This year, USTA Southern California and the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) have aligned to help grow the sport of tennis across SoCal and beyond, focused especially on affecting the women’s side of the game. To solidify the relationship between USTA SoCal and PTR, the two organizations have announced the “USTA Southern California Section – Professional Tennis Registry Partnership Agreement.”
The landmark agreement recognizes that both organizations are committed to growing the game of tennis together while serving as ambassadors to the entire tennis community. A unique aspect of this agreement is that PTR will offer ongoing education credits for SoCal based members that complete a full complement of initial USTA Officials training and continuing education.
Both organizations will also strive towards an unwavering commitment to embracing and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across all facets of their initiatives.
“I am excited for the future of this relationship,” said USTA Southern California Executive Director Trevor Kronemann, “and I am confident that together we will be able to make a greater impact in the community than we could have hoped for separately.”
“Professional Tennis Registry is thrilled to be partnering with USTA Southern California’s talented staff and board to help grow the game of tennis,” said PTR President & CEO Dan Santorum. “With tennis experiencing a renaissance, it is a perfect time to be working together.”
In recognition of the work that PTR has accomplished alongside USTA SoCal in 2022, the organization honored the USTA section as a ‘Partner of the Year’ recipient at the inaugural Women’s Coaching Summit, held in Florida this fall. This award was presented at the inaugural PTR/W Women’s Coaching Summit in Bradenton, Florida. USTA SoCal Director of Engagement, Nancy Abrams, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
“It was an honor to receive the Partner of the Year award at the summit alongside inspiring peers,” said Abrams. “Women Who Ace was a profound experience for all involved, thanks in part to the PTR/W Empowerment session presented by Linda Low and Milena Stephens. The panelists from throughout the women’s sports world were inspiring, and we look forward to growing this event next summer with the PTR, ITA, USD, and other USTA SoCal partners.”
Much of the progress was initially spearheaded at the Women Who Ace conference in San Diego last summer, where industry professionals celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX and showcased inspiring sports industry leaders and athletes who shared skills for success on and off the court.
At the Women Who Ace conference, PTR showcased their PTR/W program, which is geared towards recruiting, educating, and connecting female coaches. The two organizations also expanded on their collaborative efforts around PTR/W’s ‘Because We Can’ program, providing female coaches with career opportunities, workshops, and networking events to connect with each other and be a part of a greater objective.
PTR’s Director of Education and Diversity Milena Stephens reiterated the success of the inaugural event, especially the initiative to develop a larger coaching core among women athletes.
“We are excited for the many events and programs we will be working on together to recruit and support female coaches,” Stephens said, referencing the array of programming and workshops offered through PTR/W, including the scholarship-based ‘Because We Can’ program. “And, we just launched the PTR/W Coaching Summit, which will be a yearly, three-day event focused on female athletes and coaches,” she added.
“Both organizations have the same vision and goals when it comes to women coaches,” Stephens added. “This is a very important partnership for PTR as we know that to make a difference we need to work with other organizations, and USTA SoCal has the same passion we have to make a difference.”
PTR is back on the East Coast this winter for their PTR International Tennis Symposium. Hundreds of teaching professionals and industry leaders will gather for the organization’s event, slated for February 6–9 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.