As tennis becomes more accessible to the public at large, it's becoming increasingly difficult for certified teaching pros to make a living. Jobs are plentiful, but salaries are fixed in last century's payscale.

By Liza Horan

New York—Everybody loves a bargain. Scoring an object of desire on sale or at a reduced price with a coupon is great. Finding a perfect 'floor sample' or negotiating down an item that isn't too imperfect is even better. Paying full retail seems like a concession.

But bargains are relative. Getting a deal on hard goods you can judge with a glance is entirely different than purchasing services. You've got to knock wood in hopes that what's promised is delivered. It's one thing to try out a new drug store to get film developed, and another to try out a new babysitter without referrals.

Savvy business owners should think twice on accepting bargain rates for services that (1) affect other people and (b) affect other services. The tennis connection is coming, read on. 

When you choose to make a calculated risk for the sake of saving money, you are putting your quality control on the line. If you choose a vendor whose work will directly affect others and influence your ability to provide future services on the basis of cost only, you are settling. You are parsing out the reputation of your business to someone who can be bought for less than what you may require.

Facilities, by and large, have fallen into the "bargain" trap by offering antiquated salaries for teaching pros.

There is a corps of people delivering tennis in this country. Some are administrators, some run ancillary businesses, and some do it directly on court. It is the latter group—those on the front lines of pushing tennis at the local level—that figure here.

These on-court facilitators are the single most important variable of getting people to play—and stay in—the game. This point cannot be underestimated. While common barriers to entry traditionally have been noted as "expensive equipment" or "poor condition of courts" or "lack of courts," these are irrelevant if there is no guidance on how to play the game.

Now, these on-court facilitators come in all varieties: high schools kids who run park programs during the summer; parent volunteers who coordinate programs; summer camp counselors and rec department staff who include tennis as one of many activities; "suitcase" teachers who travel with their racquets and ball caddies to provide lessons on the go; certified pros who offer clinics and lessons; team coaches; and tennis directors who are associated with public facilities, country clubs, and resorts.

Each one has a vital role in the continued growth of this sport, but they are not interchangeable.

Along with a rainbow of different job titles and descriptions are salaries that range from "none" to those of six figures.

Tennis is on an upswing in popularity—growing 10.3% from 2000-2005 as the only traditional sport to increase participation—yet the infrastructure to meet the demand has not kept pace in regard to salaries for certified teaching professionals; that is, instructors who have been verified by the game's educational institutions like Peter Burwash International, Professional Tennis Registry and U.S. Professional Tennis Association.

People 'in the know' admit that the ability to earn a living as a teaching pro, and support a family, is extremely challenging. During the tennis boom on the 1970s, working as a certified teaching pro was a formidable career choice (and enjoyed a share of glamour). Well, inflation has caused significant increases in compensation packages in most business sectors while those of tennis' teachers flatlined. (There are great paying positions out there, but they are the exception, not the rule.)

Worse yet, I am told that when facility managers face the excruciating task of cutting costs, they often target the salary line of tennis staff. After all, all they need is a warm body out there feeding balls, right?

Wrong. In a big, opportunities-missed way.

See, a tennis teacher is like a hairdresser. The service being paid for is one that makes the buyer feel good and improve his or her life. While personal relationships often bloom amid regular meetings, the product (service) must be provided with consistent high quality. Some of us know what happens when a colorist gets complacent and sloppy with a $160 highlights job: Sayonara!

When facility managers see a drop-off in booked lessons or clinics, it's easy to label the teacher as not trying or not good. But back up a second and take a look at what you are paying for—does the compensation match the job description and standards you seek?

Perhaps the club managers need a roadmap. How much should an assistant pro earn if she is a top college player home for the summer, versus one who is a first-year certified pro who's interested in moving up the ladder? How different is the payscale between a college-educated yet non-certified teacher, and a certified pro with extensive continuing education credits from one of the teaching organizations?

There's a good chance the educational organizations and the U.S. Tennis Association do know. The Tennis Industry Association commissioned a Compensation Study for this purpose, and seeks to resurrect the project since it was last conducted in 2002.

"Club managers ask us for this all the time," says Jolyn de Boer, who is executive director of the Tennis Industry Association. "They want guidelines."

It's up to tennis as an industry to collectively act as a union to negotiate better salaries for its valued deliverers of the game. Set standards and go about educating club managers in a systematic way. If those managers learn how a teaching pro can fill courts, sell merchandise, boost membership, and build community, you can bet that they will treasure the "warm body" that is a road to revenue.

The fact is teaching pros are more than human ball machines. They are the sales force for a lucrative business, the personalities who market services, hard goods, and renewable membership-based income. They are the professionals who can keep first-timers coming back to the game because they are trained in how to teach technique in a fun and correct way.

Tennis did win 1.1 million new players in 2005, but what about the 3.96 million* who tried once and walked? Were their on-court experiences in the hands of certified professionals?

"Poor introductory experience" is the leading cause of first-timers copping out, according to a survey conducted by the Tennis Industry Association.

There is a place for every kind of "on-court facilitator" in tennis. The game relies on local volunteers, parents, family members and friends to introduce the game to people and keep them coming back; but there must be a sustainable, exceptional system they get fed into. It exists: The certified career teaching pro.

That position is threatened as a career choice. If the facility managers aren't willing to invest in them, who is?

It's time to collectively bring this issue to the floor.

Bring it up in conversation, toss around some ideas, and make a commitment as an industry to educate the employers into action. They might very well be interested to know that by limiting the salaries of qualified pros, they are hacking off a road to revenue.

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*USTA/TIA Participation Study (2005)