WATCHING TENNIS AND TAKING LESSONS IS NO WAY TO GROW A SPORT, USTA! By Javier Palenque

Oh, where to even “begin” with the colossal farce that the USTA leadership proudly touts as "tennis is growing in America"? It's almost comical—if it weren't so pathetically tragic. Just days ago, I stumbled upon a searingly accurate article in “Racquet Business Magazine” by Steven Whelan. The title? “Are You Playing Tennis or Just Taking Lessons?” And folks, let me tell you, the man hit the nail right on the head. But here's the kicker: this revelation is so obvious that it’s laughable how this has been ignored by the so-called "leadership" over at the USTA for so long. Simple—they’re too busy cashing in on their cushy jobs and two-month work schedules to care for the mission, which is just to claim the non-profit, as long as there is no enforcement, that is how it will always be. ( Mrs. Leticia James, you realize they are laughing at you right?)

Let’s break it down for those still drinking the Kool-Aid, still believing the lie that the USTA has even the faintest interest in growing the sport. They don’t. Period. All they care about is their bloated paychecks, fake inclusivity posturing, and empty slogans.

Don’t believe me? Take a stroll over to Lake Nona at 4:59 p.m., and you’ll witness a mass exodus of "executives" sprinting to their cars as their lives depend on it. Seen it myself. These are the same people siphoning $70 million in payroll for a two-week pop-up circus (also known as the US Open). Oh, and let’s not forget the $10 million thrown at the execs who—if we’re being overly generous— barely work two months a year. The rest of the time? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Because they are not growing the sport, listening to dissent, or allocating funds to grow the game. As we speak, they are talking about a new $700M bond to fix the BJK center. More waste for the wrong people, bankers who never will play the sport.

The verdict is clear, folks: It’s a scam. Scratch that—it’s a “gargantuan” scam. And what’s the cherry on top? No new sponsors of note, no fresh ideas, no innovation to save their lives. It’s just the same old drivel, repackaged year after year. The USTA is a corpse propped up with dollar bills, hoping nobody notices the stench. The stench is so bad that The Saudi Kingdom is offering to help from Arabia.

The author, in his infinite wisdom, lays out the ugly truth: We’re not teaching kids to “play” tennis anymore. We’re training them to be tennis robots. These poor kids aren’t playing the game; they’re stuck in some dystopian tennis lesson purgatory. Picture this: A room full of so-called "performance" players, not one of whom has ever hit a ball without their parents hovering over them or a coach barking orders. It’s as if we’ve sucked the soul out of the sport and replaced it with overpriced polyester and racquets no one even enjoys swinging.

The real question Whelan asks is this: What does it mean to “play” tennis? Newsflash: It’s not sitting through hours of rigid drills under the watchful eye of some overpaid “coach” micromanaging every move. No, real tennis is creativity, it’s problem-solving, it’s—brace yourselves for this one—fun and sweat. But fun, along with individuality and free thinking, has been systematically eradicated by the USTA’s dumb “tennis farm” approach to development and competition.

When I play, I want to sweat, that is how I maximize my tennis hours. But these kids are being churned out like factory widgets, one poorer than the next, indistinguishable from one another. And why? So the Klan members at the top can keep their salaries and welfare intact for decades and the scam untouched.

And here’s where it gets downright embarrassing: Pickleball and padel are exploding in popularity. Why? Because they let people actually “play and have fun”. No coaches, no suffocating structures, just raw, unfiltered fun. Yet tennis insists on its soul-crushing regimentation, stripping away any semblance of joy or spontaneity. The USTA has turned a beautiful game into a joyless, mindless drill for few, and priced it out of reach for almost all and they still with a straight face spew false numbers of growth. Mrs. Leticia James, let me state this in no uncertain terms, they are laughing at you.

So, the next time you step on a court, ask yourself: Are you “playing” tennis, or are you just another cog in the USTA’s joyless machine? Are you having fun, or are you merely going through the motions to feed their scam? Deep down, you already know the answer.

And let me make one thing crystal clear as you read the brilliant piece: The entire system is a scam. Yes, a “scam”. You’ve been hoodwinked, bamboozled, played for a fool. Welcome to American tennis, where the game is secondary to feeding the insatiable greed of those who run the show.

This is why I demand every single one of these incompetent Klan members resign immediately. This sport needs a hard reset, starting with an intervention from the Attorney General of New York. Let’s get real: Ban every current board member and executive from ever touching a non-profit again, because they’ve made a mockery of it, just like the USA Gymnastics board or the NRA board and executive team. So, the next time you see some puff piece on social media about how “tennis is booming” thanks to the USTA, know this: The reality is the exact opposite. Empty courts across America are being replaced by pickleball. That’s how well they’ve "grown" the game.

No more excuses. No more lies.

I say NO to ineptitude and YES to growing the game.

If you care about tennis, I can be reached at [email protected]

PS. Let me ask you this, do you think I care about the US Open, two weeks out of the year at prices no one can afford? Or do you think I care about me or my kids playing on weekdays and weekends at my club or nearby park? Now you know just how incapable the USTA is and how you have been scammed. Wake up America!