TheBuzz: Stories behind the headlines | Tennis News by TennisWire editors

New Haven Open and Anne Worcester survived, and now thrive

Editor — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:23:26 GMT

By Nick McCarvel, Associate Editor

New Haven -- Anne Worcester, the former WTA executive and current tournament director for the New Haven Open has had quite a year. She saved a storied professional tennis tournament from leaving its beloved community, brought junior tennis development programs to an all-time high level, and beat cancer. Yes, she beat cancer.

The 30-year veteran of the tennis business world said she felt "burnt-out" 12 months ago during what was supposed to be the last Pilot Pen Tennis event. After all, the tournament's title sponsor was pulling its support after 15 years as the premiere warm-up to the U.S. Open. The event, hosted at Yale University, traditional was a women's tournament but expanded to dual-gender for a few years (2005 to 2010).

"I just wanted to get to the finish line," Worcester said in an interview with HelloTennis.com. "And then I was going to go and do something else [professionally]."

But what transpired over the six weeks that followed the final Pilot Pen in 2010 was remarkable: The title sponsor that the tournament had been so desperately chasing since November of 2009 suddenly came together -- in the 13th hour.

"We had to ask the USTA [which leases the tournament] for an extension," Worcester recalled. "Our September 30th deadline got pushed back a week. And that's what we needed."

But replacing the hole left by loyal sponsor Pilot Pen was a formidable task.

Taking a new approach to tournament sponsorship

Instead of finding a single sponsor, Worcester pulled in five "cornerstone" sponsors: Yale University, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Aetna, American Express and presenting sponsor First Niagra.

"It became crystal clear that the financial model that we were trying to run with the combined event wasn't working," said Worcester, adding that fewer top men play in the week leading up to the Open because they are prepping for two weeks of best-of-five set matches.

"With the women, we went after this cornerstone model where we would take on as many as eight companies as a unit," Worcester explained of the novel approach. Nearly every other tournament operates with a single title sponsor -- except the Grand Slam tourneys -- or a "bridge" sponsor that carries from year to year.

Talk around last year's Pilot Pen was depressingly grim, Worcester recalls. Media outlets wanted to know one thing: "Are you going to have a title sponsor next year?"

Pilot Pen had given the tournament nearly a year to find a replacement sponsor when it announced in November 2009 that it would withdraw from the relationship. But as last year's tourney passed and the fall deadline approached, Worcester turned to Yale University President Richard Levin for support.

He committed the school's support as the host site and led Worcester to "new money" as she describes it: Aetna. Yale-New Haven Hospital and American Express signed on afterward. The final piece of the puzzle came in February of this year when First Niagra committed.

"I had a verbal commitment from [First Niagra] that they were going to do this," Worcester explains of last fall, before the company had officially signed on as presenting sponsor. The USTA approved the tournament staying in New Haven and they were in business as of October 11, only 10 days after revealing to the media that the tournament intended to enlist new sponsors.

"I was going apple-picking with my family that day and had to talk to the press first," Worcester said. "Everyone expected us to say, 'That's it' or announce one single title sponsor.' No one expected us to do what we did."

USTA moves National Playoffs to New Haven

The New Haven tournament's focus continued to be its community and the development of grassroots and junior programs. The USTA appreciated this approach and in January of 2011 offered to move the National Playoff tournament, still in its infancy, to New Haven for the week of Worcester's tourney.

"That has been a homerun," she said. "We have men's tennis at the beginning of the week and mixed doubles. We're the only event outside of the Open to have mixed doubles."

All the while, Worcester battled cancer

In the meantime, Worcester was diagnosed with breast cancer, took a medical leave of absence and went through multiple surgeries. Coming through all of it to see through a smooth transition not only for the tournament, but for the community of tennis in New Haven as a whole.

The future looks bright

Earlier this year, Eastshore Park in New Haven became the first official site of 10 and Under tennis courts in New England, the USTA granting $50,000 to the New Haven Open at Yale, the New Haven City Parks Dept. and the USTA New England section to fix up decrepit courts and re-fashion some of them into official 10 and Under courts.

"The USTA supports us in so many ways," Worcester said, eyeing a match playing on the conference room's TV. "We've learned to leverage the celebrity of tennis for the community tennis. This tournament is a means to our end: develop tennis at the community level."

The tournament has also done that by holding the Family Classic, an event that spreads across eight states that pairs family members together over the course of a months-long competition, culminating at the New Haven Open at Yale. This year's winners got their trophies from Caroline Wozniacki.

"How cool is that? Worcester asked enthusiastically. "And we do a lot of unusual things here. This tournament is an economic driver in the city because we have the New Haven Food and Wine Festival and a fashion show and barbecues and these things that make us different."

Not to mention that the New Haven Open at Yale now sits as the only hardcourt tournament in the Northeast, a fact which USTA New England took seriously to support, especially with tennis' history in the region.

What really makes them different is how they've stayed alive: five sponsors (and countless more as part of the Olympus U.S. Open Series) teaming up together -- but not one with the title spot.

"They are the best thing to happen to this tournament," Worcester said defiantly. Any memories of being burnt out? Not really. And cancer? None of that either. "We've re-invented this tournament. Brought it back from the dead."

Djokovic plays Sharapova -- off-court

Editor — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:18:42 GMT

By Nick McCarvel, Associate Editor

New York City -- Bill Macatee went on and on about the accolades of Maria Sharapova on Wednesday afternoon at the Benjamin Hotel so much so that the crowd gathered to see her and Novak Djokovic were craning their neck for the door, waiting for the 2006 U.S. Open champion to walk through first onto the stage.

But as Macatee invited the three-time Major champion out, it was Djokovic -- clad in a bright blonde wig -- who strode into the room, pushing his faux locks out of his face and wearing a goofy grin.

"I'm very feminine," the Sharapova impostor said in his interview with the CBS fixture. "I love fashion."

Djokovic had the crowd of media and tennis business faces in fits of laughter as he continued his Sharapova impersonation, Macatee opening the room up to questions. But it was a familiar voice -- that of Sharapova's -- called out the first query of the press conference: "What are you doing?!"

Djokovic and Sharapova were at the Midtown hotel to talk about their respective successes with their HEAD YouTek racquets, each finding their own great successes since switching to the brand in the last two years.

But the pair did plenty of ribbing at one another, Macatee asking Djokovic why he continued to do the impressions of other players and Sharapova quickly with wit, adding: "Yeah. Why?"

Later, they would battle over who would get more questions from the media who were present ("I'm up two-to-one!" Sharapova proclaiming at one point) and warning one another about certain questions ("Careful! He's from The Post!" Sharapova told Djokovic).

But there was seriousness, too: Djokovic said he was resting the sore shoulder that forced him to retire in the Cincinnati final last week while Sharapova said that while she continues to maintain her focus and drive in tennis, she strives for a more balanced life overall.

Videos were shown of more Djokovic impersonations, the two players talking of their love for their racquets while Maria spoke about the tennis bags she had helped design for the company, saying she didn't "want to design a bag that was just a tennis bag."

Djokovic gamely agreed, saying he was constantly chased down in airports because people saw his bag first -- and then recognized him. "Oh, it's you!" He relayed fans would say to him in one such story to the chuckling crowd.

In the end, the two posed for pictures and Djokovic, unable to resist the chance, playfully stood on his tippy-toes to grow equal in height with the six-foot-two Maria. Both -- it seems -- have equal shots to win the upcoming U.S. Open.

Hingis saves Sportimes, Evert waxes about old days and America's future

Editor — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 05:24:00 GMT

By Nick McCarvel

New York--Martina Hingis and Chris Evert had fans on their feet on Monday night at the World TeamTennis -- for two very different reasons.

Hingis, playing for the NY Sportimes, brought her team back from the brink of defeat to seal a scintillating comeback on a do-or-die point, while Evert charmed the crowd with her rare appearance on the court, teaming up with youngsters to play a friendly mixed doubles exhibition.

"When Billie Jean asks you for a favor, you don't say 'no,'" Evert said in a press conference before the evening's events began. "I have great memories of World TeamTennis...The least I could do was say 'yes' when she asked. It just seemed like fun."

The entire night could have been characterized so, as a small but boisterous crowd watched Hingis almost single-handedly bring New York back from a deficit to win a winner-takes-all point in the tiebreak set against double specialist Liezel Huber, playing for the St. Louis Aces.

"At the end, I was just like, 'I'm not missing this!,"' Hingis explained. "Here the ball kind of flies so there's that added pressure not to miss. You have to be aggressive and patient -- it's difficult, that kind of combination. She played smart. I took my chance on a match point and it paid off. I feel so much relief."

An ecstatic Hingis was rightfully relieved, helping the Sportimes come back from a 10-3 deficit to eventually win the team dual, 16-15.

American Jesse Witten also helped the New York cause, registering a 5-0 win in singles.

For Evert, who played against Witten in a hit-and-giggle with two talented QuickStart New York youths, WTT will only grow stronger as it continues to draw players like Hingis to its three-week season.

"I think [WTT is] going about it the right way if they can just get a Venus (Williams) or a Serena (Williams) for three or four nights," Evert said. "Or get (Roger) Federer during the last few years of his career. Those players are the ones that bring in the crowds. If that's the case, WTT can grow."

Evert looks back
"When I played it...was the era that (Bjorn) Borg, (John) McEnroe, Jimmy (Connors), myself, Billie Jean (King), Martina (Navratilova) (played)-- it was a great era -- we would pack 8,000 to 10,000 people in the stadiums every night," Evert recalled. "It was great to be on a team and it was great for the spectators to see all five kind of matches. It was great for the audience."

Evert understands that WTT has much more to compete with these days: prize money, a more crowded tennis players and a global cast of stars.

"As long as there are million-dollar tournaments in the summer and sponsors for these tournaments like there are now, it's hard to say [where WTT fits in]," Evert surmised. "There's not much time between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open when you figure in the rest and the training and then you have to put in the warm-up tournaments."

New faith in USTA to build champs
"There's no magic formula. I support the USTA. They get it now. They didn't for so long, but trust me, there are scouts at every single tournament at every single level trying to find talent in America."

How Evert Academy builds champs
"[My academy's philosophy] is focusing on the whole child. We have tennis, which we have both mental and physical training [for the kids]. We have an online school or if [the kids] want to go to school across the street, [they] can. We have activities for the kids on nights and the weekends so that they're not tennis machines. I'm so in awe of these kids at academies. They have discipline, commitment responsibility. You don't find a lot of kids like that.

"We ask them what their goals are. They vary: 'I want to be No. 1 on my high school team.' 'I want to be no. 1 in India.' 'I want to get a college scholarship.' We respect that."

Talent gap separates Americans pros from others
"When Venus and Serena are healthy, they still are the best players are the world. But yes, there is a gap. I think tennis is very global now. When I was playing, there was never a Chinese player. There were only four or five countries represented. Nowadays, tennis is so big that all of these European countries that tennis is the first or second most popular sport there. And they put millions of dollars into training facilities. In America, we're 10th or 12th as a sport -- a lot of these kids go to team sports."

"We're suffering because of [team sports] now, especially on the women's side. When I was coming up none of those existed. I do not look at it as, 'What are we doing wrong?' I disagree with that philosophy. Most of our good athletes are going to team sports, while some of these other countries have better athletes going to tennis. And it's a ticket to get out of their country. I still think there is something to be said of, 'I want to get out of Romania, I want to go to America, I want to be Maria Sharapova and win a lot of tournaments and money.'"

Hingis teams with key partners at Wimbledon, for clothing line, for WTT

Editor — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 22:25:31 GMT

By Nick McCarvel

Martina Hingis always was bent on winning. She had no game face. Her Cheshire Cat grin couldn't be obscured when she was up, and her chagrin couldn't be contained at times. But she produced many unforgettable moments -- and titles. Hingis holds five Grand Slam singles crowns among her 43 singles titles, and nine major doubles crowns among her 37 doubles trophies.

Her post-pro career demonstrates the 30-year-old hasn't lost any zeal to win, whether it's winning a match, promoting fashion or increasing wealth.

Her latest involvements with key partners involve all of those things.

Hingis/Davenport reach finals
Returning to the grounds where she won the 1997 Wimbledon title, Hingis has partnered up with Lindsay Davenport in the Invitational Doubles event, where the pair has been quite successful. They qualified for the championship bout by winning three round-robin matches.

"I love playing with Lindsay," Hingis explained on a press call. "She makes life a lot easier (on court). It's just really nice playing with someone that was once my rival...the chemistry is there and there's lots of laughs."

Fashion remains a priority

Hingis also had an unveiling of sorts, talking of her business venture in launching Tonic Tennis, a tennis clothing line that comes out in March 2012. The Canada-based clothing company churns our general yoga and sportswear, but its tennis line will be inspired and influenced by Hingis.

Tennis play limited to WTT, mostly
Despite the success she and Davenport are enjoying at the AELTC, Hingis she doesn't have plans to compete beyond exhibitions and playing for World TeamTennis' NY Sportimes, starting July 6. A match against the Washington Kastles will pit her against Serena Williams.

"Playing Serena should be cool. I have to bring a good game. I don't have anything to lose," said Hingis, who stint in 2005 with the NY Sportimes resulted in the team winning the championship.

The Swiss Miss downplayed any chance she might return to the WTA Tour or work as a coach.

"If you do coaching its almost like you're a player, traveling 30 to 35 weeks a year," Hingis explained. "I like giving ideas to upcoming players to help them along.

"I also have a private life: I have my horses and I'm married now," said Hingis, who married 24-year-old show jumping Frenchman Thibault Hutin in December 2010.

Contented fan

Hingis may be focused on her own chances of winning with Davenport on the grass, but she's watching the main draw. Regarding the ladies' final on Saturday, Hingis offered, "(Petra Kvitova) has nothing to lose...she can just go for it. Maria has another look at winning again seven years later."

Grass court draws Grand Slam legends, fans amid concrete jungle

Editor — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 18:37:00 GMT

By Nick McCarvel

New York--About two decades ago, two kids with loads of potential hit the courts of the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in hopes of getting to the next level. They grinded it out on too-hot courts, along with dozens of other hopefuls, for most of the day, every day. One was a native Floridian with a outgoing American and no lack of confidence. The other was a quiet Eastern European who let her racquet do the talking, hitting two-handed off each side.

It was she who sent winners flying past her bigger, more powerful fellow student in one match-up he'd never forget.

"This is payback!" Jim Courier hollered to Monica Seles on Monday as he secured a beautiful winner that sailed across a real grass court set in the concrete jungle of Manhattan.

The setting was Wimbledon at Rockefeller Center an event, put on by HSBC, that brings a myriad of Wimbledon-inspired activities to the city that hosts the U.S. Open.

"What we're trying to do is bring a little of Wimbledon to New York and we want people to have a good time this week," said Kevin Martin, senior executive vice president of HSBC Bank USA.

Commuters and tourists alike seemed surprised to see a grass court at Rockefeller Center, let alone the two former Grand Slam champions hitting on it. The two traded groundstrokes while Tennis Channel's Brett Haber chatted them up.

The action between Seles and Courier kicked off a week of Wimbledon at Rockefeller, featuring a large screen showing live action from the All England Club, Wii tennis, instructional sessions and free racquet stringing by Prince, strawberries and cream, and period-dressed Wimbledon players.

Monica Seles turns novelist
"I'm going to be starting to write a novel for the first time in my life," Seles told HelloTennis.com. "It took me a long time to get the treatment done, which took up a lot of my day-to-day time. I'm working with my friend James on the novel, he's my partner in this. It's going to be really, really fun. It's in the works. We just signed with Bloomsbury, who's going to be the publisher. We have a tennis character in there because of my love for the sport. But we have baseball, football, soccer and other sports involved, as well."

She indulges her enjoyment for writing, and reserves her court time for kids. "I do a lot of these little kids clinics. I enjoy working with little kids who are just getting into the sport," Seles explained. "Nothing older than that. I really enjoy the smaller clinics when I do them. I have parents and friends of friends -- I don't know how they get to me! -- or through an agent [asking to work with their kids] and I'm always very happy to do that. Any time I can help because I've done that, I've lived that, I'm happy to."

Jim Courier remains close to competition
The newly-appointed Davis Cup captain has his first big test when his boys host Spain in Austin, Texas, July 8 to 10.

"I'm not going to Wimbledon, but I went to Queen's Club tournament for three days and I got to see the guys play on the grass there," Courier said. "I'm disappointed that Sam Querrey has an elbow injury that he had to have surgically repaired and he won't be an option for us. We have five good options, though. We have Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, John Isner and Bob and Mike Bryan. We'll have four of those five players on the court ready to do battle with the Spaniards."

A fast -- and loud -- court will help the American's chances, the new captain said.

"We'll play on a fast indoor court that will meet ITF specifications and it's going to be high energy and high passion. This is probably the only time that Roddick is going to get to play a real Davis Cup match at home."

Courier's other big tennis project, the Champions Series, makes 12 tour stops.

"From September 22 to October 22 is the Champions Series tennis tour in which (Bjorn) Borg, Mac (John McEnroe), (Michael) Chang, (Mats) Wilander, (Andre) Agassi, (Pete) Sampras and myself will all be playing in these one-night tournaments," Courier said. "I saw that there was an opportunity...within a lot of great markets like Boston and Chicago and Seattle that didn't have a tennis tournament. They once had a pro tennis tournament, but they had gone overseas or fallen off the calendar. I thought there was a real under-served tennis fan base there and a real opportunity...for Champions Series tennis."

HSBC extends reach to U.S.
Prize money at The Championships, Wimbledon, is being handled by HSBC, the tourney's official banking partner since 2007. With nearly 500 bank branches in the U.S. serving 4 million customers, the company is leveraging its Wimbledon partnership to American tennis fans.

"We have an involvement with [Courier's] Champions Series in North America and for 2011, that's where we're at. Globally, we continue to support golf and we support tennis via this event here in New York."

"We just want people to have fun," said Martin, admitting he'd like to get on the tennis court a bit more himself.

No wonder. As Haber exclaimed, "This is the real stuff!"

Photos courtesy HSBC

Evert, new ESPN analyst, says time off has helped aging Williams sisters

Editor — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:39:31 GMT

By Nick McCarvel, Associate Editor

For the future of its coverage at Wimbledon, ESPN is digging into tennis' past: Hall-of-famer Chris Evert will join Brad Gilbert and others in the broadcast booth. Her last stint was with NBC in 2003. It's the first time she'll call matches for ESPN.

"I'm going back because I want to," said Evert, who won 18 major titles. "I have my own tennis academy. I've been involved in coaching now. I have a different perspective of the game."

Evert and Gilbert, speaking on a media conference call, predicted who might leave SW19 as champions.

"Rafa's played tremendous, Fed's got a track record, Djokovic has been on fire this year, and Murray just won Queens. So I think one of those four," Gilbert said, unable to pick any single player as a heavy favorite.

"I agree with Brad. I cannot even give anybody the edge," Evert chimed in.

But while neither commentator could slice one man away from the competition, there was a single pair of women who dominated the ladies' discussion: Venus and Serena Williams.

"It would be monumental in my mind if Serena pulled off a win. You can never, ever count her out," the 56-year-old Evert said. "I don't know how it's humanly possible for someone to take a year off like that and have gone through what she's been through physically with her ailments and really hasn't had a tremendous amount of practice."

While Serena Williams made a decent showing at Eastbourne this week (losing in the second round to No. 3 Vera Zvonareva, 7-5 in the third set), ESPN surely hopes both Williamses will post strong showings in London. Ratings will benefit.

"In the course of their 15‑year career, they've taken a lot of time off," Evert said. "I think they get away from the game, and then when they come back in the game after a long layoff, I think they're really excited and rejuvenated and refreshed.

"I think the only thing helping them by playing at an older age is the fact that they've had so many breaks," said Evert, whose French Open title at age 31 remains a record there.

Evert believes she'll bring a champion's eye to the commentator's booth.

"I think that the players like [me that were] in the heat of battle like Brad (Gilbert) and like John McEnroe and Mary Joe [Fernandez], I think that's what we pick up maybe a little bit better than analysts or commentators that really didn't feel that intense pressure," Evert said about sniffing out the big points in big matches.

ESPN's broadcast team rounds out with Chris Fowler, Hannah Storm, Fernandez,

Pam Shriver, Cliff Drysdale, Dick Enberg, Patrick McEnroe and Darren Cahill.

"We are doing over 100 hours of programming beginning on Monday. Through the first week we'll have 10 hours of coverage each day and taper down as the second week of the tournament progresses," Jamie Reynolds, ESPN's vice president of remote production said. "With the addition of Chrissy to our team, this is a terrific add to our talent roster."

ESPN's coverage will begin on Monday, June 20, the first day of The Championships, Wimbledon, on ESPN 2:

Monday, June 20 to Friday, June 24 -- 7 am to 5 pm EST

Saturday, June 25 -- 7 am to 1 pm EST

Monday, June 27 to Wednesday, June 29 -- 7 to 10 am EST

Thursday, June 30 and Friday, July 1 -- 7 am to noon EST

Saturday, July 2 -- Sportscenter at Wimbledon following the Ladies' Final, 2 to 3 pm EST

Drop-out Agassi's made education his quest

Editor — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 21:43:00 GMT

By Nick McCarvel

Andre Agassi is a high-school dropout. Back then he couldn't have imagined that after his illustrious pro tennis career, he would devote himself to making sure others didn't drop out.

And now that the tennis legend-turned-education hero has had success with his Las Vegas charter school, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, his ambitions have broadened.

"I believed I could change the dialogue of the resources that we provide and the accountability and transparency that goes along with those resources," Agassi said in a conference call prior to the BNP Paribas Showdown. "I thought with one successful school, I might be able to help legislate some change in my state that could swing the bar enough to inspire some changes in our public education system and then maybe create a national dialogue."

That hasn't necessarily been the case, however, as Agassi has run into one hurdle after the other. His biggest challenge has been figuring out how to take his success in his hometown and expand what he's done.

"One of my greatest pains has been the children that I couldn't help. I have 650 kids in my school and over 1,000 on a waiting list. Over 10 years I've been grinding to figure out a way [to grow].

"Just when I gave up hope, I got an interesting phone call a year and a half ago," he said. "The single greatest impediment to the growth of charter school operators are facilities themselves. What I've gotten onto now is figuring out how to facilitate facilities."

What Agassi means is that he's now involved with helping construct school sites where these charter schools can live.

"We're going to come out of the blocks shortly...in Philadelphia and move out throughout the Northeast," Agassi explained. "I have figured out how to build tens of thousands of seats over the next five years and I look forward to being able to talk about that more down the road."

For Agassi, the entire process has been a learning one, which is exactly what he hoped for in the beginning.

"What I wanted to really use my academy to do was to be a laboratory of sorts. It's turned out to be that," he said. "I think I have learned more than the children have learned."

"Tennis Night" aims to put the game on Americans' agenda

Editor — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:56:00 GMT

By Nick McCarvel

While all eyes were on Madison Square Garden on Monday night as four tennis legends battled it out, the USTA was putting on its biggest night of the year for younger players of another sort.

"Tennis Night in America," a national effort to drive youth registration in tennis programs, has been extended from one night to a monthly effort this year, says USTA Chief Executive for Community Tennis Kurt Kamperman.

"In the past, we focused youth registration activities around the night itself, whereas this year we’re using TNIA as the launch for a month’s worth of activities promoting tennis to youth and in particular 10 and under," Kamperman told TennisWire. "This will include promotions at the two big professional events in March, Indian Wells and Key Biscayne."

So while the USTA will focus a majority of its energy on the next month activities, the organization is still honed in on its 10 and Under Tennis initiative.

"With the rule change in tennis scheduled to go into effect in January 2012, the USTA has shifted its strategies to focus on getting more kids (aged) 10 and under into the game using smaller racquets, lower, slower bouncing balls and smaller courts," Kamperman explained.

The USTA sees the night as a kick off to a spring and summer full of tennis, something a plethora of clubs and organizations are tagging along in.

"We have over 700 facilities already using the month of March to register kids for youth tennis programs. It’s across the country. We are promoting blended lines on courts so that both kids and adults can play," Kamperman said. "The matches on Monday night will be played on a court with blended lines. This will give us a great platform to promote to 10 and Under Tennis to parents across the country as the fun new way to get their kids involved in tennis."

Tennis Economy: US Open merchants happy, TIA launches new economic index

Editor — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:12:00 GMT

As efforts to reverse the global recession continue and tennis retailers keep their fingers crossed that players will start buying expensive racquets again, one thing is clear: Tennis fans at the U.S. Open spent money. Now the Tennis Industry Association is working to make sure tennis players do the same.

Official tournament merchandise sales were boosted by the redesign of the "octagon," which lies between Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium. More cash registers, more display space, more revenue, according to a retail spokeswoman for the USTA's retail operation. There was a line at every retail spot at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and for brick-and-mortar shops that had a door, there was a bouncer, too. The head of US Open retail said the velvet rope treatment was to ensure that shoppers had a pleasant experience--enough room to move around the shops and try on apparel.

Elsewhere around the tournament site, Lacoste reported selling out of merchandise (T-shirts and a purple tennis dress) multiple times. Nike reported that the 'most popular item' was "everything," and Wilson reported that sales of jumbo tennis balls ($40) quadrupled over last year.

Laura Lualhati, Wilson's communications manager chalks up the strong sales performance to a total redesign of the US Open retail shop.

"I took inspiration from the reception-room floor of our global headquarters and worked with Tim McCaffrey of the graphics department, which designs all our racquets and other products," said Lualhati, adding that the Fall 2010 line arrived direct from the factory in Asia, bypassing the U.S. warehouse. "Sales are through the roof. I can't keep enough product on the shelves."

While no merchant reported actual sales figures as an indicator of performance, the Tennis Industry Association is bent of quantifying performance with a new "economic index."

This index will draw on financial reports in eight areas: participation; facilities; court construction; program delivery; player equipment; media; tournaments/events; and tourism/vacations/academies. Sourcing this info requires input from business in each of this areas, and the TIA is counting on cooperation.

The trade association, which has extended Jon Muir's presidency for another two-year term, already produces a Tennis Health Index. It gauges participation through activity on courts and ball sales, among other variables. The most recent report most recent report showed an increase of 18.1 percent in this "health index" from 2003 to 2008.

Muir, who is general manager of Wilson Racquet Sports, addressed this at the TIA Tennis Forum during the Open. He said the organization is working to expand the tennis economy by increasing the number of frequent players, boosting economic growth, and delivering clear messaging to get people to play the game.

Reports so far this year have shown that ball sales are flat. The TIA's retail report for 2010 typically is released in February.

Another steady number is the economic impact of the U.S. Open on New York City. It's been reported around $420 million for several years.

The tournament had some sponsor losses and gains, and overall prize money increased $1 million to $22.6 million overall. Champions Kim Clijsters and Rafael Nadal each took home $1.7 million for their singles victories.

The U.S. Open generates $200 million in revenue with $45 million going toward grassroots development, according to community tennis chief Kurt Kamperman.

Secrets leading to Spain's dominance inform American efforts, thanks to Jose Higueras

Editor — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:26:00 GMT

By Liza Horan

Flushing Meadows, NY--Six Spanish men reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open, marking the most players by a foreign country at this point in the draw since 1969, when Australia equaled the U.S. contingent. Behind Spain, lie Switzerland, France and the United States, each with two players.

Spain has enjoyed consistent presence in the Top 20 for years, and the country is revered for its approach to developing junior players: They train in groups, play on red clay, and compete in far fewer events than American youngsters.

The result, according to top coach Jose Higueras, is "they move great. They're moving (in) every direction--laterally, diagonally, forward, back...They play great percentages. The unforced errors normally are going to be less, generally, than the rest of the players. The third (great thing) is that their shot tolerance is pretty high with a good quality shot.

"Those are the things that, I believe, make them so successful."

Higueras trained in Barcelona as a boy and went on to represent Spain in the Davis Cup and to win 16 pro tournaments. His coaching career includes helping Michael Chang to his French Open title and Jim Courier to seven majors. He's worked with Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Carlos Moya, Jennifer Capriati and Robby Ginepri.

He knows the secrets that developed "The Spanish Armada" that dominated the fourth round--top-seeded Rafael Nadal, No. 8 seed Fernando Verdasco, No. 10 seed David Ferrer, No. 21 seed Albert Montanes, No. 23 seed Feliciano Lopez, and Tommy Robredo.

And so does USTA Player Development.

"If you can get the base of your game built with a lot of clay-court work, we feel that will translate into just being a better player--period--not just being a better clay-courter," Patrick McEnroe said today in a USTA Player Development press conference.

This month is the two-year anniversary of Higueras joining the McEnroe-led effort to develop the next American tennis champions. Only 20th seed Sam Querrey and third-seeded Venus Williams have a chance at the Open title; today 19th seed Mardy Fish was knocked out by Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The Spanish coach has helped develop parameters on technique, movement and shot tolerance, which he describes as the ability to hit equally effective shots from various heights or positions.

United, we stand

There's great work to be done, and McEnroe's approach to developing pros turned the USTA's previous one on its head. Instead of an exclusive program--cultivating an elite national team of a dozen or so players, dedicating lots of training to them and sending checks to support lesser players' travel expenses--today's approach is inclusive. Nationalistic, actually.

McEnroe has led the creation of a network of people and places to attract, identify and develop talent to feed the pro tour. Three national USTA Training Centers and 12 certified regional training centers across eight states are backed by local clubs, schools and programs. He said plans call for training centers in every USTA Section.

The "people" part involves more than 20 staff national coaches, plus cooperative relationships with private academies, clubs and coaches who directly develop talent. The latter is a shift in culture.

"It's a work-in-progress, but we've made a lot of progress," McEnroe said in a USTA Player Development press conference today. "We don't want people to think, 'Hey, the USTA is going to steal my player.' That's obviously an issue, and the coaches that work with these players obviously have a huge influence on them. Hopefully we can get their trust and they'll trust us. We'll trust them. We'll all try to do it because we want to help American tennis."

Like many up-and-coming pros Ryan Harrison, the 18-year-old qualifier who lost a close five-setter to No. 36 Sergiy Stakhovsky of Croatia in the second round, has been coached by his father.

"His father has done a great job," McEnroe said. "He moved down to the Bollettieri Academy. They're working with him. When he goes on the road, he's on the road with a USTA coach. That's a great example of us all working together and trying to do what's best for that player."

In the USTA Player Development stable also includes Querrey, Fish, John Isner, Jack Sock, Melanie Oudin, Sloane Stephens, and Christina McHale, among others. Their support spans from full training, school and board at national training centers to playing on the USTA Summer Collegiate Team for two months and, in Sock's case, serving as a practice partner for the Davis Cup team.

The USTA's program to get Americans in the Top 10 is grounded in transparency and collaboration. It's going to take time, McEnroe warned, but it's moving in the right direction. His plan is to displace the dominance by Spain and other nations.

Amigo for America

Higueras, a citizen of Spain who married an American tennis player and has two grown children, suffers no treason.

"I love tennis. I love this country," Higueras said. "I don't think I could love this country any more because of a piece of paper."

Spain's secrets to developing current top talent may be the United States' secret weapon for future talent.