Tennis Industry magazine

 

Industry News

USTA Tennis Teachers Conference Celebrates its 40th Year

The USTA’s 40th Tennis Teachers Conference will be in New York City from Aug. 28 to 31. The event is a leading resource for teaching professionals, organizers and coaches. It will be held at the Grand Hyatt New York and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Headlining the event is eight-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander; former top 10 player and popular TV broadcaster Cliff Drysdale; and junior tennis coach Judy Murray, who is the mother of two-time Grand Slam finalist Andy Murray and 2007 Wimbledon mixed-doubles champ Jamie Murray.

Attendees at the USTA Tennis Teachers Conference have the opportunity to network with colleagues and attend conference seminars, gather information and resources on the latest offerings from a variety of tennis organizations and companies, and attend a “Night at the US Open” on Monday, Aug. 30, the opening evening of the tournament at the USTA BJK National Tennis Center.

Additionally, the TIA will hold its 3rd annual Tennis Forum on Tuesday morning, Aug. 31, highlighting the latest trends in the tennis industry and the industry’s efforts to grow the game.

For registration information for the Tennis Teachers Conference, visit usta.com/ttc. Register before July 16 and save 10 percent.

Nominate Now for USTA Outstanding Facility Awards

Do you know an outstanding tennis facility in your area? If so, nominate it for a 2010 USTA Outstanding Tennis Facility award. Award nominations must be received in the USTA office by July 19.

USTA Outstanding Facility Award nominations

Criteria for the awards and nomination forms are available at usta.com/facilityawards. Recognition will be given to outstanding tennis facilities under these jurisdictions: Parks & Recreation Departments, Educational Institutions, Non-Profit Corporations, and Private and/or Commercially Owned and Operated Facilities.

Award winners will receive a wood and marble wall plaque and a large sign to display at the facility. In addition, certificates will be available for various agencies and companies recognizing the honor. Winners also receive a one-year complimentary USTA Organizational Membership, and may choose to attend the USTA Technical Committee meeting in New York in early September for a presentation.

This is the 29th year for the prestigious USTA Outstanding Facility Awards. This year, an optional “Green Facility” section has been added to the nomination form. For questions, email facilityawards@usta.com or call Jeremiah Yolkut at 914-696-7154.

ASBA Certifies Five Court Builders

Five tennis court builders have earned the Certified Tennis Court Builder designation from the American Sports Builders Association, the national organization for builders, designers and suppliers of materials for tennis courts, running tracks, synthetic turf fields and indoor and outdoor synthetic sports surfaces.

ASBA

The certification program, which was developed by the ASBA in order to help raise professional standards and improve the practice of athletic facility construction, shows that an individual has demonstrated or exceeded a specific level of professional experience. To achieve Certified Builder status, an individual is required to show documented evidence of professional experience, and is required to pass a comprehensive examination on construction and maintenance of the specific type of facility in which he or she is seeking certification. (Visit sportsbuilders.org for more on the ASBA and certification.)

The new Certified Tennis Court Builders are Adam Fryor (Court One Inc., Youngsville, N.C.), Matt Graft (Talbot Tennis, Marietta, Ga.), Kevin Healion (Century Tennis Inc., Deer Park, N.Y.), Steve Horner (Advantage Courts Company, Amarillo, Texas), and Fred Volpacchio (North Salem, N.Y.).

Prince Celebrates 40th Anniversary

August 2010 is the 40th anniversary of Prince Sports, headquartered in Bordentown, N.J. The company was started by Bob McClure in 1970, who invented the “Little Prince” ball machine in his garage in Princeton, N.J. — the first commercially viable electric ball machine, according to Prince.

In 1976, the company developed the first oversize racquet, invented by Howard Head, then developed “long-body” frames. It also came out with the first multifilament tennis strings. One of the latest developments is “O-Tech,” which are air holes in the hoop of the racquet. The O technology has been exported to other sports equipment, too.

Maria Sharapova

Current Prince players include Maria Sharapova, Bob and Mike Bryan, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Vera Zvonareva, Nikolay Davydenko and Gael Monfils. Past player include Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver, Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati and Gabriela Sabatini. For info, visit princetennis.com.

PTR to Deliver Etcheberry Experience Certification

The PTR has a three-year deal with strength and conditioning guru Pat Etcheberry to conduct the Etcheberry Experience Certification Program internationally. PTR Master Pro Dr. Louie Cap (left in photo) and PTR International Director Iñaki Balzola (right) were named as Etcheberry’s sole authorized program presenters after completing extensive training with Etcheberry at Justine Henin’s training facility in Florida.

PTR Echeberry Experience

The certification program passes along Etcheberry’s fitness, strength and conditioning philosophy and techniques to a new generation of coaches and trainers. Etcheberry has trained professional athletes in sports from the PGA to the NBA. In tennis, he’s worked with Agassi, Capriati, Courier, Henin, Hingis, Sampras, Seles and more.

PTR members receive discounts on all Etcheberry products and services, including Strength & Conditioning courses with Etcheberry himself.

Wheaton Installs Bubbled ClayTech Courts

Lee Tennis Court Products recently installed the first bubbled ClayTech courts at the Wheaton Sports Center, outside of Chicago. Compared to other clay court surfaces, ClayTech is easier to maintain and thus more playable indoors, says Lee Tennis.

“Converting our Har-Tru courts to ClayTech bubbled courts has been one of our best decisions,” says Dawn Szumski, general manager at Wheaton Sports Center. According to Szumski, converting the three courts to ClayTech was a result of their passion for continued innovation and exceptional indoor clay court playability with minimal required maintenance.

“Sentiment from our players is that the bubbled ClayTech courts are more consistent and play significantly better and all we have to do is sweep and line them once a day and occasionally spray them with water to keep the dust down,” she says.

“ClayTech cleverly blends slide comfort, extreme playability with minimal body injuries and maintenance,” says Pat Hanssen, Lee’s director of sales.

“If you currently have Har-Tru courts, this is a very simple change,” adds Paul Tulacka, owner of Midwest Tennis of Westmont, Ill., which installed the courts. “The existing courts serve as the base for an asphalt pad and once this is complete the ClayTech glues down in as little as three days.”

For more information, visit leetennis.com.

LSI Offers New HiDef Lighting

LSI Industries’ new HiDef indoor court lighting system uses high-output T5 fluorescent lamps with a combination of direct/indirect light distribution. LSI says benefits of the system include energy savings, enhanced light quality, considerable reduction in light depreciation over the life of the system, long lamp life, and instant-on operation. For information, contact Bruce Frasure at 800-436-7800 or bruce.frasure@lsi-industries.com.

LSI HiDef Lighting

Tennis Depot to Distribute Poly Star

Poly Star strings will now be distributed by The Tennis Depot (thetennisdepot.com). Poly Star first introduced polyester strings to the tennis market, says the company, and has 29 years of experience investing in research and development. Tour player Nikolay Davydenko is among current pros who use Poly Star.

Poly Star

Poly Star Classic, Energy, Turbo and Strike will be available in the U.S. in 12-meter sets and 200- and 400-meter reels. For questions or information, contact 866-787-4644 or info@thetennisdepot.com.

New Ashaway ZyMax 67 Badminton String

Ashaway Racket Strings has introduced ZyMax 67, a tournament-gauge badminton string with increased durability and strength. The company says the 22-gauge (.67 mm) ZyMax 67 offers the lowest tension loss of any badminton string. Key to the performance of the ZyMax line is a combination of high-tech core and braid materials, and Ashaway’s proprietary ZyWeaVe core process technology, which allows the production of lighter, stronger badminton strings.

Ashaway ZyMax 67

Available in sets of 10m and 200m reels, ZyMax 67 strings up tighter and plays firmer with maximum tension stability, says Ashaway, and it maintains string tension longer and displays consistent performance. Visit www.ashawayusa.com.

ITA to Allow QuickStart Lines on Competition Courts

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the governing body of college tennis, has approved a rule change that will allow its competition courts to have permanent USTA-approved 36-foot and 60-foot tennis lines. The rule change will allow collegiate facilities to be used for tournaments and training sessions geared toward children ages 10 and under using the QuickStart Tennis play format, which utilizes lower bouncing balls, smaller racquets and shorter courts, all tailored to a child’s age and size.

“The rule change to allow USTA approved 36- and 60-foot lines on competition courts was unanimously approved by the ITA Operating Committee at its meetings during the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.,” says ITA Executive Director David A. Benjamin. “The ITA is excited and proud to lead the way with this endorsement of the QuickStart play format.”

“USTA Player Development is thrilled that the ITA and its member coaches have taken the lead in embracing 36-foot and 60-foot tennis,” says Patrick McEnroe, general manager of USTA Player Development. “Comprised of some of the top player development coaches in the nation, the ITA recognizes the importance of appropriate training and competition for the 10-and-under population.”

Mac Opens Academy in New York City

John McEnroe will open and direct the John McEnroe Tennis academy at the $18 million Sportime at Randall’s Island Tennis Center in New York City. The Hall-of-Famer and former world No. 1 player, who is a native New Yorker, says the full-year programs will begin right after the 2010 US Open. Sportime, which owns 13 tennis and fitness clubs in New York State, will partner with Mac in the operation of the academy.

USTA to Install 4 Clay Courts at NTC

In its effort to develop American champions, the USTA is installing four clay tennis courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, home of the hard-court US Open.

USTA

“Now, every player who comes through the USTA system will have a very strong grounding in clay-court tennis,” USTA CEO Gordon Smith told Bloomberg news service. According to playtheclay.com, a website developed by Lee Tennis, of the 103 men who have reached the top 10 since the ATP rankings were created, 91 of them grew up on clay.

Short Sets

Alpha Back to Present at GSS Symposium

Alpha Racquet Sports announces their plans to return for a fourth straight year as a sponsor of the 2010 GSS Racquet Stringers Symposium in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 9-13. Alpha National Sales Manager Mark Gonzalez will be co-presenting a four-hour seminar titled “Machine Repair & Maintenance” with J. C. Carpentier of Tennis Machines.

GSS Symposium

“This is a must-attend event for any stringer looking to increase their knowledge, learn new techniques, and improve their skills,” says Gonzalez, who developed the presentation. The goal is to provide hands-on learning to assist stringers in the proper care of their expensive stringing machines and diagnostic equipment.

“Mark has done a tremendous job in putting together a very useful presentation for stringers who really want to know more about taking care of their equipment,” says symposium director Tim Strawn. “And J. C. Carpentier of Tennis Machines is considered to be one of the premier technicians in the world when it comes to maintaining and repairing the equipment we use, so we’re lucky to have him on board.”

For details and to register for the symposium, visit gssalliance.com.

U.S. Men Claim Sixth Invacare World Team Cup Title

The U.S. Quad Team of Nick Taylor of Wichita, Kan., David Wagner of Hillsboro, Ore., and Bryan Barten of Tucson, Ariz., led Team USA to the 2010 Invacare World Team Cup title in May, defeating Israel 2-0 in the final, held in Antalya, Turkey.

The U.S. women’s team — Emmy Kaiser of Fort Mitchell, Ky., Dana Mathewson of San Diego and Hope Lewellen of Chicago — finished in sixth place in the women’s division.

Congratulations To the Following For Achieving MRT & CS Status

USRSA

New MRTs

Colton Westran, Big Rapids, MI

Evan Valerie, Big Rapids, MI

Stefano Prete, Victoria, Australia

Jeff Doty, Sheridan, OR

Daniel Howard, East Lansing, MI

James Thompson, Austin, TX

Craig Carter, Asheville, NC

New CSs

Kendra Blewitt, San Francisco, CA

Steven Summers, New Haven IN

TRO Names Top Resorts, Camps

Tennis Resorts Online recently released its annual rankings of the Top 100 Tennis Resorts and Camps worldwide. Rankings, available at tennisresortsonline.com, are based on reviews submitted by vacationers over the last year. This year they were asked to rate their experience in each of 17 categories.

Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina repeated as the No. 1 Resort while the Roy Emerson Tennis Weeks at the Gstaad Palace in Switzerland once again snared No. 1 Camp honors. Rankings are also broken out into the best in several categories, including game matching, tennis staff, instruction, lodging, cuisine and more.

The top 5 resorts are:

  1. Kiawah Island Golf Resort, S.C.
  2. Wild Dunes, S.C.
  3. Topnotch Resort and Spa, Vt.
  4. Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt, Austria
  5. Rancho Valencia, Calif.

The top camps are:

  1. Roy Emerson Tennis Weeks, Switzerland
  2. Vic Braden Tennis College, Utah
  3. New England Tennis Holidays, N.H. (recently moved to Sugarbush, Vt.)
  4. Cliff Drysdale Tennis, Vt.
  5. Saddlebrook Tennis, Fla.

Peoplewatch

Key Measures for Tennis Facilities Released

Tennis facility owners and operators, along with others in the industry, can now get the latest trends and data for operating a tennis facility in the “Cost of Doing Business: Tennis Facilities” report from the TIA. The bi-annual report provides a method for facilities to measure their performance against industry averages.

The data in the CoDB report is weighted by facility size and type to match the profile of tennis facilities in the U.S. The report contains general trends as well as data pertaining to tennis programming and facility operational costs. Also included is data on facility membership, dues, court usage fees and more.

“As a facility operator, you can see where your tennis facility may be outperforming the industry and where you may have challenges or can improve,” says TIA Executive Director Jolyn de Boer. “Comparing your operations to industry-wide averages will help you identify opportunities to maximize growth and profitability.”

For tennis facilities in 2009, the cost of doing business analysis indicates many positive results, mixed with some outcomes that reflect the nature of operating a business in a down economy. The good news for tennis facilities, though, is that average revenue per court is up 18% since 2005 and the retention rate of introductory programs for new players/beginners is high, at 65%.

For more information or to obtain a copy of the CoDB report, email research@TennisIndustry.org or call the TIA at 866-686-3036. For more on research available from the TIA, visit www.tennisindustry.org.

College Tennis Roundup — ITA Inducts 10 Into Men’s Hall of Fame

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) inducted 10 members into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame during the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships in May. The ITA HoF is located on the University of Georgia campus in Athens.

The Class of 2010 consists of five players, one player/coach, three coaches and one contributor. Players are Mahesh Bhupathi (Ole Miss), Daniel Courcol (Mississippi State), Zan Guerry (Rice), Rodney Harmon (Tennessee/SMU) and Leif Shiras (Princeton). The player/coach inductee is Jay Lapidus (Princeton/Duke). The coaches are Kent DeMars (South Carolina), Craig Tiley (Illinois) and Steve Wilkinson (Gustavus Adolphus). The contributor inductee Gordon Smith (Georgia).

In other ITA news, Lauren Lui of Northwestern University and Daniel Canellas of the University of Alabama-Huntsville have been selected as the 2010 Wilson/ITA National Promoter of the Year Award winners. The award recognizes individuals who promote the game at the collegiate level. Both student-athletes have been selected to receive a paid summer internship at Wilson’s global headquarters in Chicago.

Division I

Men

Women

Division II

Men

Women

Division III

Men

Women

NAIA

Men

Women

Gamma Launches New TNT2 Touch String

Gamma Sports has launched its newest addition to the TNT2 string line, the Touch. The TNT2 Touch is the first multifilament string with the Gamma patented TNT process.

Gamma TNT2 Touch

“Many players spend hundreds of dollars to buy a new racquet every few years looking for a competitive edge,” says Chuck Vietmeier, national sales manager for Gamma. “Little do they know that they can get a significant boost in their play simply by using quality strings. Players will really see a difference in their game when they start playing with the new TNT Touch.”

As part of the product rollout, Gamma wants to hear what players have to say about TNT2 Touch. Until July 31, Gamma will run the “Feel the Touch Difference” contest. Registrants will get the chance to win $500 in Gamma Sports products. For contest information, visit gammasports.com/tnt2touch.

 

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