USTA STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis. The USTA is
charged with the responsibilities of promoting TENNIS and setting and maintaining nationwide rules of
play and high standards of sportsmanship. It is through the seventeen Sectional Associations that the
USTA strives to fulfill its mission. These Strategic Directions serve to ensure consistency, quality and a
unified vision for TENNIS in the United States.

MISSION:

The mission of the United States Tennis Association is

Core Values:
-- Integrity
-- Inclusiveness
-- Excellence
-- Teamwork
-- Accountability

Strategic Priorities:
• Community Tennis
• Diversity
• Professional Tennis
• Player Development
• Fiscal Opportunities and Financial Management
• People Resources and Structure
• Accountability

1. Community Tennis
To advance the USTA’s mission, the Community Tennis business unit and all USTA community tennis
organizations at all levels will work to increase overall tennis participation in the U.S. as well as
participation in USTA flagship programs. Progress will be measured against annually pre-determined
objectives.

To achieve this goal, the USTA will:

1.1 Strengthen the tennis infrastructure and delivery system targeting facilities, coaches, teaching
professionals, organizers and programs.
1.2 Develop consistent marketing communications that promote the benefits of tennis and increase
awareness of USTA programs and services for the purpose of driving membership sales and
participation.
1.3 Ensure that USTA programs and services are relevant and available to key target audiences.
1.4 Build strong collaborations with local communities, allied partners and local providers.
1.5 Increase diversity among players, providers, volunteers and staff.

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2. Diversity
To advance its mission, the USTA will insure that diversity is included in every strategic direction
and in the plan of action for every employee and volunteer at every level. Diversity refers to
differences in culture, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, beliefs, socio-economic status, sexual
orientation, physical challenges and family status. The USTA wants to attract young people,
creative business executives, professionals and others who may not now be fully engaged.

To achieve this goal, the USTA will:

2.1 Address and respond to diversity gaps in the USTA’s leadership and volunteer base,
both long-term and those that can be filled tomorrow.
2.2 Require all national business units and sections to establish and meet diversity goals in the areas
of tennis program participation, staff recruitment and retention, and volunteer recruitment and
retention.

3. Professional Tennis
To advance its mission, the USTA will strengthen the role of pro tennis as a major factor in growing
revenue and tennis play.

To achieve this goal, the USTA will:

3.1 Grow, protect and invest in the US Open, the US Open Series (USOS), the USTA Billie Jean
King National Tennis Center (NTC) and its many businesses.
3.2 Grow and protect, and consider ownership of, USOS events and other major pro tournaments.
3.3 Use Pro Tennis as a driver for new business / property ownership / revenue opportunities / new
audiences / pro circuits.
3.4 Use Pro Tennis to drive tennis into entertainment and public relations, providing TV exposure
and project opportunities.
3.5 Increase tournament extensions (e.g., concerts, entertainment) to generate greater revenues and
attract broader audiences.

4. Player Development
To advance its mission, the USTA will focus on player development at every level and assume the
responsibility of developing champions.

To achieve this goal, the USTA will:

4.1 In collaboration with Community Tennis, dramatically increase efforts to identify outstanding
young athletes to play tennis, encourage them to play tennis and nurture more American players
into the world’s top 10.
4.2 Improve and assist U.S. junior tournaments, collegiate play and pro circuits.
4.3 Seriously attend to pipeline development of children ages 6 and up with appropriate introductory
programs and play formats.
4.4 Employ the Boca Raton, Carson, NTC and any other future regional or national tennis training
centers to their fullest potentials.
4.5 Create and maintain strategic partnerships with coaches, academies and others to reach USTA
goals for development of top American players.

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5. Fiscal Opportunities and Financial Management
To advance its mission, the USTA must protect and expand current revenue streams and aggressively
develop new ones.

To achieve this goal, the USTA will:

5.1 Bundle, monetize and leverage USTA assets (e.g., websites, internet broadcasts, membership,
Olympic programming, tournament extensions, community tennis and diversity programs, etc.).
5.2 Identify and pursue sponsorable inventory.
5.3 Consider investing in/creating sports and entertainment properties that leverage existing staff
skills and reach new, diverse audiences of potential tennis players and viewers, always mindful of
the USTA’s tax exempt status.
5.4 Review current programming to ensure relevance against the mission and examine the
effectiveness and value of every program with a “no sacred cow” programming policy in all
business units.
5.5 Conduct periodic reviews of resource allocation.
5.6 Encourage and enhance creativity and fundraising growth of the USTA Tennis & Education
Foundation and section and local tennis foundations.

6. People Resources and Structure

To achieve this goal, the USTA will:

6.1 Attract and retain visionary volunteers, board members and staff at every level.
6.2 Differentiate and respect the roles of volunteers and staff.
6.3 Require focused committees with clear responsibilities that utilize the unique skills of our
volunteers.
6.4 Create short-term, time- and task-specific opportunities to enable increased involvement for
volunteers (young people, professionals, business executives) who have limited time to
contribute.
6.5 Provide the risk-tolerant environment necessary to move into new areas best able to grow and
promote tennis.
6.6 Develop a program to identify volunteer and member value-added contributions (e.g., through
their day jobs).

7. Accountability
The Board of Directors is responsible for establishing strategic priorities and goals to achieve the
USTA’s mission. The Executive Director is accountable to the Board for achieving the strategic
goals. National staff is accountable to the Executive Director to achieve the business units’ goals.
Volunteers are accountable to the volunteer leadership to insure compliance with the Strategic
Directions of the USTA.

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To achieve this goal, the USTA will:

7.1 Give necessary authority to the Executive Director to manage the national staff and to accomplish
the mission.
7.2 Hold the Board and every committee, group, volunteer and staff member accountable for
understanding their charges and achieving their goals.
7.3 Provide the resources needed for success while being mindful of financial constraints.
7.4 Supplement cash resources with a creative environment that promotes the generation of new ideas
and approaches.
7.5 Encourage and help sections to adopt similar approaches.
7.6 Identify key metrics to determine success and/or failure with respect to achieving the goals
identified in the Strategic Directions document.

Prepared by the USTA 2007 Strategic Planning Committee:

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