USTA Ventures Invests in Fastbreak AI to Optimize Adult League Match Scheduling
April 16, 2026
Fourth Investment Made by USTA Ventures to Enhance the USTA League Experience for Players and Staff with Bespoke, AI-Driven Scheduling System
ORLANDO, Fla., April 16, 2026 – The USTA today announced that the USTA’s strategic investment initiative USTA Ventures has invested in Fastbreak AI, a leading AI-driven sports operations software company that has transformed game and match scheduling across recreational and professional sports. The USTA will employ Fastbreak’s software to optimize scheduling for millions of adult USTA League matches per year, as Ventures continues investing in companies and technologies that help drive the USTA’s mission.
More than 300,000 players compete in USTA Leagues yearly, contributing to more than 2 million court hours of play that are currently scheduled manually. The USTA will utilize Fastbreak’s scheduling software, which has been employed by pro and amateur sports leagues worldwide, including the NBA, NHL and MLS, to automate and optimize that process – that manually requires hundreds of staff and thousands of hours – and allow USTA Sections to rededicate those resources toward directly growing the game. The USTA will pilot Fastbreak in a number of USTA League areas by the end of 2026, with the goal of wider-spread rollout in 2027.
“We’re very excited for the benefits Fastbreak can provide USTA League players and staff,” said Michael Hughes, Sr. Director, Digital Strategy & Business Development, USTA. “USTA Ventures’ goal has always been to make investments that help drive the USTA’s mission. By freeing the substantial volume of resources currently dedicated to League scheduling, Fastbreak has the potential to have a tremendous impact on helping the USTA reinvest in directly growing the game of tennis.”
“USTA League scheduling is one of the most complex scheduling challenges in sports. Coordinating millions of matches across hundreds of thousands of players, dozens of sections, and thousands of facilities requires a level of optimization that very few organizations in the world are equipped to handle. We built Fastbreak to solve exactly this kind of problem,” said John Stewart, CEO of Fastbreak AI. “We’re honored that USTA Ventures recognized that potential, and we’re excited to help free up the resources that will go directly toward growing the game of tennis.”
Since USTA Ventures launched in 2023, its investments have already had a direct impact on driving the USTA’s goal of becoming the No. 1 tennis-playing nation in the world, with 35 million players by 2035:
* PlayReplay facilitated electronic line-calling for over 100,000 matches and sessions in the U.S. in 2025. It is currently providing ELC at all hard-court USTA Pro Circuit tournaments and is working with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association to scale the use of ELC in college tennis.
* Court 16 has opened three new locations since Ventures invested in December 2024, focusing on urban areas and non-traditional spaces where access to tennis is limited. Court 16 locations welcomed 8,000 visitors and scheduled 43,000 beginner-level group classes in 2025.