Why Revenues Are Creating a New Title: Director of Court Sports

By Ed Shanaphy, CMAA

Early in 2025 I was called by a club in northern California to help work with their board in connection with their racquets program. The club was struggling to find the right balance between tennis and pickleball. Each racquet sport wanted more. We were really a referee there to support their Director, the Director of Court Sports.

It was the first time I had heard this title. I found it disconcerting. Court sports? Court sports could be anything if you think about it – basketball, volleyball, badminton, even shuffleboard. You can even consider dodgeball a court sport.

So, my initial thought was that the club, and other clubs like it, might be catering to a larger public with this new title. But then I thought perhaps it’s a title which could endanger the prestige that racquets, and especially, tennis holds.

I thought about how sometimes the Director of Racquets oversees croquet. And that got me to thinking – is it the title or the job that dictates the prestige? We all know that the majority of croquet professionals and squash professionals make more than Director of Racquets.

Tennis Is Not Keeping Pace With Other Court Sports

Although the USTA might argue otherwise, the growth of tennis in most club settings is flat since Covid. Yes, the USTA will say there are more overall players – but not at the country club or tennis club level. The days of sitting court-side or being part of a match that has an established foursome are ending. The prestige of tennis – the all white attire, the scarcity of opportunities to play – tennis is more about being a part of something rare than standing at the public court facility.

The older tennis players are still playing, but they are ageing out at the clubs. The younger members aren’t filling the spots in the club leagues or Sunday games. Longer format play is simply petering out. Do you remember when the mixed member guest was over two days with a cocktail party on the Friday and dinner at the clubhouse on the middle evening? I do. But those days are gone for tennis.

The biggest tell-tale sign is that clubs are reallocating tennis courts. We did it here at The Boulevard where I am based in the winter – one stadium tennis court made way for three padel courts. Revenue for that space is up exponentially – like 20x. Food and beverage revenue from the padel segment of the membership is up too. Footfall through the pro shop from that space is up over 5 times. The tennis folks are older, now, on a fixed income. I always say fix it, but I understand that’s tough when saving late in life. Padel has ushered in a younger, more vibrant, and wealthier clientele. For heaven’s sake, these folks are paying upwards of $250 per hour for a court in New York City.

Perhaps it was pickleball that finally pushed things over the edge. Public courts filled with players of every level, all mixing together, paddles rotating as a line of challengers stacked up along the fence. The game became louder, faster, more accessible—more crowded. Tennis had already evolved, from grass to clay at Forest Hills, then to hard courts at Flushing Meadows. But pickleball, played on bare concrete and driven by sheer volume, didn’t just follow that progression—it accelerated it.

Behind the change to “Court Sports” is revenue. The USTA’s manic push for revenue at Flushing Meadows was and is still evident. Same now at the traditional country clubs. Clubs are realizing the impact of one director overseeing not just tennis, but also pickleball, padel, platform, squash, and even bocce and croquet. The revenue streams are growing under one department head – same overhead, new revenue streams.

So, now, we are at Court Sports Director. It just doesn’t have the same ring, the same panache, the same verve.  Maybe the more traditional clubs will keep the Director of Racquets. Have you noticed that when speaking with an older member, they still use Head Tennis Pro? That title long ago left the clubhouse.

Director of Racquets’ life span wasn’t really long enough to establish itself. Just 15 to 20 years ago it was Head Tennis Professional. That role really centered on the court, on instruction, on swing paths. Then came Director of Racquets, with a nod toward hospitality and member service. The Director of Court Sports is coming on strong – as are revenues.

The battle will be revenue versus tradition but the lineage, like the older players ageing out, and outcome is clear. Head Tennis Professional was about teaching and being a specialist. Director of Tennis was a step toward management outside the cage of the tennis court. Director of Racquets was the movement toward member services. Director of Court Sports is an operator.

I guess it’s a sign of waning wait lists post-Covid. Tennis may have built the club. Court sports may be what determines its survival.

Ed Shanaphy has been all of the above. Head Tennis Professional, Director of Tennis, Director of Racquets, Director of Sports (missing the Court), and now Chief Operations Officer. He is also President of SBW Associates, Inc, the holding company behind BeyondTheBaselines.com and the BTB Heroes Tour. He splits his time between Vero Beach, Florida and Mattapoisett, MA