November/December 2005 Volume 33 Number 10 $5.00 2005 CHAMPIONS OF TENNIS Our annual awards honor those who continue to make this sport a winner Max Brownlee Q Racquet World Q Golfsmith Q Tennis Warehouse Q Bob Patterson Q Fast-Dry Companies Q Shirley Ruane Q Wayne St. Peter Q Kay Barney Q Karin Korb Q John Drew Smith Tennis Center Q Scalzi Park Q Brookhaven Country Club Q Baltimore Tennis Patrons Q USA Tennis Florida Q Lisa Duncan Q Bob Reed US Open Player Equipment Log “Tennis Service Reps” To Aid Grassroots Growth String Playtest ContentsContents RSI NOV/DEC 2005 INDUSTRY NEWS 7 Tennis Service Reps hit the ground running 7 USTA recognizes 10 facilities for excellence SPECIAL SECTION: 7 RSI launches website for magazine 2005 Champions of Tennis Our special section honors the people and organizations that are making 8 USPTA honors leaders in a difference in the business of tennis. tennis profession 20 Person of the Year 30 Wheelchair Tennis Champion 8 In•Tenn online magazine offers Max Brownlee of the Year free subscription Karin Korb 22 Pro/Specialty Retailer of the Year 9 Wilson, Nickelodeon offer Racquet World 30 Municipal Facility of the Year SpongeBob racquets John Drew Smith Tennis Center 23 Chain Retailer/Mass Merchant 9 Loehr to headline ASBA meeting of the Year 32 Public Park of the Year in Tampa Golfsmith Scalzi Park 24 Online Retailer of the Year 32 Private Facility of the Year 10 Eight earn USPTA Master Pro Tennis Warehouse Brookhaven Country club designation 25 Stringer of the Year 33 Community Tennis Association 11 Wilson launches redesigned website Bob Patterson of the Year Baltimore Tennis Patrons 12 Van der Meer honored at 26 Builder/Contractor of the Year Teachers Conference Fast-Dry Companies 33 USTA Section of the Year USA Tennis Florida 12 Prince O3 technology wins 27 Grassroots Champion of the Year design award Shirley Ruane 34 PTR Member of the Year Lisa Duncan 12 Roddick dons new Babolat 28 Junior Development Champion of the Year 34 USPTA Member of the Year Team All Court shoe Wayne St. Peter Bob Reed 15 Völkl launches new Boris Becker 29 Sales Rep of the Year racquet series Kay Barney On the cover: Max Brownlee, Babolat North America Reprinted with permission of the Rocky Mountain News. DEPARTMENTS 40 Tips and Techniques 4 Our Serve 42 Ask the Experts 36 US Open Player Equipment Log 43 RSI 2005 Industry Resource Guide 38 String Playtest: Gamma Zo Sweet 17 48 Your Serve, by Greg Moran November/December 2005 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY 3 Our Serve (Incorporating Racquet Tech and Tennis Industry) The Champion’s Pursuit Publishers David Bone Jeff Williams hat does it take to be a champion? No matter Editor-in-Chief W Crawford Lindsey the field of endeavor, it takes drive, determi- Editorial Director nation, sacrifice, hard work, practice, knowledge, Peter Francesconi Associate Editor experience, and more. Man, that sounds like a Greg Raven tough row to hoe. Is it really worth it? Design/Art Director But take even a quick look at any of this year’s winners of RSI’s Kristine Thom Champions of Tennis Awards, and you’ll know the answer. These Assistant to the Publisher people love what they do, and they are successful in proportion to Cari Feliciano that love. Contributing Editors But it is also more than a “labor” of love. It’s fun, too. Helping Cynthia Cantrell the game to grow, developing tennis programs for a local facility, Rod Cross Kristen Daley running a CTA, designing and building court facilities, running a Joe Dinoffer successful retail business—these folks simply enjoy what they’re Liza Horan doing. Andrew Lavallee James Martin Another commonality of this year’s champions is the belief that Mark Mason success is all about building relationships. Champions fulfill their Chris Nicholson dreams by helping others fulfill theirs. Each champion believes that Mitch Rustad what they are driven so naturally to do is of great value to others Drew Sunderlin in their pursuit of what they do. In a sense, the relationship is the RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY goal, not the means, of the champion’s pursuit. That’s why so Corporate Offices many champions are so genuine, so nice, and so well-liked. Your 330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084 day is better off having them in it than not having them in it. Phone: 760-536-1177 Fax: 760-536-1171 Email: [email protected] So, to our 2005 Champions of Tennis, we say thank you for a Website: www.racquetTECH.com job well-done—and well-loved. Office Hours: Mon.-Fri.,8 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific Time Advertising Director John Hanna 770-650-1102, x.125 [email protected] Dave Bone JeffJeff WilliamsWilliams Co-Publisher Co-Publisher Apparel Advertising Cynthia Sherman 203-263-5243 [email protected] Racquet Sports Industry (USPS 347-8300. ISSN 0191- 5851) is published 10 times per year: monthly January through August and combined issues in Septem- PeterPeter FrancesconiFrancesconi CrawfordCrawford LindseyLindsey ber/October and November/December by Tennis Editorial Director Editor-in-Chief Industry and USRSA, 330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084. Periodicals postage paid at Hurley, NY 12443 and addi- tional mailing offices. November/December 2005, Vol- ume 33, Number 10 © 2005 by USRSA and Tennis Industry. All rights reserved. Racquet Sports Industry, RSI and logo are trademarks of USRSA. Printed in the U.S.A. Phone advertising: 770-650-1102 x 125. Phone circulation and editorial: 760-536-1177. Yearly sub- scriptions $25 in the U.S., $40 elsewhere. POSTMAS- TER: Send address changes to Racquet Sports Industry, 330 Main St., Vista, CA 92084. 4 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY November/December 2005 RSI is the “official magazine” of the USRSA, TIA, and ASBA RSI NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 INDUSTRYINDUSTRY NEWS NEWS INFORMATIONTOHELPYOURUNYOURBUSINESS USTA Recognizes 10 McMahon to Head New Tennis Service Rep Program Facilities for Excellence new “national sales force for tennis” may soon pro- vide help to those who are in the field delivering ten- Ten public tennis centers have been hon- A nis programs at the recreational level. ored in the 24th annual USTA Facility Dozens of “Tennis Service Representatives” are being hired Awards Program, which recognizes by the USTA sections, with support from the USTA national excellence in the construction and/or office, to help “assess the tennis needs of communities and renovation of public tennis facilities in help people to do their jobs in the most efficient way possible,” the U.S. says Mark McMahon, the USTA’s new national manager for the TSRs. McMahon, who has been a teaching pro and tennis The names of the 10 will be inscribed on director for 25 years, joined the USTA in August to oversee the a large wall plaque displayed in the TSR program. lobby of the USTA National Tennis Cen- “The objective is to drill down directly to the operators—the ter, home of the US Open. Each of the people in the field who deliver the programs,” says McMahon. facilities will also receive a one-year “The TSRs become a conduit, a facilitator, in helping local ten- complimentary membership to the USTA, Bob Kenas nis programs find what they need to increase participation.” a certificate of recognition, and a wood- McMahon says there will be at least 47 TSRs, who will report to the USTA sections to which en wall plaque and large lexan sign to they’re assigned. The number of TSRs will vary depending on the needs of the sections—larg- display on the outside of their facility. er sections generally will have more TSRs. As of mid-October, about 30 TSRs had been hired. "We are pleased to recognize these The TSRs will be supported by a combination of national and sectional funding. Kurt Kam- facilities for their hard work and commit- perman, the USTA’s chief executive of Community Tennis, says the national office has com- ment to achieving higher standards … mitted $12 million over the next three years to the program. [and] in helping the USTA to promote Another aspect of McMahon’s responsibilities will deal with Tennis Welcome Centers. “The and develop the growth of tennis," says Tennis Welcome Centers should be a rallying point for the industry,” he says. “They should Kurt Kamperman, the USTA’s chief execu- be a point of differentiation and represent value for the player and the center operator. One tive of Community Tennis. The award of the goals of TSRs will be to help raise the standards at every tennis center.” winners are: McMahon, who grew up in Australia and learned tennis at a public park in Melbourne, came to the U.S. in 1979. He’s a PTR member and a USPTA Master Pro, and most recent- Public courts (2-9 courts): Ottawa Town- ly was the director of tennis at the Dunwoody Country Club in Atlanta. Prior to that, he was ship High School Tennis Courts, Ottawa, at clubs in Florida for many years, and has also served on various committees and boards. Ill. “My perspective is built on 25 years of being a teaching pro and club pro,” says McMa- Public courts (10+ courts): Barbara S. hon. “This is a real opportunity to put the service back in tennis.” Wynne Tennis Center, Indianapolis; Cen- tro De Tenis Honda, Bayamón, Puerto Racquet Sports Industry Launches Magazine Website Rico; Swim & Racquet Center, Boca Raton, Fla. ow, all the news and features you’ve read about in Racquet Sports Industry are available on the internet. In Septem- Collegiate tennis centers: Princeton Uni- N ber, we launched versity Tennis Center, Princeton, N.J.