Building a Sustainable Tennis Business: Lessons from Australia’s Victorian Tennis Academy - Tina Keown & Jack Glennane

About this episode

Tina Keown and Jack Glennane discuss building a successful and sustainable tennis academy focused on people development.

What does it take to build a successful tennis academy that not only develops players, but also develops people? In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale speak with Tina Keown and Jack Glennane , directors of the Victorian Tennis Academy. Operating four venues and 24 courts just minutes from the Australian Open grounds, VTA has become one of Australia’s leading tennis organizations, earning multiple Tennis Australia awards along the way. Tina and Jack share how they’ve built a thriving multi-venue tennis business by focusing on people first. From implementing a seven-tier career pathway for coaches to shifting toward more sustainable employment models, they discuss how leadership, culture, and long-term thinking can help clubs retain great staff and deliver exceptional experiences for players. They also reflect on their own journeys from casual coaches to directors and the lessons learned while balancing leadership, operations, and growth. This conversation matters for anyone managing a tennis program, leading a racquet sports department, or trying to create a sustainable coaching workforce. Whether you run a single facility or oversee multiple…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kim Bastable, Simon Gale

Guests: Tina Keown, Jack Glennane

Topics covered

• tennis academy
• sustainable business
• coaching development
• leadership
• staff retention
• career pathways

Keywords

• tennis
• academy
• sustainability
• coaching
• leadership
• staff development
• career pathways

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Victorian Tennis Academy, Tennis Australia

Places: Australia, Australian Open

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