#67 | Rich Neher | Tennis for Everyone

Writer and publisher Rich Neher on the tennis business and bringing the joy of tennis to amateur players. Rich Neher is a writer, author, and owner of the Los Angeles-based Tennis Media Group, publisher of the monthly newsletter RACKET BUSINESS (formerly TENNIS CLUB BUSINESS), and Founder/Chief Executive of Conga Sports Inc. Rich's passion for bringing the joys of tennis to the masses of armatures is inspiring. Tune in for a wide ranging conversation. To learn more about Rich: https://www.congasports.com/leadership Chapters 0:00 Welcome Rich Neher 2:32 Community tennis over the pros 5:05 The big moment at the Legends Luncheon 7:42 First encounter with pickleball 10:15 Oktoberfest with Tommy Haas 12:48 Your team for life 15:23 A tennis friend in Iran 17:57 Field hockey and Hong Kong 20:27 A boss who knew how to motivate people 23:05 Selling electronic displays 25:38 Joining a German company 28:13 Uncovering an eBay fraud 30:48 Term limits and German politics 33:22 Getting into tennis after moving to California 35:54 Left alone on the court 38:27 Be friendly, not angry 41:03 A little acting in Hollywood 43:34 Accents and voice work 46:07 When companies cut costs 48:41 Programmes to bring new people into tennis 51:12 Where amateur tennis is biggest 53:45 Building teams across LA 56:20 The Savannah Bananas 58:52 The Savannah Bananas world tour 1:01:24 Daring to be critical 1:03:59 Why 98% of new players left the sport 1:06:33 The junior academy pathway 1:09:04 Coaches at a junior tournament 1:11:35 Tiger Woods and growing a sport 1:14:06 The Netflix tennis series 1:16:40 A profitable programme ready for investors 1:19:15 Sponsors and Head rackets 1:21:51 Big corporate sponsors in tennis 1:24:21 Why young players should be ball kids 1:26:56 A ball girl's mistake 1:29:31 Meeting Goran Ivanišević at Indian Wells 1:32:07 Selling to Premier League football clubs 1:34:39 Catching serves with bare hands 1:37:16 Fitness, diet and the modern game 1:39:46 A champion of the 1920s 1:42:17 Thank you and goodbye The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com