COMPARING A PRESS RELEASE FROM WIMBLEDON AND ONE FROM THE USTA. By Javier Palenque

As the trial for sexual harassment was announced against the USTA a few days ago, a friend sent me a press release from Wimbledon, and in this article, I will compare both the USTA’s vs Wimbledon’s press releases so you understand the problem with the USTA leadership, its incompetence and culture of lies and deceit that has landed now in court and with a petition for a congressional investigation.

Here is a recent Wimbledon Press Release; Notice the following key points.

• Ownership ( this is key for good decision-making)
• Propaganda ( none)
• Just the facts and a reiteration of their mission ( also facts)

                                                About Wimbledon:

The Championships, Wimbledon, is the oldest of the four tennis Grand Slams and the only one played on grass. Managed by The All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and staged on the AELTC Grounds, Wimbledon has evolved from its origins as a private members’ croquet club in 1868, to one of the world’s biggest annual sporting events and one of the most well-respected brands in sport. Visit www.wimbledon.com and follow @wimbledon on all major social media platforms.

The All-England Club’s Community Strategy is rooted in its ambition to be a Force for Good, leading by example through our commitment to community, inclusivity, and environment, and inspiring others to take action. This means actively generating meaningful and positive benefits for our communities and ensuring that everyone feels welcome at Wimbledon.

Now compare to a recent USTA press release, Notice the following:

• The USTA does not promote tennis at every level, only the US Open. See financials.
• Ownership is the problem ( the sport is hijacked by the Ol' boys)
• Propaganda; claims that invests 100% of its proceeds to grow the game, first, it does not invest 100%, second, it invests mostly in the US Open which is not tennis but entertainment for those who do not play tennis or will ever play.
• The USTA has never had less ownership in tennis events than today, it sold all events to pay for leadership mistakes. The last event sold was the Cincinnati Open.
• It does provide money for NJTLs but only $5M out of $550M revenue per year. That is not even 1%. See financials here.

                                                              ABOUT THE USTA

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 120 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Now as you can read and conclude on your own, if so, much information is muddled and constructed to deceive, it is because they are hiding the truth, and that is as follows:

• Tennis in America has never had less participation than today, membership revenue validates this.
• The USTA’s payroll for a two-week show has never been higher than today.
• Tennis in general is dead as the poor leadership of the USTA has skipped two generations by only focusing on the US Open.
• The nefarious culture of welfare and entitlement that the board promotes is contrary to the public image the facts convey.
• The debt level today for the US Open show has never been higher.
• Though revenues at the US Open are high, the more money the US Open generates, the fewer people play the sport, and yet they keep investing in the show.
• The problem tennis has is a lack of participation and lack of fans, and the board appointed for this monumental task a person who has never played the game in 50+ years.

Obviously, there is one solution to this conundrum, and it is to get rid of the status quo and the Ol’ boys, but that would leave them without their welfare check and so they will never change at the expense of the sport. Please read my article on intelligence needed to grow the sport.

I hope you read the USTA’s press release again and hopefully reach the only conclusion you can, which is you are being deceived. For this reason and thousands of others, I want all the board members, the CEO, and executives to resign.

I say NO to ineptitude and YES to growing the game.

I can be reached at jpalenque@yahoo.com

PS. Do you think the culture from the top is a problem for the trial, see the link. Should this way of doing business go on forever or must it end? The welfare stops with me.