Author: Steven Kaplan

  The desire to “Grow The Game” is a lofty goal because if you love tennis, you want to share your devotion to the sport with others. Coaches choose to spread enthusiasm, passion, understanding and experience because they recognize that knowledge is true power and education is empowering. If you love something, you set it free…

  Sports don’t build character, they reveal it. And a lot was revealed about the character of the President of the ATP Tour Player’s Council, Novak Djokovic, as well as local tennis hero Noah Rubin, this week. While over 300 players joined an ATP zoom call to discuss this year’s US Open, Djokovic was joining…

  Famed statesman, epidemiologist and philanthropist Nick Kyrgios has said the USTA is being selfish by planning to play the US Open this year. Oh, wait. I might have overstated Kyrgios’ qualifications. Let me start over. Highly ranked, and often sighted for misconduct, Nick Kygrios said, “I’ll get my hazmat suit ready” in response to hearing…

  After many weeks of angst and indecision, it looks like the US Open will be played on time. It will be anything but business as usual and many of the biggest names in the sport will be missing. I say who cares?  The sport is bigger than the stars. I hope everyone watches.  The…

  Arlen Kantarian could be the most important person in the history of US tennis whom you have never heard of. Kantarian, the former president of Radio City Music Hall and a top NFL executive, is a marketing genius. He was hired as CEO of professional tennis for the USTA from 2000 until he resigned in…

  The USTA is closing its White Plains office, which houses the USTA Eastern staff, amid its desire to achieve $20 million in cost reductions by reducing salaries, canceling annual meetings, reducing promotion and training of “blue chip” players as well as canceling non-essential capital projects. This reorganization has been in the works since 2018 but…

  A “razor” is a problem solving principle that states the simplest solution and answer to any problem, the one which requires the fewest assumptions, is generally the correct one. Many studies now indicate that tennis is THE safest sport to play in this COVID-19 era because it is a socially distant sport. The great…

  As this pandemic is receding in the local area, I have been going out more in my car as well as my road bike, and I can’t help but notice that many people are walking and jogging. It’s a great way to get in tennis shape and be ready for a full reopening, but here…

  The headline on another confusing and ambiguous Newsday article on tennis says “US Open considers allowing limited number of fans.” As a reminder, the USTA had previously announced that “every option is on the table”, so I don’t know how that report of no news is newsworthy; but at least it’s consistent. What I am curious to…

  As outdoor tennis reopens in the local area and across the country, players are working themselves back in to shape after several months of sheltering at home. It’s not easy to work off months of rust, even for the fittest athletes.  We could all use some encouragement, inspiration and leadership, and the USTA has tried…