WHEN A SIMPLE POP-UP EVENT THINKS IT'S AN ENTERPRISE: THE USTA STORY. By Javier Palenque

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Five months ago, I penned an illuminating piece comparing a pop-up restaurant to the USTA/US Open. I know people dislike reading, but trust me, this one’s worth it ( hint invest three minutes and become smarter). I sent this masterpiece to each board member and the CEO—a character who's never even held a racket in his life. Instead of receiving thoughtful feedback or a phone call to discuss my perspective, the ever-so-brilliant CEO opted to censor me and block my emails ( I hope he realizes he is censoring his staff as well). This is the corporate equivalent of a child hiding a bad report card under the mattress and hoping the days will go by without consequence. How this gentleman became a CEO instead of selling billboard space or concession stand rentals at WWE events is something I fail to comprehend.

I'm revisiting this article because the good Ol’ boys at USTA seem to think the US Open is a mirror of tennis nationwide. Spoiler alert: it’s not. It’s just a two-week spectacle, much like a pop-up restaurant at the US Open. For those unfamiliar, a pop-up restaurant is a temporary dining concept, often set up in unconventional spaces, such as private homes or existing restaurants.

Now, would a sensible business running a pop-up event like the US Open need an entire legal department filled with high-priced lawyers, junior assistants, and administrative staff? Of course not.

For the US Open to function, it requires a handful of contracts—vendors, rent, employees, concessions, etc. These are repetitive one-time deals, and if issues arise, the original law firm can handle them. But the USTA hires full-time lawyers with nothing to do (remember, it's just a pop-up event). And when trouble comes knocking, such as in those horrific sexual abuse cases that end up in a congressional petition to intervene in the USTA, that the CEO tried to conceal, they outsource to real lawyers who know the law, that would be responsible.) You comprehend the double expense, right?

Let’s talk about the board and the brilliant salesperson CEO. Perhaps they could enlighten us on how much is spent on in-house legal teams versus external professional advice. The USTA’s COO, also a lawyer, rakes in over $1 million annually, yet we’ve never seen so many legal issues in the press. Why is she still employed??This circus translates to wasted resources; misusing funds meant for the sport on people who don't even play tennis and who are getting the USTA into more trouble. No, Mr. Salesman, a pop-up event cannot justify in-house legal teams for repetitive, seasonal work.

Any intelligent first-year business student would minimize these costs, while our salesperson CEO has increased them with personnel who bring problems rather than solutions. Yet, the same mind that hides the report card mentioned above fires no one, which I find offensive to our kids and sport. That is not the worst part, the board says it's all OK.

Now, back to the pop-up concept. Would you create an entire Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department, complete with Chiefs, Directors, and staff? The CEO seems to think that if all DEI staff aren't white, the job's done. NO! NO! NO! Meritocracy is essential, but color quotas aren't. Remember Harvard last year?

What can a DEI department do all year for a two-week event? Nothing. Their grand conclusion—that more kids from diverse backgrounds should play tennis—is obvious and doesn't justify their existence, much less their cost or non-existent impact. We need more coaches, not high-priced bureaucrats pretending to be inclusive who do nothing of value for the sport.

Now the brilliant CEO just released the new prices for tickets, one would think that if a DEI department says more people should play, you would reduce the prices so more people can afford to see the pros play, but this salesman character increases the ground passes 169% and thinks its OK. It means his contract is poorly written by the same lawyers the sport does not need. This level of stupidity is mind-blowing, yet the board accepts it. WTF?

In case my point needs clarification, the dumb board hires a non-tennis-playing salesman, who increases payroll with lawyers and DEI people, one group creates legal problems and needs real lawyers to help (more expense) and the other suggests more inclusion everywhere but the top, and this character of a CEO given the choices, increases the ticket prices so less people can afford to see the pros. Are you kidding me?

The CEO and board treat the US Open as a full-fledged enterprise with a mission, vision, customers, and an inflated staff. In reality, it is only a fa?ade, a not-for-profit in name only, funneling resources into a welfare machine for the inept and incapable. Remember it would be a non-viable business if it paid federal taxes. So the USTA also deceives the government with the not-for-profit charade.

The waste approved by the board is irreversible, and the lost opportunities for future generations of players are tragic. Remember tennis is the best-funded sport in the nation with the least number of kids and oldest adults. Translation for the USTA people; there is no future.

I call for the resignation of the Board the CEO and the executive staff. Their ineptitude has squandered resources and hindered the growth of tennis for far too many generations already. We need leaders who genuinely understand and care about the sport, people who want to serve the game, not those wanting to be served by it.

If my point is not clear, think of the ESPN announcers, like the old timers McEnroe and Navratilova or Chris Evert. Do you think they show up to work 12 months of the year or are just paid to host a pop-up event for two weeks?

As usual, I am unequivocally certain of my opinions, sadly one hundred percent correct and hopefully, I enlightened you through properly chosen and placed kind words, though some of you dislike my tone. I don’t mind it's OK.

I write the truth and convey a vision for the sport, one the sport does not have and desperately needs. If you are intelligent you would find it difficult not to love me. Otherwise, you would feel offended by my tone and would continue to believe the lies the USTA feeds you, It is OK, I do not mind or seek unanimous approval I just do what is right, when no one is watching. It is called integrity.

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

I can be reached at [email protected].

PS. If you are still not convinced, imagine McEnroe and Evert now, today at Arthur Ashe. What would they be doing? They would be shopping for their grandkids in the city and not at Arthur Ashe. This is called the welfare that the USTA board approves. Most young people have no idea who those hosts are. They don't watch TV.

Remember I want every one of the Klan members out of the sport and so should you. We can call ORKIN anytime, when are we fumigating the buildings?

Maybe the in-house lawyers can tell just how many discrimination lawsuits they silenced in the past decade and how much the DEI department costs per year. remember it is all a facade (posturing for WOKE approval). What a waste!