Playing high-performance junior tennis is expensive and often prohibitively so. Families drop out of the competitive pathway not because their children lack talent or passion, but because they simply can’t afford to stay in the game. Travel, equipment, and coaching costs create barriers that exclude many promising athletes long before their potential can be realized. The USTA needs to explore sustainable, transparent ways to subsidize training and travel that are accessible, fair, and equitable.

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 Elite-level player development doesn’t just happen in academies; It starts with the local coach who spots a spark in a kid at a park court and knows how to nurture it.

Of the three grant categories, I suspect this is the one that will attract the most proposals. Everyone loves the idea of developing the next great American champion. That’s understandable, but it also misses the point. The most impactful research might not be about training elite juniors at all, but rather creating an environment where excellence can grow naturally. That starts with broad participation, access to affordable instruction, and community-level engagement.

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Another Reality

“ For every Serena or Naomi, there are thousands of families who went all in, only to come up empty-handed. It’s a system built on dreams, but powered by delusion.

And yet… that delusion is part of what keeps the junior tennis engine running.”

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Playing high school team tennis is about the only way to inexpensive match experience in the  U.S.  (Tom Parham ).  

The SHOT DOCTORS

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sg8qPj4zvCNPhYlKy0mHe9ByIkTA-JHsUAywiW9Jv0E/edit?tab=t.0

 It’s a system built on dreams, but powered by delusion.

 (Copied from NATIONAL MEN’S TENNIS ASSOCIATION  ( President’s letter, July 2025)

A follow-up idea stemming from yesterday’s post about the economic inequities between junior and senior tennis is a related micro-topic. It centers around the illusion of return on investment. The junior tennis ecosystem is largely fueled by a powerful fantasy. Parents (and sometimes even the players themselves) believe that with enough money, sacrifice, and hard work, tennis greatness and a lucrative professional career are within reach. Failing that, at least there is the potential of a college scholarship.

Junior tournaments are populated by families burning vacation days to stand on blistering hot sidelines, pouring resources into private lessons, national travel, custom stringing, fitness trainers, and sometimes even homeschool tutors. It adds up—quickly. And while few say it out loud, the intentions are clear. The hope of a future payoff. Framed that way, junior tennis isn’t an indulgence, but rather an investment.

The emergence of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals has clouded the dynamic for college tennis. In marquee sports like football and basketball, NIL opportunities have turned collegiate athletics into quasi-professional ventures. However, for “minor” sports like tennis, it is starting to show the opposite effect. Athletic departments and third parties are directing resources toward programs that generate visibility and revenue. Meanwhile, tennis slips further into the background. The money is flowing, just not toward tennis. All that to say, players who earn college scholarships for tennis receive far less in financial remuneration than what was poured into their junior development.

If you watch “King Richard” or read Ben Rothenberg’s “Naomi Osaka: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice,” you can see the same haunting story of staggering costs and financial strain that comes with chasing tennis greatness. In both stories, the results are extraordinary. However, the outcomes were more likely to be ruinous for all but the most statistically improbable outliers. For every Serena or Naomi, there are thousands of families who went all in, only to come up empty-handed. It’s a system built on dreams, but powered by delusion.

And yet… that delusion is part of what keeps the junior tennis engine running.