September Edition 2026
Inside: 2-President’s Message 3-Padel Surpasses 1 Million U.S. Players 4-5 Age-Related Objectives in the Developement of Technique-Phases 1 and 2 6-11 District News 12-2026 USTA Community Tennis Program Grants 13-Pickleball Isn’t Slowing Down 14-USTA Scholarships & Other Grant Opportunities
President’s Message
On a related note, be sure to keep an eye on RSPA emails and announcements throughout the year. There are always new opportunities being shared, including upcoming certification dates across multiple racquet sports, continuing education programs, workshops, and important updates from our endorsee partners. Staying connected to these communications is one of the easiest ways to make sure you are taking full advantage of your RSPA membership.
Greg Prudhomme PhD RSPA Southwest President
Hello Southwest RSPA Pros! I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer and that you’ve had the opportunity to enjoy some time with family and friends while continuing to make a positive impact on your players and facilities. In my previous President’s messages, I emphasized the importance of building relationships, pursuing continuing education, and serving as ambassadors for our profession. I continue to believe these are the cornerstones of a strong and vibrant RSPA community. A perfect opportunity to cross all of those boxes is to attend the 2026 RSPA World Racquets Conference in Dallas this September. One of the greatest benefits of our organization is the opportunity to learn from industry leaders while building relationships with professionals from across the country. Every conference provides new ideas, fresh perspectives, and valuable connections that we can bring back to our own facilities and communities. I hope to see many of our Southwest members representing our division in Dallas.
Along those same lines, please consider supporting our RSPA endorsee companies whenever possible. These partners invest in and support our organization, our professionals, and many of the educational opportunities we benefit from throughout the year. When we have the opportunity to support the companies that support us, it helps strengthen those partnerships and ultimately adds value to the RSPA membership experience. A complete list of RSPA Endorsee Partners and member benefits can be found here: RSPA Brand Partners. Thanks for all you do in the tennis industry each day to promote racquet sports and positively influence the lives of your students. I look forward to continuing to work alongside each of you as we finish the year strong and continue building an even brighter future for our division.
I also want to remind everyone that each of us plays an important role in growing our organization. If you know a teaching professional, coach, or aspiring industry leader who is not currently an RSPA member, consider introducing them to the many benefits of membership. Likewise, if you know of a former RSPA member, now is a great time to urge them to reconnect. As we approach the RSPA’s 100th anniversary next year, the organization has introduced a simplified reinstatement process, making it easier than ever for former members to return. Every new or returning member strengthens our division, expands our professional network, and helps ensure a bright future for racquet sports professionals. 2
Padel Surpasses 1 Million U.S. Players ! has officially arrived in the American mainstream—and its growth Padel could have major implications for the entire racquet-sports industry. Padel has reached a remarkable milestone in the United States: more than 1 million Americans now play the sport.
According to the 2026 Topline Participation Report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), 1,073,000 Americans played padel during 2025. This is the first time SFIA has included padel in its annual national participation study, making the one-million-player milestone particularly significant. The SFIA survey is one of the largest sports-participation studies in the country, collecting information from approximately 18,000 Americans ages six and older. Of the 1.073 million players counted, approximately 835,000 played between one and seven times during the year, while 238,000 were more frequent players who played eight or more times. That core group is particularly encouraging because the sport is still in the early stages of developing its infrastructure in the United States. The courts are coming—but not nearly fast enough As of April 2026, the United States had just over 1,000 padel courts across 31 states. That means the number of potential players is already enormous compared with the current number of places available to play. The United States Padel Association (USPA) reports that club membership increased 51.5% in 2025, while individual membership grew 53.5%. Tournament opportunities are also expanding rapidly. The USPA sanctioned 104 open tournaments in 2025, while its 2026 schedule had already reached 255 tournaments by April. What does this mean for tennis? For those of us involved in racquet sports, perhaps the most interesting part of this story isn’t simply the growth of padel. It is what padel’s growth tells us about the future of racquet sports in America. SFIA reports that participation in racquet sports overall increased from 13.9% of the U.S. population in 2020 to 20.6% in 2025. Gen Z and Millennials are showing particularly strong participation in racquet sports. Padel is also beginning to create new opportunities for tennis professionals, clubs and facilities. Tennis teaching professionals already understand many of the fundamentals that make padel attractive: movement, ball control, tactics, positioning and doubles strategy. Rather than viewing padel simply as competition for tennis, there may be an opportunity to view it as another door into the racquet-sports world. And the growth may just be beginning The USPA believes the United States could reach 10,000 padel courts and more than 10 million players by 2030, based on current growth and infrastructure trends. Whether that projection becomes reality remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear: Padel is no longer a sport Americans are waiting to discover. More than one million have already discovered it. For the racquet-sports industry, the question now may not be whether padel will grow—but how tennis, pickleball and padel can grow together and bring even more people into the game. 3
Age-Related Objectives in the Development of Technique Phases 1 and 2 by Doug MacCurdy In this article article, I will cover age-related objectives for the development of technique for players from 6-10 years old.
Phase 1 Approximate Age of Players: 6-8 Name of Period: Initiation Characteristic of Period: General all-around and motor skill development Total Training Time: Approximately 4 hours per week Tennis Training Time: Approximately 1 ½ hours per week Physical Training Time: Approximately 2 ½ hours per week • Developing all-around skills and coordination are actually more important than tennis training at this age and instructional programs should be designed accordingly. • Use equipment made for young beginners. This would include small courts, low nets, small plastic bats or rackets, and sponge and/or transition balls. Start on Red courts. Some players will progress to orange courts rather quickly. Take your time – there is no need to move to green courts and green balls quickly. • Spend time on both reception and projection skills. Reception skills are actually more important than projection skills at this time and are required to judge the flight of the ball correctly and get in the right position to play it. Projection skills are the skills needed to hit the ball once the player is in good position. • Use racket and ball handling drills such as rolling the ball along a line with the racket, rolling the ball around on the racket face, tapping the ball upwards, tapping the ball upwards with a bounce, tapping or dribbling the ball downwards, or tapping the ball upwards with a partner. • A hitting wall is a helpful learning tool. • Colorful targets and teaching aids make the game more interesting for young children. • Avoid using static progressions as much as possible. When it is necessary to use them, be careful that they do not last very long. • Do not give too much technical instruction. Most of the learning will be visual. Some corrections can be made in the technique, but the main objective is to get the children to enjoy the game, contact the ball and rally with a partner as soon as possible. Do ensure that the grips used are within a range of acceptability. • Use analogies when teaching. For example, describe the shape of a stroke pattern in terms that the child can understand, such as “draw a half circle with your racket.” • Introduce all of the strokes: forehand, backhand, serve, volley, and overhead.
Phase 2 Approximate Age of Players: 9-10 Name of Period: Instructional Characteristic of Period: Versatile all-around basic training 4
Total Training Time: Approximately 9 hours per week Tennis Training Time: Approximately 4 ½ hours per week Physical Training Time: Approximately 4 ½ hours per week • Develop the basic technique of all of the strokes. • Transition from mini tennis to full size for most players. • The concept of topspin can be taught but should not be excessive. • Teach the use of the various types of spin on groundstrokes, serves and volleys. • Spend as much time on serves, returns and volleys as on groundstrokes. • Introduce drive volleys. • Play a lot of doubles to use all of the strokes. • Introduce slice and topspin on the serve. Do not try to get the player to arch the back in order to produce American twist type serves. • Work on the concepts of rhythm, relaxed swings and racket head acceleration. • Ensure that the grips used are within a range of acceptability. Serving grips should be toward Continental. Players with two-handed backhands should have a grip that will allow them to play an effective onehanded slice and backhand volley. • Teach a one-handed backhand volley. • Special attention should be paid to balance on all strokes. • Teach variations of footwork on the groundstrokes. • Work on the ability to stay close to the baseline and learn to play the ball early. • Remember that when teaching technique, the tactical objectives must be understood. From around the age of nine, it is a good idea to practice on-court coordination drills approximately twice per week for about 15 minutes when the players are fresh. Some examples of on-court coordination drills are: • Volleying two balls at once with a partner. • Make a player standing around the service line hit every ball as a half volley. • Play with non-dominant hand. • Volley and half volley drills between the legs and behind the back. • Lie on a mat with two rackets and the coach feeds balls very quickly at random, which the player must attempt to volley back. • From one service line, the coach feeds six hard balls to a player on the other service line who must try to hit drive volleys. In the next article, we will outline the key technical objectives for players 11-18 years old.
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Northern Arizona
University later this year. ACEing Autism Flagstaff will continue its fourth session under the program leadership of Joann and Grace Kim and through the support of Northern Arizona University. This is a fully volunteer program. Nicole Chambers will train the new volunteers under the ACEing Autism guidelines.
by Andrea Meyer
Even higher-elevation northern Arizona can feel like a broiler in summer. As my partner and I began planning a trip to northern Maine for July, teaching clinics under cooler skies promised both relief from the heat and a fresh experience. With Maine RSPA Pro Luke Korzekwa, a former elite player from Poland, I taught several clinics for juniors on the University of Maine Presque Isle courts. It’s always thought-provoking and enriching to watch another pro teach. Luke’s warm welcome, sharing, and the variations of familiar drills and new games were a boost to my own learning.
Many of the volunteers are students of the Forest Highlands Junior Academy. Starting this fall, Flagstaff will have its first official Middle School Club Tennis Program. This is a partnership between NAZ USTA, the City of Flagstaff, Middle School parents and PE teachers. Program Directors Nicole Chambers and Garrett Lakey will lead coaching development with volunteer Flagstaff Tennis Association members and with hired assistance from standout high school players.
Surprisingly, rural northern Maine, about 20 miles from the Canadian border, seemed to me to have a fair number of tennis courts (10 in the Presque Isle area) and thriving high school tennis programs in spite of the short season. After introducing myself to the Parks and Recreation Dept. personnel in Presque Isle, it looks as if the city is eager for a tennis pro to conduct lessons and programming next summer. I would love to take that position next July.
Grace Hakopian, Sedona Coach, continues to add to her clientele with her trademark positive delivery and feedback. Besides weekly Saturday live ball, Grace has launched twice-weekly skills, strategy, and point-play clinics. Grace’s recent experience as an elite junior and role as her brother George’s coach create trust in her expertise among her students.
Nicole Chambers, RSPA Elite Professional and Director of Racquets at Forest Highlands Golf Club, Flagstaff, received the National Manager of the Year for Small Facilities Award. This is Nicole’s 32nd year as an RSPA Elite Professional. The award ceremony will take place during the RSPA World Conference in Dallas, Texas on September 20-22.
Off the court, Grace is excited about being chosen to direct marketing for a just-launched life-coaching and wellness company.
Garrett Lakey, RSPA Professional and Head Racquet Professional at Forest Highlands Golf Club, finished a successful season of Junior Development and High-Performance Coaching. He is looking forward to continuing Junior Development/High Performance at Northern Arizona
RSPA Master Professional, Larry Lineberry and his wife, Elizabeth, are planning a long - anticipated trip to the Banff, Canada region in early September. 6
The Oxendale Auto Group USTA - sanctioned adult tournament was completed in late June, with two more special events scheduled for later this fall. Larry raises about $5,500.00 each year for these three events, which help promote tennis activities in the Northern Arizona region. Larry and Elizabeth are also attending the WTA year-end playoffs in early November being held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden complex. He has been assisting as a volunteer coach at the twice-weekly tennis practices for the Mingus boys’ tennis team throughout the summer and fall in anticipation of the upcoming 2027 season. He is cautiously optimistic about their results.
SOUTHWEST OFFICERS President Greg Prudhomme PhD 602-301-1394 pruperformance@gmail.com Regional VP Ryan Johnson 704-281-1713 m.ryanjohnson@gmail.com Vice President John Perry 520-403-8290 jptennis25@gmail.com Secretary Leslie Banks 419-302-7663 lesliealison16@gmail.com Treasurer Nicole Chambers 928-225-9474 nchambers@fhgc.com
Past President Suk Ong 602-881-0467 sukong.uspta@gmail.com Executive Director Jack Michalko 602-740-0126 jack.michalko@rspa.net
SOUTHWEST COORDINATORS Northern New Mexico Dick Johnson 505-507-6795 lctenniscamps@gmail.com Phoenix Eusebio Sarabia 310-292-2788 eusebio.sarabia@gmail.com
Southeastern Arizona Cameron Hamilton 480-276-1123 chamilton8815@gmail.com Northern Arizona Andrea Meyer 928-300-4352 andreameyertennis@gmail.com Southern New Mexico & l Paso Alex Mouquin 575-571-0389 frenchtouchtennis@hotmail.com Tennis Coach Developer Mike VanZutphen 480-292-2159 mikevanzu@gmail.com Pickleball Coach Developer Ryan Johnson 704-281-1713 m.ryanjohnson@gmail.com
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Southeastern Arizona
RSPA professional Britt Feldhausen reports that the Tucson Community Tennis Program had record numbers, with over 100 young players in class this summer at Pueblo High School. School sessions will be scheduled beginning in September, and they will also be offering tutoring on Saturdays during the tennis program. TCTP has provided opportunities for underserved youth in Tucson for many years, and the community is grateful for their continued support.
by Cameron Hamilton
The summer months in Tucson, AZ have been hot times but very exciting times with tennis and racquet sports. The La Paloma 3.5 USTA team Isn’t She Dovely won the USTA sectionals tournament and will be representing La Paloma Country Club at USTA nationals this upcoming fall. Congrats ladies.
Britt’s Tennis Academy will also reopen early in October. RSPA professionals Ronnie Smith and John Perry of Reffkin Tennis Center and Smith-Perry Tennis Academy held 10 weeks of summer camp for players of all ages. A great summer of training culminated with players heading to the USTA National Championships around the country, including Southwest Champion Dillon Nye.
Around town the heat has been a tough part of the summer, but our indoor racquet sports has been thriving. Both the Pad as well as Ace Pickleball host padel and pickleball host organized play, coaching, clinics and social events.
Ronnie and John also hosted a variety of events, including the USTA National Level 3 18s and the USTA Cactus Cup Level 5 junior tournaments. The annual Wimbledon Whites and Woods 2026 was once again a fun experience for all, bringing the All-England Club to Tucson.
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John and son Jared played in the USTA National FatherSon Grass Court Championships at the historic Longwood Club in Boston, making it to the semifinals.
Phoenix, Arizona by Eusebio Sarabia
Amanda Moore combines elite playing experience, professional coaching expertise, leadership, and a passion for growing the game of tennis. Before becoming a coach and industry leader, Amanda was one of the nation’s top junior and collegiate players, reaching No.1 in the USTA Girls’ 16s and competing for University of Southern California. The elite competitive background became the foundation of her coaching career.
As the summer ends, Tucson tennis players can look forward to great upcoming events, including the Cowboy Classic Junior tournament, the Rattlesnake Adult Open, and the Tucson City Championships.
Southern New Mexico & El Paso by Alex Mouquin
Hello all from The “Sun City”, the beautiful El Paso, Texas. Summer has been a blast! USTA leagues are stronger than ever, with 6 out of 10 teams advancing to 2026 18+ nationals from our district. Pickleball and padel are still growing steadily, bringing more learning opportunities to new players and a multitude of tournaments and leagues for experienced players. Once again, junior tennis summer camps all over the district brought so many young players to the courts, introducing them to a sport of a lifetime and creating plenty of great memories and friendships. Coming up, some of our local pros will train to become Faculty, Lead or Working coaches for development camps hosted in our district by the USTA in their effort to bring back more training opportunities for tennis players 10 and under in the southwest section. Partnering in this initiative will showcase the excellence and leadership qualities that our RSPA pros bring to the courts every day. Have a great fall everyone!
Since beginning professional coaching in 2012, Amanda has worked with players at every stage, from beginners to advanced competitors, and earned Elite Tennis Professional certification through RSPA. Her leadership includes roles as a USTA National Cardio Tennis trainer, industry speaker, USPTA leader, USTA Southwest Board member, and recipient of multiple USTA and RSPA honors. Amanda’s broad perspective spans every level of the sport, including nationally ranked junior, Division I All-American, professional player, teaching professional, program builder, educator, volunteer leader, and national tennis administrator. She uses that perspective to help players build sound technique, confidence, problem-solving skills, competitive awareness, and independence. Amanda connects player development with education, programming, leadership, and the broader mission of growing the game. She doesn’t just teach tennis; she helps build players, programs, communities, and the sport’s future. We are proud to have Amanda Fink as part of our coaching community and look forward to seeing the continued impact she has on our players and our tennis community.
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Men’s Singles Weston Kessler Women’s Singles Bi Nguyen Men’s Doubles Brent Earnest/Ryan Romero Women’s Doubles Faye Schilkey/Joey Paynter
Northern New Mexico by Dick Johnson
Pickleball Leaders Men’s Doubles Allan Benitez Women’s Doubles Christine Wantuck/Stacey Ehlers Mixed Doubles Camille Romero/Ryan Romero
Hi everybody! What a summer I have had! It was really fun helping Amy Badger at the Albuquerque Academy Tennis Center Summer Jr Tennis Camps. We had over 120 kids playing tennis and pickleball.
Padel Leader TJ Middleton/Joey Gorence Club Championships Aug 21-23 USTA Adult 40+ Teams 3.0 M AP Ginocchio 3.0 W AP Romero 3.0 W FL Rogers 3.0 W SFTSC Goodman 3.5 W FL Rippere 3.5 W SFTSC Stone 4.0 M FL Grayson 4.0 W FL Montoya 4.5 W FL McLin
I have been asked to restart the Desert Ridge MidSchool Tennis Fall League, and I am excited about it. Desert Ridge feeds into La Cueva High School, where I coached for 35 years. It will be rewarding, and I am looking forward to it. I hope everyone had a terrific summer. It has been hot enough, that’s for sure. Everywhere in Albuquerque at 5200+ feet, we have had 100-degree days.
Santa Fe Pickleball Club at Fort Marcy Park is pushing 2,000 contacts as folks from out of town who come for 3 days, a week or more search for and find the public courts and if you wish to be a member ($35/year) of the 12-court complex which helps to keep Santa Fe #1 as a vacation destination
Have a great fall season, everyone. All the best!
Joe Felice: Joe Felice will be celebrating his 30th Year for his Sierra Vista Grand Prix Doubles Tournament. This is one of the most popular Tournaments of the year, averaging around 175 Players with just Men’s and Women’s Doubles. Joe is in his 55th Year as a USPTA and RSPA Elite Professional and has a 3-digit RSPA Number.
The First Serve Tennis Program out of FLRC is looking forward to their yearly GALA Bonnie Rogers and I completed our CPR and Concussion courses and are looking forward to working again with the 7th and 8th graders in their fall tennis program out of Santa Fe Prep at Salvador Perez Park Tennis Courts
John Damgaard: Forked Lightning Racquet Lub is nearing the end of their Challenge Ladder Series Tennis Leaders 10
Amy Badger: We’ve had a very busy summer at the Albuquerque Academy Racquet Center. Filled with 125 summer campers, regular adult and junior programming, USTA Adult League Play, two USTA Adult Sectionals, junior tournaments, hosting the NMHSCA annual conference for tennis bringing in phenomenal presenter Ben Loeb, two USTA Intro to Coaching Workshops, along with our NJTL Beyond the Baseline summer of 60 campers for six weeks...it has been action packed to say the least but went by very quickly. Our eight-week no-cut middle school tennis season is here, with close to 60 student-athletes in grades 6-7 competing against other schools each week.
Amy Badger named New Mexico High School Coach of the Year RSPA Elite Professional and Girls varsity tennis coach Amy Badger has been named a 2026 New Mexico High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year. The honor recognizes her outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to her student-athletes, our school, and the values of education-based athletics. Amy was also named the RSPA Laurie Martin Southwest High School Coach of the Year in May of this year! In Coach Badger’s nearly 30 years with the Academy tennis program, the team has won 10 state championships — a state record for girls tennis coaches, including its current streak of seven in a row, and dozens of individual and doubles championships. She also runs the fall no-cut middle school tennis program and is director of the Albuquerque Academy Racquet Center.
Our entire staff is also coaches in this program. In early September, we’re excited to host an RSPA Pickleball certification. With a small crew, we’ve worked very hard to serve our community while growing the game we all love. While all of our adult staff are certified, our senior professional, Amadeus Lopez, will soon be RSPA certified as well,
Success, she says, is defined in many ways for Academy tennis players. “It’s not necessarily the blue trophy. Success is not about the outcome; it’s about the process. It’s about giving their best effort every day, the smiles on their faces, humbleness and grace.”
making us an all-RSPA-certified facility. So proud of this team and all they are doing to ensure education remains a part of their professional growth, and that this start-up facility, which we’ve all worked so hard to develop over the last 16 months, continues to make a difference in our community. 11
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PICKLEBALL ISN’T SLOWING DOWN
24.3 Million Americans Are Playing—and the Sport Keeps Changing
Pickleball has officially moved well beyond the “new sport” stage. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report, 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025. That is up from just 4.2 million players in 2020—a remarkable increase of more than five times in five years. And perhaps the most interesting part of the story is who is playing. For years, pickleball was often thought of primarily as a sport for older adults. That picture has changed dramatically. Players ages 13–24 now have the highest participation rate of any age group, while women account for 42.9% of all pickleball players, up from 38.6% in 2020. FROM BACKYARD GAME TO BIG-TIME SPORT The growth isn’t just showing up in participation numbers. It’s showing up in courts, facilities, tournaments and organized programs. USA Pickleball’s 2025 Annual Growth Report says its nationwide database now includes 18,258 places to play and more than 82,600 courts. Its membership also grew to more than 104,000. That means communities are continuing to invest in places where people can play—and players are increasingly looking for organized competition, instruction and social opportunities. THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS GETTING INVOLVED One of the biggest developments may be pickleball’s expansion into youth sports. In April 2026, USA Pickleball announced a national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America designed to bring pickleball programming to clubs throughout the country and introduce the sport to millions of young people. That could be an important turning point. A sport that began largely as a recreational activity is increasingly becoming part of the youth-sports landscape. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR RACQUET SPORTS? For tennis professionals and other racquet-sports organizations, pickleball’s growth presents both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity is obvious: pickleball is bringing millions of people onto courts and into racquet-sports facilities. Many players who start with pickleball may eventually become interested in tennis, padel or other racquet sports. The challenge is making sure the different sports work together rather than compete for the same limited court space, facilities and programming dollars. The bigger picture, however, is encouraging. Tennis remains enormous—with 27.3 million Americans playing in 2025—and pickleball is adding another 24.3 million participants to the U.S. racquet-sports community. Rather than asking whether pickleball is going away, the more interesting question may be: How much bigger can the entire racquet-sports industry become because of it? For tennis professionals, clubs, schools and community organizations, that may be the real opportunity. Sources: Sports & Fitness Industry Association; USA Pickleball; USTA. 13
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A Publication of the RSPA Southwest Division Jack Michalko / editor 77 East Missouri Avenue, Suite 62, Phoenix, AZ 85012 602-740-0126 / e-mail: jack.michalko@rspa.net The Southwest Magazine is published quarterly by the Southwest Division of the Racquet Sports Professionals Association. The opinions expressed in the Southwest Magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Southwest Magazine or the RSPA Southwest Division. Copyright© Southwest Division/Racquet Sports Professionals Association, Inc. 2026. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this newsletter is not permitted without written permission from the RSPA Southwest Division. Advertising information: All ads must be camera ready and in color if possible. Prices are per issue. Full Page.............$150 Half Page............$100 1/4 Page..............$70
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