IF THE USTA LEADERSHIP HAS NO VISION, THEN THE SPORT HAS NO FUTURE. By Javier Palenque

Contrary to what one might assume, I have supporters within the USTA—individuals who, despite their positions, are deeply frustrated by the abject failure of the Chairperson and CEO to steer the sport towards any meaningful progress. They confide in me regularly, expressing their dismay and voicing their desperate desire for change. Unfortunately, in a cowardly display of insecurity, the Chairperson has blocked my board application, preventing me from sitting across from him and presenting irrefutable evidence of his incompetence. They fear facts. They fear being held accountable. And they fear the truth and of course, I would ask for his immediate resignation. The sport has no place for people who do not have the intention to grow the sport.

The crisis American tennis faces today is not merely a result of mismanagement—it's a failure born of intellectual bankruptcy and a staggering lack of vision. The leadership's refusal to confront these critical issues condemns the sport to an irreversible decline. Why do you think pickleball is growing or padel? The USTA, an entity now morbidly complacent in its monopolistic reign, must realize that without competition and fresh thinking, the tennis ecosystem will continue to rot from within. Like New York City’s yellow cabs—once dominant, now irrelevant—the USTA clings to outdated models, unable to see that the future belongs to those who innovate.

Both the Chairperson and CEO benefit from this monopolistic structure, their gains tied to preserving a decaying status quo. Rather than fostering competition, encouraging dissent, and revitalizing the sport for future generations, they’ve chosen the path of least resistance—profiting off the very game they’re letting wither. Evidence of this negligence is plain to see: two more ATP events have left U.S. soil in the past few weeks, with Newport and Atlanta gone, yet these men delusionally proclaim growth, even as the sport contracts before our eyes. Their failure to admit that tennis is dying in the U.S. is not just a dereliction of duty—it’s malpractice. This is why I call on the State Attorney of NY, Mrs. Leticia James to revoke the non-profit status of the USTA, they are a failure and a con to the sport.

The failures of the USTA mirror the downfall of any monopolistic institution: when dissent is silenced, incompetence festers, and the organizational culture begins to rot. In years past, the USTA thrived on the passion of volunteers who fostered a sense of community and inclusivity. But as the sport became flush with cash, the organization succumbed to the machinations of high-priced lawyers and accountants more concerned with protecting their fiefdoms than advancing the game. What followed was inevitable: incompetence flourished, unchecked by any meaningful accountability.

Leadership at the USTA has failed to confront the systemic problems strangling the game. They’ve allowed an exclusionary, pay-to-play model to dominate—a system that prices out talent from underprivileged backgrounds, ensuring that only the affluent have a shot at success. This isn’t just an economic failure, it’s a moral one. The leadership, with their antiquated worldview, perpetuates racial and socioeconomic disparities, turning a blind eye to the transformative potential of a more inclusive, diverse sport.

This is the very essence of leadership incompetence: an inability to recognize that progress requires change, innovation, and humility. Instead, they surround themselves with sycophants—yes-men who pander to their egos, flattering their delusions of adequacy while the sport crumbles. It's a textbook example of the Peter Principle: leaders have ascended to their highest level of incompetence, ensuring that every decision they make further entrenches the rot at the USTA’s core.

The USTA’s current leadership is incapable of grasping even the most basic principles of organizational health. They resist any semblance of competition, ensuring that new ideas, fresh talent, and alternative perspectives are systematically excluded. Their playbook—one of narcissistic arrogance, incompetence, and dishonesty—has driven American tennis to the brink of irrelevance on the global stage. The refusal to evolve, the clinging to outdated methods, and the glaring lack of any substantive reform will be their undoing, and the sport’s as well.

The decay is evident everywhere. Rising costs of participation, plummeting attendance at events, high attrition rates among younger players, and the meteoric rise of pickleball, are a clear indictment of tennis’s failure to adapt. The system that these men uphold benefits only them while stifling growth and destroying the future of the game.

Their inability to address fundamental issues—whether it's the monopoly they oversee, the lack of participation, the bloated payroll, or the absence of American stars—reveals not just ineptitude, but willful neglect of their responsibilities. They have no solutions, no vision, and no desire to open the door to those who might challenge them to think differently. This is not leadership; it’s a con, perpetrated by two incapable men unworthy of their roles, whose only objective is to milk the sport for personal gain.

The USTA’s CEO, rather than using his appointment as an opportunity to enact meaningful change, has opted for a path of dishonor. Instead of surrounding himself with intelligent, capable individuals who could help transform the organization, he has chosen to maintain a circle of sycophants who indulge his mediocrity. He has lied to the public, hidden sexual abuse cases, and presided over a staggering $20 million in settlements, all while pretending to care about the integrity of the game. This is not leadership; it is cowardice.

In the face of such gross mismanagement, the only appropriate course of action is for these leaders to step aside. Yet they cling to power, unwilling to admit their failures, unwilling to accept criticism, and unwilling to welcome those who could save the sport from its decline, as the first course of action would be to get rid of the dead weight, which includes them of course.

They will claim with a straight face that 1M fans attended the Open, who cares about the Open, it is a show for bankers, not reflective of the state of the sport anywhere. It can also generate 1B dollars, who cares! if the money does not help to grow the sport? The WTA is broke, the ATP is shrinking the tournaments and the Klan of incapables remains in control.

To the foundation people of the USTA, smarten up, you get a pittance of funds and pretend to help, you should get at least the same amount of taxes that they save by being a not-for-profit. Smarten up, people. A non-profit you are not, it is all pretend, a scam to the public and your donors.

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

I can be reached at jpalenque@yahoo.com.