The USTA’s new coaching initiative—quietly rolled out over the Summer and launching officially this month—doesn’t so much aim to overturn a century of top-down tennis tradition, but to remake it. For an organization that has been criticized for prioritizing glossy logo rebrands and executive bloat as the game of tennis faces existential threat from new comers, it’s a welcome new role that centers the USTA’s mission to grow the game.
The timing couldn’t be better: Flush with cash after selling the Cincinnati Open to billionaire (and WTA dad) Ben Navarro for a few hundred million dollars, the USTA is turning its attention to the people who make tennis happen for everyone else: Coaches. USTA Coaching CEO Craig Morris and Managing Director Megan Rose are trying to reframe coaching not as a static profession with a definitive playbook disseminated from upon high but as a living ecosystem: A vast network of roots connecting everything from player development and community programs to the lamps illuminating late-night court sessions across the country.
“Sometimes in tennis I feel like there are opportunities to do good, but a lot of it ends up being around things like tournament operations and program execution,” Rose says. “We are really taking a systematic approach to make tennis more inclusive for coaches who then inspire participation.”