U.S.T.A. Plans a $15 Million Bailout for Various Tennis Groups

Those grants are expected to total at least $2.5 million.

The P.T.R. has approximately 9,000 members in the United States; the U.S.P.T.A. has approximately 13,500.

“I have heard from a lot of our coaches who have either been laid off or furloughed and don’t know where their next paycheck is coming from,” said Dan Santorum, the chief executive of the P.T.R., which has annual dues of $159. “So this kind of assistance from the U.S.T.A. is particularly welcome.”

The rest of the funding is expected to go toward support efforts like telephone counseling to cope with emotional effects of the pandemic or legal consulting for those who want to claim government aid provided through the Cares Act.

Even if the U.S. Open is canceled, Dowse said on Wednesday that this relief plan would remain in place, funded by about $20 million in cuts that have been made through salary reductions and by lowering expenses in marketing, player development and operations.

“These plans will hold,” Dowse said of the relief effort. “This was modeled off what we know we can do, and then in theory if we can do more, we will try to do that as well.”

Dowse, a former president of Wilson Sporting Goods, took charge of the U.S.T.A. in January. He said the association’s senior management would take a 20 percent pay cut for the remainder of 2020. Dowse’s salary has not yet been made public, but his predecessor, Gordon Smith, was paid $1.265 million in 2018, according to public filings. Stacey Allaster, the chief executive of the U.S.T.A.’s professional tennis division, was paid $861,232 in 2018.

Dowse said directors and managing directors at the U.S.T.A. would take 15 percent pay cuts, and managers 10 percent cuts.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/sports/tennis/usta-bailout-tennis.html