The Commish is not just one single person, it is a real and true thought experiment of many different entities. That's also why the Commish has no preferred pronouns and you
can call the Commish anything and anyway you want. Makes no difference to the Commish. The Commish lives in the minds of all tennis professionals, tennis players, tennis organizers, everyone with a clear and logical thought pocess.
THEY'RE PLAYING US FOR FOOLS​
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By The Commish
Who's holding the teaching organizations accountable?
The problems tennis professionals are facing extend beyond the USTA.
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I think the teaching organizations need to be held accountable. I have tried to work within the system to bring about change, which is the right way to do it. They are not interested in hearing different viewpoints and viewpoints that are not from the "in" group.
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John Embree is a salesman. He thinks he can solve problems by approaching them as a salesman and glossing over the problems. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it does not. The USPTA has given lip service to UTR and college tennis. They need to be called on the carpet for not supporting them. Every club should be running UTR events and supporting their local college programs. That is not happening.
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In the latest RSI magazine, John Embree talked about how great it was to have college tennis at Lake Nona this spring and in 2023 it will be even better when Lake Nona hosts the Division I, II, and III Men’s and Women’s Championships. Great news! John, many USPTA tennis pros played college tennis. What has the USPTA done to meaningfully support college tennis during your tenure?
John Embree’s editorial was just one example of some really bad articles in that magazine. John is a really nice person, but my sense of reality and his are very different.
USPTA has expanded its “partnership’ with UTR. Great news! John, specifically how has the USPTA made UTR a more integral part of the tennis industry?
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Tennis manufacturers have reportedly had three consecutive quarters of stellar sales. As a result, there is a shortage of tennis balls. In a convoluted way that is more great news! It has been reported in the media that the shortage occurred because American tennis balls are manufactured in China and they could not be shipped to the U.S. for six months because of COVID-19. The solution to the ball shortage is simple, “Pre-book your balls right away because if you place an AT ONCE order, there is a good chance you won’t get it.” John, thanks for the great information and advice.
Photo by Rachel Lo on Unsplash
Embree should be fired for making excuses for not having enough tennis pros and then saying it will be resolved by hiring high school kids to teach. He may be right, but making excuses is bs. His comments about the ball sales were inaccurate and total bs. He made the ball companies look like idiots. That is really stupid.
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And now the ATP and WTA announced that TopCourt is their official tennis e-learning platform. It seems that as the USTA takes over the teaching profession, the USPTA and PTR become less relevant. John Embree suggests we need to rely on high school players and kids. The ATP and WTA now say you can learn from videos by top pro players.
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It is all about money, when is the industry going to place its focus on the players?
New USTA initiative “Become a Tennis Champion”
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I just can't wait to sign up to be a champion? When are you going to sign up? Another effort to circumvent the pros! Who needs the teaching pros?
This scam is worse than Net Generation. They want your picture, religious preference, hobbies, jock size (just kidding about jock size) and they even ask if you play tennis. Is this a great association or not? I can be a tennis champion and not even be a tennis player. This is even better than getting a participation ribbon for reading the email.
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This program is justification for making it illegal to drink more than one beer and go to work at the USTA during the same month.
Photo by Larry Bridges on Unsplash
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