BEYOND THE BASELINE
BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND THE BASELINE
BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND
beyondthebaseline
Jenny Schnitzer, USTA Eastern By Brian Coleman
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s the calendars turn from 2021 to 2022, tennis continues to thrive here in our local area. Throughout the USTA Eastern Section, this year has been extremely encouraging as we have seen tennis in all of its forms rise from the ashes of the pandemic, providing optimism for what’s to come next year. “Heading into this year, our goal was to lend our support wherever we could, and then rebuild,” said Jenny Schnitzer, USTA Eastern’s Executive Director and CEO. “Now I think, as 6
we head into next year, it’s about welcoming in new people, and designing programming and events that welcome more players into our Eastern family.” Throughout the last 18 months, we have seen tennis participation skyrocket throughout the country, and that trend applies to our Section as well. Overall, tennis participation increased by 22 percent from 2019 into 2020, and the latest data reported by the Tennis Industry Association indicates that total racquet
New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2021 • NYTennisMag.com
shipments increased by 40.5 percent in the first half of this year, and a 66 percent increase in string unit shipments. All these numbers indicate a sport that is on the rise in terms of participation. The next step now for Schnitzer and her team at USTA Eastern is to ensure those new players, many of whom picked the sport up during the pandemic, continue playing in this coming year and beyond. “Participation-wise, tennis is exploding right now, which is great. The
