FACILITY CONSTRUCTION CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAYER ACCESSORIES Borrow from Lake Be sure to give senior New sunglasses Nona and boost your players what they protect the eyes and facility’s appeal need to succeed off er stylish looks June 2017 / Volume 45 / Number 6 / $5.00 Also Inside: Rallying Back NJTL Stars Your Serve Seeing A unique event helps Dedicated individuals Felled by a grave illness, the All Iowa Lawn are bringing tennis and tennis on shorter Tennis Club bounce back education to youngsters courts helped save this is Believing from tragedy 16 nationwide 24 avid player’s life 40 Head’s MXG frames are changing the game with visible technology 06_TI_COVER_CR.indd 1 6/1/17 5:38 PM BAGS AND ACCESSORIES OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS, THE OF ACCESSORIES AND BAGS APPAREL, PERFORMANCE SHOES*, RACKETS, TENNIS OFFICIAL - BABOLAT (ARG) *Except in Japan TEAM BABOLAT PRO PLAYERS MAY PLAY WITH A CUSTOMIZED OR DIFFERENT MODEL THAN THE EQUIPMENT DEPICTED. ads.indd 1 4/29/16 12:43 PM www.tennisindustrymag.com TennisIndustry Contents June 2017 DEPARTMENTS p. 34 p. 24 4 Our Serve 6 Industry News 12 TIA News 14 Racquet Tech 16 Passionate Players 18 Facility Construction 22 Customer Service 38 Ask the Experts 39 USRSA World Conference 40 Your Serve, by Ali Goldman INDUSTRY NEWS 6 UVA’s Boland named USTA FEATURES head of Men’s Tennis 6 USTA League, Head Penn 24 NJTL Stars renew 30-year partnership These dedicated 7 Dalton Enterprises launches 1-800-TENNISCOURT individuals and 7 USTA Enlists Aramark to organizations are manage US Open retail bringing tennis and 7 People Watch education to our 7 TitanTrax Shield repairs city courts in Wisconsin nation’s youngsters. 7 Player Development names annual coaching awards 8 Bryan Brothers to endorse 32 Dark Matter Solinco strings The newest sunglasses 8 Mast, Andrew win HoF ON-COURT off er both protection Educational Merit Awards 9 Short Sets 30 Private Enterprise for the eyes and 9 Sports Interiors, ITA sign These award-winning residential courts stylish looks. 3-year partnership provide a unique sanctuary. 9 Memphis Open moves to N.Y. after 41-year run 10 Topspin Sports introduces 34 Now You See It! 2-sided digital scoreboard Head’s new MXG racquets feature something 11 USPTA publishes book celebrating 90 years not seen in years—visible technology. 2 TennisIndustry June 2017 www.tennisindustrymag.com 06_TI_FOB_TOC.indd 2 6/1/17 5:44 PM PREMIUM COURT SURFACING PRODUCTS Contact us for referrals to qualified installers in your region. SportMaster Products are installed by sport surfacing professionals throughout the United States and around the world. sportmaster.net OFFICIAL PLAYING SURFACE OF THE CITI OPEN® TENNIS TOURNAMENT Citi Open is a registered service mark of Citigroup Inc. TennisIndustry PUBLISHER OurServe JEFF WILLIAMS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR EDITOR'S NOTE PETER FRANCESCONI MANAGING EDITOR A Focus on the Benefi ts SCOTT GRAMLING CREATIVE DIRECTOR Is our industry fi nally taking a IAN KNOWLES SENIOR EDITOR closer look at the health and fi tness ED MGROGAN ART DIRECTOR reasons for playing this sport? CRHISTIAN RODRIGUEZ PRODUCTION EDITOR SAM CHASE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR BOB PATTERSON ecently, I’ve been getting now has a national Tennis Health & CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ROBIN BATEMAN, CYNTHIA CANTRELL, PEG more excited about how Wellness Task Force, headed by Dr. CONNOR, KENT OSWALD, CYNTHIA SHERMAN, our industry fi nally seems Jack Groppel and involving top doctors MARY HELEN SPRECHER to be addressing the and sports medicine experts. The task CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS health, fi tness and well- force is designed to help reach and BOB KENAS, DAVID KENAS ness opportunities that tennis o ers. engage Americans with messaging on R WEBMASTER I’ve always been an advocate for the wellness benefi ts of tennis. GREG RAVEN using simple, clear health and fi tness As Dr. Groppel said at the TOM Con- messages to sell this sport and get more ference, “Tennis su ers from its inabil- ASSOCIATE EDITOR people playing. The health aspects of ity as an industry to voice its incredible TIM MARTHUR tennis are benefi ts all Americans can health benefi ts and link to other health EDITORIAL DIRECTION relate to. Yet our e orts to promote this and wellness activities. Tennis needs 10TEN MEDIA sport haven’t tended to focus on these to sell itself as one of the top sports for basic factors, such as how tennis can lifelong health and fi tness.” TENNIS INDUSTRY help prevent many of the ailments that Another speaker at the TOM was 250 Park Avenue, Suite 825, NY NY 10017 a ict our sedentary population. club health & fi tness consultant Casey 646-402-5031 Conrad, whose presentations are [email protected] always dynamic and informative. One ADVERTISING DIRECTOR The opportunities for a of her key messages to tennis club own- JOHN HANNA ers and managers was to better utilize 770-650-1102, x125 health-conscious sport like the health, fi tness and wellness aspects [email protected] tennis are endless. of tennis. With nearly 150 million Americans who are overweight, and APPAREL ADVERTISING CYNTHIA SHERMAN Even with current initiatives to grow millions with related conditions, Con- 203-558-5911 tennis, we still do not have a unifi ed, rad says the possibilities for a health- [email protected] clear strategy on health and fi tness that conscious sport like tennis are endless. shows mainstream consumers, in ways Our current initiatives to grow this they can easily understand, why they sport are incredibly important, but we Tennis Industry is published 10 times per year: monthly, January through August with combined should be playing this sport. need to hammer home to consumers issues in September/October and November/ But now—and at the risk of speak- some of these simple, basic and very December, by Tennis Media Company, 250 Park Avenue, Suite 825, New York NY 10017. Periodical ing too soon—it seems this industry real messages about why they should be postage paid in Duluth, GA and at additional mailing may fi nally be taking a hard look at playing tennis. Let’s not get so caught offi ces (USPS #004-354). June 2017, Volume 45, Number 6 © 2017 by Tennis Media Company. All rights the benefi ts tennis has to o er when it up in the “process” that we forget the reserved. Tennis Industry, TI and logo are trademarks comes to getting and keeping Ameri- true benefi ts of our sport. of Tennis Media Company. Printed in the U.S.A. Phone advertising: 770-650-1102 x 125. Phone circulation cans healthy. and editorial: 646-402-5031. Yearly subscriptions This hit me during the recent Tennis $25 in the U.S., $40+ elsewhere. POSTMASTER: Send Owners & Managers Conference. Many address changes to Tennis Industry, 250 Park Avenue, Suite 825, New York NY 10017. Tennis Industry is the presenters and attendees talked about Peter Francesconi offi cial magazine of the USRSA, TIA and ASBA. the importance of health and fi tness Editorial Director Looking for back issues of Tennis Industry/Racquet when it comes to selling this sport and [email protected] Sports Industry? Visit the archives at our website getting people onto their courts to not at TennisIndustryMag.com for free digital versions. only play tennis, but to play more tennis. Tied into all this is that our industry 4 TennisIndustry June 2017 www.tennisindustrymag.com 06_TI_FOB_OurServe.indd 7 5/2/17 9:09 AM THE # 1 CHOICE FOR TENNIS SURFACING ® 150 Dascomb Road Andover, MA 01810 USA | 978.623.9980 | www.californiasportssurfaces.com ©2017 ICP Construction. California Sports Surfaces and other marks on this advertisment are trademarks of ICP Construction, Inc. IndustryNews USTA League, Head Penn Industry News Renew 30-Year Partnership The USTA and Head Penn Racquet Information to help you run your business Sports have announced a five-year renewal of their 30-year partnership for the USTA League program. As part of the agreement, Head Penn will provide per- formance Penn tennis balls for all USTA League sectional and national champion- ship events. Since 1987, Penn has donated more than two million balls during its sponsor- ship of the USTA League program, in addi- tion to providing gifts for league captains and door prizes at sectional and national championships. Established in 1980, the USTA League program has grown from 13,000 par- ticipants in a few parts of the country in its first year to more than 325,000 players across the nation today. Players compete in an average of three leagues each, which brings annual; total player registration to more than 900,000, making USTA League the world’s largest Boland won three recreational tennis league. national titles as “Our partnership with Head Penn is coach at UVA. one of the longest and most successful relationships in the industry,” says Jeff PLAYER DEVELOPMENT Waters, the USTA's managing director of Adult Tennis & Association Services. UVA’s Brian Boland Named “We look forward to working together to continue increasing participation in the USTA League program.” USTA Head of Men’s Tennis “Supporting players of all levels as they reach for their goal to be the best niversity of Virginia men’s “Brian brings a unique skill set, is exactly what Penn stands for,” adds head coach Brian Boland has a combination of management and Greg Mason, president of Head Penn been named the next Head of coaching expertise, which enabled him Racquet Sports. U Men’s Tennis for USTA Player Devel- to build a championship culture at the opment. Boland will report directly to University of Virginia,” said Blackman. Sportsmen’s Tennis Holds USTA Player Development General “He’s long been an innovative leader in ‘Big Sister, Little Sister’ Event Manager Martin Blackman out of the the world of college athletics.” USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.