WHEN THE CHAIRMAN STATES HE HAS NO CLUE, KNOWS NOTHING, AND IS STILL CHAIRMAN. By Javier Palenque

I came across a recent statement from the USTA chairman (page 47) that highlights just how out of touch leadership has become with the realities of tennis in America. He knows nothing like Schultz’ from Hogan’s Heroes. His lofty goals sound nice on paper, but anyone who understands the sport can see the glaring flaws in his vision and a disturbing lack of thought. To suggest that tennis should be viewed in the same light as team sports like football, basketball, and baseball is nothing more than a na?ve fantasy—a comparison that underscores the chairman’s cluelessness about the unique nature of tennis and the systemic issues facing it today. Na?ve is a kind word, the right word is stupid fantasy.

Let’s break down why this vision is deeply flawed and lacks grey matter:

1.?????? Comparing Team Sports to Tennis:?

Team sports thrive on community involvement, which is inherently different from individual sports like tennis. Football and basketball have massive infrastructures built around school systems, colleges, and communities where team dynamics foster growth and participation. Tennis, on the other hand, is an individual sport, requiring a different approach to nurturing talent. It’s absurd to believe that the same model of community-driven team sports can apply to tennis. The chairman’s lack of understanding of this fundamental difference shows just how far removed he is from the real needs of tennis. Where is he from? And what year was he born? I think he believes we are in 1939 to spew such nonsensical stupidity.

2.?????? Community Sports vs. Individual Sports:?

Football, basketball, and baseball are relatively inexpensive to play—requiring minimal equipment and often provided at no cost in community centers and schools. Tennis, however, is not a cheap sport. Courts are expensive to build and maintain, and lessons or coaching are typically beyond the reach of many families. To suggest that tennis can become "accessible to all" without addressing the inherent cost barriers is a blatant disregard for reality. The chairman’s vision overlooks the financial burdens of the sport and offers no practical solutions to make it genuinely accessible. He pretends to be a chairman and does not understand math. With $580M per year, how much of that goes to build community tennis that is not salaries for sections? The answer is nothing. So, his premise is stupid. His reasoning is flawed and the problem is out of reach for his mental abilities.

3.?????? The Fantasy of Youth Dominance:?

This idea that tennis can somehow dominate at the youth level, in the same way that football or basketball does, is nothing short of wishful thinking. Those sports are ingrained in American culture—supported by deep-rooted systems of scholarships, fanbases, and a national infrastructure that tennis simply does not have. Trying to frame tennis as the next big youth sport while ignoring the structural and cultural differences shows how out of touch the chairman is with the actual challenges facing the sport. This poor fellow needs to go back to 1939 and resign, what a laughable opinion to think that tennis youth would dominate.

4.?????? Commitment to Failure:?

The USTA has made countless promises and set goals, only to abandon them when they don’t yield immediate results. The chairman admits that they often "get excited about a project" and then ditch it two years later. Net generation, red ball mandate, etc. This is the very definition of bureaucratic incompetence. Rather than sticking to a plan and building long-term success, the USTA’s leadership has repeatedly proven that they’re more interested in short-term PR victories than meaningful change. It’s no surprise that the sport is dead, the reason, is incapable paper pushers like the Chairman, who does not miss a photo op but does absolutely nothing for the sport of value or longevity.

5.?????? Radical Coaching Shifts – A Disguised Bureaucratic Power Grab:?

The chairman talks about a "radical shift" in coaching, but what he means is more control, more red tape, and more bureaucracy. The USTA’s plan to centralize coaching is nothing more than a power grab that will stifle the independence and creativity that coaches need to thrive. Tennis coaching should be decentralized, allowing for innovation and personal connection, not bogged down by more regulations and oversight from an out-of-touch organization. Anything the USTA touches is destroyed, the sport destroyed, and the US Open is so expensive that it is now seen by Wall Street people alone. Everything this fellow thinks works, does not. It is all a disaster for the sport.

The chairman’s grandiose statement about making tennis the "model sport" and having "everyone want to play" is little more than hollow rhetoric. In 16 years, he’s presided over an organization that has done nothing to truly improve the sport or the communities it claims to serve. Instead, the USTA has focused on building its bloated bureaucracy, benefiting a select few while leaving the sport in a perpetual state of decline. The conditions of the sport are so bad that they purchase convenient reports from an organization they fully fund by getting fake participation reports from the TIA. It is a scam, that is all it is.

Moving Forward: A Real Vision for ?Tennis in the USA

If we truly want to see tennis evolve in the USA, it starts with “less government control” and more independence for coaches, players, and local programs. We need a “free-market approach” where innovation is encouraged and rewarded, not stifled by top-down mandates from a bloated organization that has failed to deliver results.

Here’s what should happen, but never will:

• Decentralization of Coaching: Let coaches do what they do best—teach and inspire without unnecessary oversight. Tennis thrives when players can connect with coaches who have the freedom to innovate and adapt.
• Focus on Infrastructure: Instead of vague promises about "community tennis," we need real investments in infrastructure that lower the cost of entry for new players. Tennis courts in schools, parks, and affordable lessons should be prioritized over pointless bureaucratic initiatives.
• Retention Through Engagement: Instead of trying to mimic team sports, we need to focus on what makes tennis unique: the individual challenge, the mental toughness, and the personal growth it fosters. Promoting these aspects will keep players engaged for life, not some misguided fantasy of American tennis dominance. The poor Chairman fellow should retire like Biden, and get out of the way.

The chairman’s "purpose-driven mission" is nothing more than a joke. The sport has never had fewer players, older adults, less engaged people, and higher revenues. The sport needs smart people, and now people who want to be in a photo op, good grief, why is this guy leading the sport? We need real leadership that understands the sport, not someone who talks about "lofty goals" while overseeing a bloated welfare system for his friends the Ol’ Boys. If the USTA truly wants to move forward, it must cut through its bureaucracy, get rid of the Klan, and give the sport back to the people who love it—players, coaches, and communities alike. Not cater to Wall Street bankers who all they want is to eat and drink. But it is too late. These Klan members have no intention of leaving, or growing the sport, but are happy to take pictures as the useless bureaucrats that they are, take more welfare, and pretend to care for the sport as long as no hard questions are asked of them.

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

I can be reached at [email protected]