How Coaches Can Make Tennis More Welcoming for Everybody
Tennis coaches, clubs and facilities all have a role in shaping who feels welcome on court. A good place to start is with a simple question: Who feels like they belong here?
For Laura Puryear, Senior Manager of Coach Development and Training for USTA Missouri Valley, the answer starts with the coach.
Puryear has spent nearly three decades working in tennis, from teaching private and group lessons to supporting USTA programs, coach education and community outreach across the Missouri Valley section. Her work has focused on helping providers grow the game by attracting new players, retaining them and creating a positive first experience. That first experience matters.
Meet Players Where They Are
When asked about a coach’s most important responsibility in helping a new player feel like they belong, Puryear was direct: meet players where they are.
That means understanding more than a player’s forehand grip or footwork. It means recognizing their comfort level with tennis itself. Some players arrive eager to improve. Some come because a parent signed them up. Some are looking for friends, movement, community or simply a place to try something new.
A coach’s job is not only to teach tennis. It is to create an environment that invites people back.
“We need to find ways to engage players and provide a positive, fun first experience,” Puryear says. “It’s our job to do what we can to get them to love tennis.”
Make the First Few Minutes Count
That mindset is essential for creating a space where every player, regardless of their background or experience, can see themselves in the tennis community.
Coaches do not need a complicated script to begin building a more inclusive environment. They need consistent habits. Puryear starts with one of the simplest: “Smile and welcome all players to your facility and programs,” she says. “Most people are going to like you before they like whatever drill or activity you offer.”
A player’s first impression may happen before the warm-up, before the first feed and before the first correction. It may happen at the front desk, at the gate, during introductions or when they’re trying to figure out where to stand.
Create Belonging Through Everyday Coaching Habits
Welcoming players means using names, explaining what will happen next, avoiding insider language and creating activities where everyone can participate quickly. It also means watching for who is quiet, who looks uncertain and who may need an invitation into the gro
For coaches and facilities focused on creating safer, more supportive spaces, Puryear also points to staff preparation. She recommends ensuring employees and staff are SafePlay approved and programs are designed with the full community in mind.
“Smile and welcome all players to your facility and programs. Most people are going to like you before they like whatever drill or activity you offer.”
Laura Puryear
Lower the Barrier to Trying Tennis
Facilities can also think beyond traditional tennis programming. Puryear suggested combining tennis with other sports or events, such as inviting swimmers to try tennis and then stay for a swim party.
The point is to lower the barrier to entry. Tennis can be competitive, technical and challenging, but the first step into the sport should feel approachable. For many new players, especially those unsure whether tennis is for them, a social, low-pressure event may be the invitation that gets them on court.
Make Sure Your Marketing Reflects Your Community
Marketing matters, too. Coaches and facility leaders should look honestly at the images, flyers and social posts they use to promote programs.
Do those materials reflect the full diversity of the local community? If a new player viewed the program’s images and social posts, would they see themselves represented and feel that they truly belong?
Puryear also encourages facilities to show up in the community, including at local events, instead of waiting for new players to find tennis on their own. She suggests, “Reach out to the gay and lesbian community by showing up and offering tennis at their events.”
Welcoming More Players Is How the Game Grows
Growing tennis means making sure more people can see a place for themselves in the game. That work does not depend on one event, one program or one message. It depends on the experience players have every time they walk onto a court.
For coaches, that starts with the basics: greeting players by name, making expectations clear, creating activities where everyone can participate and paying attention to who may need a little extra encouragement.
The most welcoming tennis environments are built through small, consistent choices. When players feel seen, respected and included, they’re more likely to relax, engage and return. That is how coaches help more people not only try tennis, but stay with it.
