The USTA will host its inaugural “Coaches Open” conference in New York City later in August, a new initiative featuring keynote talks from tennis legend Billie Jean King and Olympic gold medallist Dawn Staley as well as on-court coaching sessions at the iconic Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The new flagship coaching event runs from Aug. 25-27 at the Hilton Midtown on 6th Avenue, taking place just days before the beginning of the US Open main draw at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens on Aug. 30.
Featuring a range of keynote addresses as well as training opportunities at the National Tennis Center, the inaugural event aims to reconnect coaches with what brought them to tennis and provide them with an opportunity to grow their craft and expand their networks. The USTA described the upcoming three-day conference as a “celebration of coaches” and the impact they make on the sport.
The Coaches Open also coincides with the one-year anniversary of USTA Coaching’s founding, an initiative aimed at expanding and strengthening tennis coaching across the country.
King, a 39-time Grand Slam champion and the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), will lead a diverse lineup of keynote speakers at the three-day conference, which features notable figures from tennis and other sports.
Other keynote speakers at the event include USTA CEO Craig Tiley, USTA Coaching CEO Craig Morris and tennis coach Darren Cahill, the current coach of five-time grand slam winner Jannik Sinner. Paul Annacone, the current coach of Taylor Fritz and former coach of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, will also speak.
Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time WNBA All-Star, will lead a diverse line-up of speakers without a tennis background. Staley is the current three-time NCAA National Championship Head Coach of the University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball Team.
She will be joined by John Wroblewski, 2026 Olympic gold medal-winning Head Coach of the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team, and 2026 Olympic gold medal goaltender Aerin Frankel at the conference.
Will Guidara, bestselling author of “Unreasonable Hospitality” and former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, is also slated to deliver a keynote address at the event.
A number of dynamic coaching sessions will take place across the three-day conference, offering lessons for coaches at every stage of their career, including lessons at the iconic National Tennis Center.
For example, the conference will feature leadership and culture sessions exploring the lasting impact of great coaching, as well as hands-on coaching and on-court training led by Annacone and other professional coaches at Louis Armstrong Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Dr. Nicole LaVoi, a senior lecturer at the University of Minnesota and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, will host a dedicated session to empower girls in sport, while the USTA will also host sessions focused on platforming inclusive coaching practices and the growth of wheelchair tennis.
Other sessions will cover performance analytics, AI-driven coaching, and the USTA Coaching App.
Morris, who has been CEO of USTA Coaching since the organization’s foundation, said the upcoming conference is one of the “most important investments” that the USTA has made in coaching in years.
“Coaches are the backbone of this sport, and this event is our way of giving them the recognition, resources and experience they deserve,” Morris said. “Holding it in New York as the US Open gets underway felt like the right moment to bring this community together.”
In addition to development opportunities and keynote addresses, the Coaches Open aims to give back to tennis coaches through other activities, including a trade show and an innovation showcase. The USTA is also offering free childcare on-site throughout the event in order to ensure that coaches of all backgrounds can attend.
Megan Rose, managing director and head of business development and operations at USTA Coaching, said the event had been planned to meet coaches where they are.
“Every detail of this event, from the on-court sessions to the networking moments in between, was built with the coaches’ experience in mind,” Rose said. “We want our coaches to leave feeling seen, supported, and genuinely excited about the work they do every day.”
The upcoming conference is open exclusively to registered members of the USTA Coaching community. Interested coaches can find more information and sign up at ustacoaching.com/en/home. Anyone interested in attending the conference can register here.
