Fiend at Court Unplugged
During the US Open this year, I received numerous daily emails from the USTA reminding me to tune into the broadcast of the tournament. Other messaging that hit my inbox promoted purchase of tickets for the event. There were also frequent reminders to engage with the “virtual grounds” of Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The messaging repeatedly hawked US Open merchandise. Following the conclusion of the tournament, I received notifications from the USTA inviting me to participate in an auction of the art that was displayed on the tournament grounds this year. It was a lot of direct email marketing.
The very next weekend after the conclusion of the US Open this year, I played a USTA Level 5 Adult Senior Tournament hosted by the Arlington (TX) Tennis Center. Leading into that event, I did not receive a single email from the USTA promoting that tournament. Additionally, I did not receive any notifications from the tournament after I entered as the tournament was ongoing. An organization that claims to be actively marketing tennis participation should… maybe actually try to do that.
The lack of targeted outreach and engagement by the USTA for the Arlington tournament is astonishing. It is a tournament that I have participated in every year since 2014. The host facility is about 20 miles from my residence. It is absurd that the USTA doesn’t have either the mechanism or the initiative to send targeted emails to its members that live in close proximity to their own sanctioned tournaments.
As a point of comparasion, I receive daily emails from Universal Tennis promoting events and opportunities to play in my local area. After I entered my first UTR tournament, my inbox has been filled with additional opportunities to play. I never have to remember to go looking for a UTR tournament. In fact, I have entered some UTR events in response to those emails.
One of the “USTA Strategic Priorities” outlined for the organization under the leadership of CEO Michael Dowse in 2020 is to “Build and optimize best-in-class digital infrastructure and platforms.” I am really curious how the organization believes they have progressed on that objective in the intervening time. So far I would have to score it as a big red F. (What that F actually stands for is left as an exercise for the reader.)
The current state of the USTA digital engagement platform makes the fact that the USTA doesn’t use email marketing even more confounding. The interface is so poorly constructed from a user perspective that it can be a challenge to find tournaments. The digital engagement platform should not be an impediment to entering events. If anyone at the USTA thinks that the situation is acceptable at the moment… it is delusional.
As evidenced by the flood of marketing materials from the USTA during the US Open, it is OK to send direct email marketing to its members. I have never attended the US Open and don’t live in the proximity of the tournament. That is a pretty good sign that the organization isn’t opposed to email “spam” marketing when it suits them.
What the USTA appears to be opposed to is the promotion of adult tennis tournament play for its members and non-member recreational players. It’s absurd.
I wonder how much of the marketing of local tournaments are left to the tournament director.
Hey Summer, I think all of the marketing is left to the TDs. And they are extremely busy already just keeping the tournament on track! As well, there probably is no money available for marketing. I would rather have it spent on good officials if I had to choose.
That is one of my issues with the data sharing policies of the USTA. The email addresses you provide when you enter an event are supposed to be used for that event only. (Some TDs clearly violate that, but I will never rat out the ones that do.) Still, the TDs only have contact information for people who have entered one of their tournaments. The USTA does not provide contact information for its members in the area to TDs. It really ties the TDs hands.
You nailed it! I applaud the tournament Directors in Texas , and the USTA staff and in Austin who have gone out of their way to offer an Unsanctioned NTRP Mixed Doubles Draw at their Adult Major Zone tournaments in the first half of this year when the new USTA online platform was forced into use before it was ready and before it could even handle these draws!