The Future of Tennis Won’t Be Decided on Center Court — It Starts With Coaches
The US Open is winding down, but the bigger story for American tennis is just beginning. While the stars came out in New York, the tennis elite sipped their Honey Deuce cocktails and champions rose and fell on the court, something more consequential was unfolding. The USTA rolled out a new coaching initiative that could shape the sport’s future long after this year’s tournament fades.
Craig Morris, CEO of USTA Coaching and the architect of the program, put it bluntly: “Education for youth sports is incredibly disrespected. And until we shift, the issues around youth sports will continue.”
Morris' mission is to change that. For too long, coaches have been undervalued—left unsupported, isolated and often burned out. And when coaches leave, kids follow. By centering coaches as the cornerstone of the sport, the USTA isn’t just investing in tennis. It’s testing a blueprint that could help fix one of the deepest problems across all of youth sports.
For more on the specifics of the platform itself, see our earlier piece here.
What makes this approach different, Morris says, is that it starts with listening. Too often, organizations roll out programs based on what they think coaches should value. This one was built to solve for what coaches say they actually need. “Their lives are busy,” he told me. “We have to fit into their schedules, not the other way around.”
That means creating tools and education that meet coaches where they are—whether that’s at a public park, in a school gym or running a commercial club—and building trust by serving them on their terms, at their pace.
Support, in his view, isn’t just financial. It’s recognition, community and flexibility. Many coaches, especially at the youth level, feel isolated. They juggle demanding schedules and often operate with little training, feedback or connection to the larger game. Morris wants to flip that.
“Coaches are our superheroes,” he says. “But they need to feel part of something bigger.”
He’s also blunt about safety. For Morris, it isn’t negotiable. He points out that in many countries, background checks and safeguards are mandatory. “Youth sports should be the safest place outside home and school,” he says. “If we haven’t done our due diligence to protect kids, then shame on us.”