The fifth annual Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference, held April 8 to 11 at Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston, S.C., attracted about 250 tennis facility owners, managers and other leaders in the tennis and sports industries. Presentations, interactive sessions and networking focused on growth, business leadership, development and innovation.

They came, they played tennis, and they burned lots of calories.  That’s one way to summarize what took place last Friday (April 20) at the Million Calorie Burn, the official kick-off event of PHIT America Month, which starts on May 1.  May will also be Play Tennis Month.

The 11th Annual TIA Tennis Forum will be held in New York City on Monday, Aug. 27, the first day of play at the US Open. The Forum is slated to run from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Grand Hyatt New York on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.

Among the bright spots in the most recent annual tennis participation study by the Physical Activity Council (PAC) is a 1.0 percent increase in youth tennis players to 4.57 million and a 4.5 percent increase in Cardio Tennis players to 2.22 million over the past year.

On April 20, the sport of tennis will showcase the “Million Calorie Burn,” where the goal is for participants to burn a combined 1 million calories—with a focus on Cardio Tennis and including all the tennis programming on the 100-court USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.

To help showcase the sport of tennis and its health benefits, tennis industry partners are working together to promote May as “Play Tennis Month.” At least 1,500 tennis facilities around the U.S. are expected to participate in Play Tennis Month, offering thousands of tennis programs and events—all with a goal of helping to get people moving and playing tennis.

The sport of tennis will be reaching new heights in 2018 when the USTA and NASA astronaut A.J. ‘Drew’ Feustel attempts a tennis match in space, powered by Net Generation. On March 21,  2018, Feustel, along with compatriot and fellow NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold and crewmate Oleg Artemyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, blasted off into space as members of Expedition 55.

Dozens of top speakers and experts will present at the fifth annual Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference, which will focus on innovation, growth, business leadership and development. The conference runs from April 9 to 11, with optional specialty courses on Sunday, April 8. Visit TheTOMConference.com for information and to register (day session registration available).

While wholesale equipment shipments for the fourth quarter of 2017 ended on a positive note for tennis balls, racquets and strings, year-end shipments in all categories remained down, according to marketplace research results from the Tennis Industry Association.

Now through the end of May, in support of Play Tennis Month, tennis providers can join the Cardio Tennis Instructor Network for $100, which is half price for first-year membership. Visit CardioTennis.com to see all the benefits, resources and discounts and to sign up.