ORLANDO, FLA., APRIL 15, 2024 – USTA Florida welcomed more than 250 guests to “Sunshine City” at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts to celebrate the past, present, and future of the sport.
Florida tennis has a rich history and back in March, the organization honored the past at the Biltmore Hotel, honoring legends of the game and past leaders. One leader, Marian Green, the first women President of USTA Florida, was in attendance in Orlando and recognized for her achievements and leadership. Green played a large role in driving USTA Florida forward and today the organization is reaching heights that were unimaginable 75 years ago.
“We are certainly working hard to create programming that’s dynamic, welcoming, and inclusive,” Chuck Gill, USTA Florida President-Elect said. “The other thing we’re trying to do is give existing players opportunities to play more.”
“You can go to any public park in this state, and you see people from all backgrounds, all abilities, and all walks of life playing this game,” Laura Bowen, USTA Florida Executive Director said. “That’s what we want to see, and we’ll continue to work to make sure tennis in Florida looks like the state of Florida for the long term.”
As part of the celebration, USTA Florida inducted Robert Hollis into the hall of fame. Hollis has been a tremendous asset to the Florida tennis community, especially in the junior development and tennis management spaces. While recognizing leaders in the game, USTA Florida also honored Marcelo Gouts, presenting him with the Merit Award. The David Ensignia Family won the Family of the Year award, and Fort King Tennis Center was recognized as the Organization of the Year. Learn more about these award winners.
Robert Hollis is the newest member of the USTA Florida Hall of Fame.
These people, organizations, and families are just some of many that are helping shape the future of tennis. USTA Florida looked ahead to the future and really honed in on why innovation is a key part to ensuring tennis’ success throughout the next 75 years.
“In order for the sport of tennis to thrive in the future it must evolve,” Bowen added. “We have to shed the traditional mentality, really be open to innovation change, trying new things and maybe failing a little bit to in order to shape our sport for the next generation.”
Innovation is a major focal point to elevating tennis to another level and someone who has been pushing that not just in tennis, but in day-to-day operations is Safi Bahcall. The author of Loonshots, a book about taking innovative ideas and making them a reality, spent some time talking about his book, why innovation is essential to growth, and why being innovative will transform the tennis industry.
Safi Bahcall talked about innovation, experimentation, and not being scared to fail.
He encouraged everyone to try something new and not be afraid of failure. He referenced Pete Sampras, who at the age of 14 swapped to a one-handed backhand. Sampras played the long game and eventually became the youngest male to ever win the US Open in 1990. Bahcall said that failing leads to wins, and the more you fail, the more you will learn.
Bahcall has also been a been a mentor to the current USTA Florida Leadership Academy class and spoke at the event sharing Future leaders are integral to pushing USTA Florida to new heights, as the past leaders have done in the last 75 years of the organization.
The USTA Florida Leadership Academy class has been working on some innovative experiments over the past year, and those results were presented.
Phil Girardi welcomed Safi Bahcall and Greg “Moose” DeMoustes to the stage.
Among the experiments being done by the Leadership Academy Class are initiatives focused on Volunteer Reward and Recognition, Swing Vision technology integration, enhancing the USTA Florida mobile app, promoting public park free clinics, introducing teens as coaches for middle schoolers, and organizing social events to attract new players to the sport. These experiments represent innovative approaches to addressing key areas such as volunteer engagement, technology integration, community outreach, and youth development within tennis.
One participant, Greg “Moose” DeMoustes, spoke about his group’s experiment with SwingVision. He talked about how they had some failures, but those have led to lessons learned, which will be used for the future success of their experiments.
KC and The Sunshine Band partied with USTA Florida to close out the afternoon.
To close out the celebration, USTA Florida welcomed KC and The Sunshine Band, who played some of their classics. There is still plenty more fun to jump in on throughout the year. For more details about future events, the Florida Tennis Trail, hosting your own celebratory event, or other 75th Anniversary festivities, visit ustaflorida.com/75th.
