The United States Tennis Association (USTA), the national governing body for the sport of tennis, announced the formation of a new Player Development Advisory Council (PDAC) that taps experts from across the U.S. tennis ecosystem to provide in-depth input on how the USTA can best enhance and optimize its support for high-performance American players at all levels of the game. The PDAC’s initial members include a powerhouse group of current and former players, parents, coaches, USTA Section leaders, and tournament operators who will serve as an important sounding board for USTA leadership and its Player Development team.
The formation of the council is, at least, partially in response to the letter that former USTA Player Development coach Jose Higueras issued to the American Tennis Family earlier this year, that you can read about here: https://tennisgrandstand.com/2024/04/05/heres-the-jose-higueras-letter-regarding-usta-player-development/
“Successful American athletes are a powerful motivator for others to pick up the game, so elevating the next generation of stars through player development is a key pillar of our 35M by ‘35 Growth Strategy, which aims to make the United States the number one tennis-playing nation in the world by percentage of population by 2035,” said Lew Sherr, CEO and Executive Director, USTA. “America sits in a very strong position today both at the professional and junior levels. A position not seen since the early 2000’s. By giving a formal voice to a diverse breadth of viewpoints, we have an opportunity to build on that success. Eliciting candid assessments and strategic input from experts around the tennis ecosystem benefits everyone and ensures that we deliver the best possible developmental and competitive pathway we can to practically and effectively support elite American athletes as they work to reach their fullest potential.”
Initial members of the PDAC include:
- Chris Boyer: Chief Marketing Officer of Good Solutions Group, Inc.; USTA Southern California Board Vice President; Committee Chair of the SoCal Pro Series (part of the USTA Pro Circuit); pro player parent
- Bob Bryan: Former world No. 1 professional doubles player; U.S. Davis Cup Team Captain
- Jim Courier: Former world No. 1 professional singles player; former U.S. Davis Cup Team Captain; International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee
- Lindsay Davenport: Former world No. 1 professional singles and doubles player; U.S. Billie Jean King Cup Team Captain; International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee; junior player parent
- Chris Eubanks: Current professional player and former D-1 collegiate player at Georgia Tech
- Mary Joe Fernandez: Former world No. 4 professional singles and doubles player; former U.S. Billie Jean King Cup Team Captain; 2012 Olympic Team USA Women’s Tennis Coach; collegiate player parent
- Madison Keys: Current professional player
- Dana Mathewson: Current professional wheelchair player
- Ben Navarro: Entrepreneur and philanthropist; pro player parent; founder of Beemok Capital, which owns the combined ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open and the WTA’s Credit One Charleston Open
- Kurt Palmer: Chief Investment Officer of Beemok Capital; former collegiate tennis player
- Jessica Pegula: Current professional player
- Walter Porter: Principal, Deloitte Consulting; former college tennis player at Hampton University
- Michael Russell: Professional coach (Taylor Fritz); former professional player
- Bryan Shelton: Former head coach of Georgia Tech women’s tennis team and University of Florida men’s tennis team; former professional singles and doubles player; pro player parent and coach
We want to thank all of those who are volunteering their time and expertise to create an even greater future for American tennis. In particular, we are pleased that Ben Navarro and Kurt Palmer have agreed to serve as Co-Chairmen of the Council and lead the PDAC’s initial assessment phase, which will be used to gather and shape PDAC members’ input into a series of recommendations to the USTA before the end of the year.
“This council is a strong testament to the USTA’s dedication to player development and to sourcing ideas and points of view from a diverse group to optimize an athlete’s high-performance pathway,” said Ben Navarro. “With my combined background in business and as a father of a top American professional player who navigated the pathways through junior, collegiate and professional tennis, I look forward to sharing these experiences with the impressive tennis leaders assembled by the USTA to identify best practices in cultivating and supporting generations of American tennis talent.”
Drawing on the participants’ diverse knowledge, experiences, and perspectives, the PDAC’s input and recommendations are expected to touch on a range of topics, including the pro circuit structure, junior competitive pathway, strength and conditioning needs, facility requirements, sports science, coaching, measurement of overall effectiveness, and success tracking metrics, among other topics.
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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, along with approximately 100 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and TikTok.
