The Price of Success In Senior Women’s Tennis

I am a member of a task force chartered by the National Women’s Tennis Organization (NWTO) to examine how we can improve the USTA’s support for Intersectionals. That team tournament is the pinnacle of Senior Women’s tennis competition in the United States. However, our committee is currently grappling with the harsh reality that some USTA Sections do an excellent job fielding and supporting their teams while others do absolutely nothing. We’re trying to change that.

A little over a week ago, the committee received a breakdown of the financial support that the Southern California Section provides each year to the players who compete on their Section’s Intersectional teams.

Player Stipends ($400 per player)	$14,000
Entry Fees	$5425
Player Gifts	$1750
Total	$21,175

When I first saw these numbers, I had three immediate visceral reactions:

1. Wow. That’s a lot of money when you add it all up.
2. SoCal players receive a larger stipend than players in my home Section of Texas.
3. Some Sections probably can’t afford the $21,000+ price tag.

The NWTO task force has been working on the premise that it would be good if every Section sent teams at each age division to Intersectionals. It would be even better if they provided some financial support. “Best” would be if the funding was commensurate with what SoCal, Texas, and a few other Sections are providing. In other words, it would be ideal if every Section spent at least $21,000 to support their teams.

Unfortunately, it probably isn’t realistic due to how money flows from USTA National to each USTA Section.

The USTA makes a lot of money off the US Open each year. The organization funnels some of those profits down to each USTA Section based on its number of members. The grant to each Section is disclosed annually via the USTA’s IRS form 990.

The following table summarizes each Section’s total dollars from the USTA in 2022 and calculates the percentage that $21,000 represents in that baseline budget.

Section	Amount	Intersectional %
Southern	12,738,112	0.2%
Midwest	6,140,307	0.3%
Texas	4,101,222	0.5%
Eastern	3,861,982	0.5%
Northern California	3,739,534	0.6%
Florida	3,523,755	0.6%
Southern California	3,490,554	0.6%
Intermountain	3,374,455	0.6%
Mid-Atlantic	2,986,323	0.7%
Middle States	2,747,075	0.8%
New England	2,658,548	0.8%
Missouri Valley	2,393,682	0.9%
Pacific Northwest	2,147,251	1.0%
Northern	1,642,307	1.3%
Southwest	1,500,358	1.4%
Hawaii	1,103,625	1.9%
Caribbean	920,156.	2.3%

Regardless of the number of players residing in each USTA Section, each team has the same roster size. The cost of sending teams to Intersectionals doesn’t scale along with the Sectional population. This does not reduce the cost of sending a team or diminish the need for financial support. Unfortunately, the baseline budget for each Section is allocated based on population.

I don’t think it is realistic or fair to expect Caribbean to pay 200% more of their total budget in support of Intersectionals than Southern. So, while we certainly want to influence each Section to provide logistical support and advocacy for their teams, the financial solution must necessarily be sourced elsewhere. The less funded areas arguably can’t afford to field teams without cutting other services within their Section.

One potential way to level the finances would be for the USTA to provide the same designated lump sum grant each year to each Section earmarked for Intersectionals. Essentially, each Section would be granted $21,000 that could only be spent on Intersectionals, use it or lose it. Those funds would be on top of what is allocated in each Section’s baseline grant awarded based on population. (Other than potentially reducing the total grants divided between the Sections. That money has to come from somewhere.)

While we’re at it, I also think the same designated grant allocation scheme and matching dollar amount should be awarded to each Section to support their Donoff Cup teams. That is the men’s version of Intersectionals.

Intersectionals is the pinnacle of competition within the United States for Senior Women’s tennis, and it serves a vital role in the competitive ecosystem. However, due to uneven support and participation, the team tournament isn’t fully achieving its potential. For that to change, each Section and USTA National must understand and embrace the critical role of Intersectionals and provide the resources to make full, widespread engagement a reality.

It will take a little more than just telling each Section they need to do better.