USTA Coaching: Billie Jean King, Darren Cahill and Paul Annacone Headline ‘Coaches Open’ in New York

USTA Coaching is bringing some of the biggest names in tennis, leadership and sports together for its inaugural Coaches Open, a new three-day event designed to educate, connect and celebrate the coaching community.  

The first-ever conference will take place in New York City as the US Open gets underway, giving coaches a chance to learn from leaders inside and outside tennis while also spending time on court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Billie Jean King will headline a speaker lineup that also includes USTA CEO Craig Tiley, USTA Coaching CEO Craig Morris, Grand Slam-winning coaches Darren Cahill and Paul Annacone, University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team head coach John Wroblewski, Olympic gold medal goaltender Aerin Frankel and bestselling author Will Guidara.

Above: Billie Jean King. Lynn Gilbert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The event comes as USTA Coaching approaches its first anniversary as a national platform. Organizers say the goal is to give coaches at every level more resources, stronger professional connections and a renewed sense of purpose in the work they do.

“Coaches are the backbone of this sport, and this event is our way of giving them the recognition, resources and experience they deserve,” said Morris. “Holding it in New York as the US Open gets underway felt like the right moment to bring this community together.”

The programming will extend well beyond traditional tennis instruction. Sessions will explore leadership, culture, youth development, inclusive coaching, adaptive tennis, financial planning, technology and performance analytics, reflecting the increasingly broad role coaches play in developing athletes and running successful programs.

Above: Darren Cahill. Charlie Cowins from Belmont, NC, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

There will also be a strong on-court component. Annacone, Brad Stine, Margie Zesinger and Sandra Zaniewska are scheduled to lead training sessions at Louis Armstrong Stadium, with drills and workshops focused on movement, footwork, match decision-making and player development.

Cahill and Annacone bring particularly deep experience at the highest levels of the professional game. Cahill has worked with Jannik Sinner, while Annacone currently coaches Taylor Fritz and previously worked with Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. Their presence gives attendees direct access to coaches who have helped guide some of the sport’s biggest champions.

The conference will also look outside tennis for lessons on leadership and performance. Staley brings the perspective of a championship basketball coach and Olympic gold medalist, while Wroblewski and Frankel offer insight from elite hockey. Guidara, best known for his work at Eleven Madison Park and his book Unreasonable Hospitality, will bring a business and service perspective to the discussion.

Above: Paul Annacone. Photo credit: Celtechm at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

USTA Coaching is also emphasizing accessibility. Free on-site childcare will be available throughout the event, part of an effort to make attendance possible for coaches with different family and professional responsibilities. 

Megan Rose, Managing Director and Head of Business Development and Operations for USTA Coaching, said the event was designed to make coaches feel recognized and supported while giving them practical ideas they can bring back to their players and programs.

The Coaches Open will be open exclusively to registered members of the USTA Coaching community. For an organization still early in its development, the event represents a significant attempt to create a national gathering place for the people responsible for teaching, developing and growing the game.

And with Billie Jean King, Cahill, Annacone and other leaders sharing the stage just as the tennis world turns its attention to New York, the timing gives the inaugural event a fitting spotlight.

Written by Associate Editor Osvaldo Godoy. Source: USTA Coaching

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