CAD, U.S. sports fans are helplessly watching college tennis programs being cut like never before.

The USTA has spent years telling us that college tennis is the "perfect pathway" to the pros. This is just lip service, of course. My sources are telling me that internally, a strong group of executives/Board members think college seniors starting a professional career are WAY too old to become successful on the tour. (See also my September 2022 eye-opener of an article, “IS THE USTA THROWING AMERICAN COLLEGE TENNIS PLAYERS UNDER THE BUS?”)

But right now, that pathway is looking more like a bottleneck.

The latest—and perhaps most shocking—example came just last week: The University of Arkansas announced it will discontinue both its men's and women's tennis programs at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 spring season. Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek cited the "evolving landscape" and the inability to fund the programs at a level required to compete in the SEC. When a powerhouse Power-5 school like Arkansas pulls the plug, it sends a shiver down the spine of every college coach in the country.

The Growing List: College Tennis Programs Cut (2021–2026)

The recent news that the University of Arkansas is dropping its Men's and Women's programs is the loudest alarm bell yet, but the "Exodus" has been building for years. Here is a sobering look at the schools that have discontinued tennis since 2021:

2025–2026 Season (The Current Wave)

• University of Arkansas: Both Men’s and Women’s (SEC)

• Saint Louis University: Both Men’s and Women’s

• Illinois State University: Men’s program

• Jessup University: Both programs

• Prairie View A&M: Both programs

• Radford University: Both programs

• Eastern Illinois University: Both programs

• Northwestern College: Phasing out both by 2028

• Aquinas College, Cornerstone University, & Indiana Tech: All discontinued both programs following their conference's (WHAC) decision to stop sponsoring tennis.

2023–2024 Season

• University of San Francisco (USF): Both Men’s and Women’s

• UTEP: Women’s program

• Central Arkansas: Women’s program

• Lindenwood University: Men’s program

• St. Francis College (Brooklyn): Both programs (School eliminated entire athletic department)

• University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM): Women’s program

• Seattle University: Men’s program

2021–2022 Season (Post-Pandemic "Re-alignment")

• University of Iowa: Men’s Tennis (One of the first major Big Ten casualties)

• University of Minnesota: Men’s Tennis

• University of Connecticut (UConn): Men’s Tennis

• Boise State University: Men’s Tennis (Initially cut in 2020/21, highlighting the start of the trend)

Why is this happening now?
It’s the "House Settlement" ripple effect.

Under the new NCAA rules for the 2025–2026 academic year, the old "scholarship caps" are gone. Schools can now offer scholarships to every player on the roster, provided they stay under the new roster limit of 10 for both men and women.

On paper, more scholarships sound great. But in reality, athletic departments are under massive pressure to find $20M+ for revenue sharing with football and basketball players. For many Athletic Directors, "Olympic sports" like tennis are becoming an expensive luxury they can no longer justify.

The "Fall" of the Individual Season: Even the schedule is changing. The NCAA just permanently moved the Singles and Doubles Championships to the fall. While the USTA and ITA say this is for "student-athlete well-being," many coaches feel it further isolates tennis from the "big" spring sports season, making it even less visible to the fans (and the donors).

The Fallout: We are also seeing entire community college conferences stop sponsoring the sport. The Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) recently stopped sponsoring tennis, which wiped out programs at Bellevue College, Highline, Treasure Valley, and Spokane Falls.

My take: We are at a crossroads. The USTA and ITA are touting the success of former college players on the pro tour, but that doesn't help the local teenager who just lost their dream of playing for their state university. If we don't find a way to make these programs "financially sustainable" in the eyes of ADs, we aren't just losing teams—we're losing the next generation of coaches and club members.

Idea: Across the three NCAA divisions, approximately 800 total schools sponsor tennis. How about putting pressure on the USTA not to spend $800M on upgrading the US Open, but to pay a $1M grant to every DI, DII, and DIII tennis program? That must be about the average budget for one season for major NCAA division schools. No? 

What do you think? Are college tennis programs worth saving? Does the US Open need almost a billion dollars in upgrades? Email me.

Suggested reading:

WSJ: Where Are All the Americans in American College Tennis?
USA Today: Arkansas cuts tennis, former pro blasts decision: 'This is a travesty'
HOGsports: Arkansas eliminates tennis programs, leaving Razorbacks with 17 sports
Javier Palenque: IF WE DON’T SAVE COLLEGE TENNIS, WHO WILL? A nation that cannot develop its own players has stopped stewarding its own sport.
CollegeNetWorth: NIL Era Puts College Tennis in Crisis, Warns Incoming USTA CEO
NewsNation: College tennis scene facing crisis with drought of US players: McEnroe

Idea: Across the three NCAA divisions, approximately 800 total schools sponsor tennis. How about putting pressure on the USTA not to spend $800M on upgrading the US Open, but to pay a $1M grant to every DI, DII, and DIII tennis program? That must be about the average budget for one season for all NCAA division schools. No? 

Saudis Stop Funding LIV Golf - Is Tennis Next?

The Wall Street Journal just reported some massive news: Saudi Arabia is pulling the funding from LIV Golf after this season. The "upstart" league that caused so much chaos by poaching A-list players is essentially on life support. (See WSJ article Saudi Arabia Pulls Funding From LIV Golf. Its Star Players Face a Painful Road Back.)

For those of us in the racquet sports world, this makes me go "hmmm..." Why? Because at the exact same time they are walking away from golf, they are doubling down on tennis. But they are doing it differently. (See The National News article Saudi Arabia committed to hosting new ATP tennis event amid scaling back of investments)

Instead of trying to "break" the tour as they did with LIV, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is becoming the ultimate "insider." They are now the official naming partner for the ATP and WTA Rankings, and they are pushing hard for a new Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia by 2028.

My take: The Saudis learned a hard lesson with golf. Disruption is expensive and creates enemies. In tennis, they are buying the "house" instead of trying to build a rival one next door. However, we should watch the WTA Finals closely. There are already rumors that the event might leave Riyadh after 2026. It seems if the "ROI" isn't there, the PIF has no problem cutting bait—just like they did with LIV.

What do you think? Are we seeing the beginning of a "re-calibration" for all sports investments, or is tennis just a safer bet for them? Email me.