Think you’re “not good enough” to coach? Megan Rose and Nancy Abrams explain why rec players are exactly who tennis needs, plus a new push to bring more women into coaching.

Tennis in the United States is experiencing a powerful surge, and that growth has exposed a clear gap: there simply are not enough coaches to meet demand. In our conversation with Megan and Nancy, we dig into how the USTA Coaching platform is designed to close that gap with accessible education, practical resources, and community support.

Megan Rose is the Managing Director, Head of Business Development & Operations of USTA Coaching. She was a 5-time NCAA All-American at University of Miami and competed on the WTA Tour. She previously was the Head Coach of Women’s Tennis at Princeton University and the Senior Manager of Member Relations at the Women’s Tennis Association.

Nancy Abram’s tennis journey began at the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles, working for Billie Jean King and Jeannie Buss running ball kids for the summer pro events. Nancy played in college and has over two decades of experience with the United States Tennis Association Southern California. She is the architect behind the USTA SoCal’s Women & Girls Who Ace Summit, which celebrates the contributions of female sports leaders in Southern California, providing unique learning opportunities for coaches, athletes and industry professionals.

Here’s a transcript of our conversation

Carolyn: 0:07

Hi, this is Carolyn and I’m here with Erin and we are super excited to have on Megan Rose and Nancy Abrams. Megan was a five-time NCAA All-American at the University of Miami. She competed on the WTA Tour. She was the head coach of women’s tennis at Princeton University and the senior manager of member relations at the Women’s Tennis Association. Nancy played in college. She started SOCAL’s Women and Girls Who Ace Summit, which celebrates the contributions of female sports leaders in Southern California. And she continues to compete at senior national tournaments. So thank you guys so much for coming on the podcast to talk with us. Thanks for having us. Excited to do this. Megan, can you start off and tell us the current state of tennis coaching and the initiative called USTA coaching?Megan: 0:52

Yeah, I would love to. So thanks again for having us. We’re excited to be here just to talk about USTA and USTA coaching. USTA has a mission and a strategy to get 35 million tennis players in the sport by 2035. And as part of that, really look did a deep dive on the state of tennis coaching in America and realized that unfortunately we just don’t have enough tennis coaches to really meet the demand. As you know, tennis is booming, and we love to see players like you that are joining it later on and getting involved. So USTA Coaching was really created to empower coaches of all levels and in all different types of people to want to deliver tennis experiences to people across the country. And so what USTA Coaching is, is a platform and a program that really provides benefits, services, education, and resources for people to be able to easily access world-class content, education, and services, and then really take that out into communities as they’re introducing or creating great experiences for players of all levels. And so anyone from a parent who wants to introduce tennis to their kids for the first time to a league player that wants to give back to a full-time teaching professional, we have something for everyone, and we’re so excited about how it’s been received so far.Erin: 2:06

So the reason why we wanted to do this episode was I sat next to Nancy at the US Open and somehow coaching came up. And I said, Oh, I’ve been wanting to do that as a league player, but I don’t, you know, I didn’t start. I before we started recording, I told Nancy and Megan both that I did not start until I was 40 years old. So even though I’m a 4-0, I still don’t think I’m quote good enough to teach someone because, you know, I forget a lot of the basics too. But Nancy assured me that I could get into it. So Nancy, the next question is for you. Can adult rec players coach? Are we good enough? And um maybe even follow-up to that of like, how do we get involved? What do we look for?Nancy: 2:45

Well, absolutely, adult league players can coach. I’m fortunate enough to have worked at UST Southern California for a number of years before I left last year. And in all the entry-level programming and all, we saw a lot of um adult league players come into coaching junior team tennis or some of the entry-level programming at their local organizations just to get involved. So, yes, and um as an adult league player since my you know late 20s and now playing senior events, um, I can tell you some of my friends have transitioned into coaching high school tennis after their retirement or raising their kids, or you know, they want to give back. And even though, regardless of their level, if they’re like a 4-0, 4-5, or even, you know, a 3-5 or 3-0, whatever, there are skills they can learn to give back in their community to, you know, help with the entry-level pathway and Red Bull and at schools and all that. So USTA coaching does offer that opportunity from the get-go. And um, the training is is uh spot on. I’ve seen it all, I participate in a lot of it with my staff, and I’ve hired a lot of adult league players to help with our school-based programming. So, my short answer to my long response is yes.Erin: 3:59

Good. Yeah, and I actually told Nancy too, because um Carolyn and I are also very involved in um volunteering for USTA, Southern specifically, but just in general in our local area and in our um section. But um I think Nancy and I both, maybe after a honey deuce or two, we’re like, we or more. Um I really feel as a woman that I want to see, even at my own club, I really want to see more women coaches. I’ve got some friends that are four fives and five O’s that are kind of running out of opportunities in league because of the level that they’re getting to, but are really interested in one of my friends has four kids that are all into tennis now. So really interested in a coaching pathway for them and again, specifically for women. So can you discuss the initiative for female coaches starting next year in 2026?Megan: 4:48

Yeah, so we know that we need more coaches that are women, we need more coaches of color, we need to make sure that our coaching population is representative of our participation population. And so we know right now the stats are showing that most coaches are an average of 55-year-old white men. And so, how can we really use the resources of the USTA coaching program to really make lasting change and improvement, not just in the recruitment of women, but also more importantly on the retention of women in the profession. I think if we don’t look at really attacking it systematically, then you have women that are coming into the system, but then they’re not met with an environment that’s really gonna help them thrive in that situation. And so we’re looking at a couple different things, and I want Nancy to really talk about the program and initiative that we’re gonna launch, but you know, broadly we’re looking at making sure that we’re showing enough visibility of women. There’s a ton of great women coaches right now, but a lot of people just don’t know who they are, and so how can we use the platform of USCA coaching to highlight those women? How can we increase the pipeline? So looking at high school and college age women and girls who want to maybe get into coaching and they’re not sure that that’s something that’s right for them, so how can we really encourage them? And then how can we modernize the system? So, how can we help facilities know that there are ways that you can welcome back women after you know having kids who want to work part-time? How can we ensure that the environment is set up in a way that helps them? And specifically, and and here’s where I want Nancy to jump in: how can we make sure that we’re helping women just with the overall training and learning and networking that can help them advocate for themselves in these spaces? So would love for Nancy to kind of give you an overview of our of our program that we’re launching next year.Nancy: 6:30

Yeah, thanks, Megan. You know, this comes from a place of deep understanding and and passion for this space of bringing more women into not only coaching but the leadership space. And I think coaching leads to leadership because that’s frankly what it is. When I played in college on Title IX many, many decades ago, there were no female coaches in tennis. And frankly, I had never had a female coach. And um, I had hoped as having a daughter and raising my kids in sports, that eventually I would see more female coaches. And at USTA Billie Jean King Girls Nats in in Southern Cal when I was, you know, working for the section, I saw all these male coaches coming to recruit these young female players. And still, I’m like still in this decade, there are still more males recruiting these young female players, and it and it was upsetting to me. So I reached out to the current coach, female coach from my college, and she’s like, spot on, that’s the way it is. So I got a bug up my and I decided to start an initiative in Southern California called Women and Girls Who Ace to literally try to foster this. So we connected with various amazing collegiate coaches who had come up through the system who were needing, who needed resources and how to how to deal with everything from revenue streams to to dealing with NIL to dealing with the mental aspect of the game for their players to everything. And it occurred to me that they’re not getting, these women are not getting the tools they need. And a lot of them were young moms. So they’re they’re taking these teams out on the road. They’ve got a new baby at home. They’re maybe they’re newly married or whatever the case is, and they’re also taking care of these young women who have the potential to move into the game after their stint on tour or maybe their kinesiology major or something and they want to go into coaching. They didn’t have the time or the resources or the mentoring ability to bring these uh young women up nor help themselves. How is tennis coaching a long-term financial uh success for them? How can we keep them into coaching, whether they move from collegiate to club or whatever? But they need the resources, they need to know how to find revenue streams, deal with their budgets, take care of their own personal health from heart health to skin health to everything else. So it’s just been sort of swirling around. And I’m super fortunate to have connected with Megan and USTA coaching to um have an opportunity to jump in this space and create a bench of really phenomenal female leaders in the coaching space who can help bring up the next generation and inspire girls as well and boys.Carolyn: 9:05

Yeah, I love that. So I’ve had so many good coaches growing up, and I remember every single one of them. Um so, Nancy, did you have a favorite coach and what did that person mean to you?Nancy: 9:18

Well, I’m gonna kick this over to Megan because Megan has not only was she a great coach in in at Princeton, but um I’m gonna kick that over to Megan because uh my pathway of not such great coaches has led me to this space and have the opportunity to work with Megan and her team. So I’d rather throw that one to Megan and and and I’ll come back to you with a super cool memorable tennis moment. How about that?Carolyn: 9:42

Okay, that sounds good.Megan: 9:44

Uh well, I was really fortunate. My college tennis coach uh at University of Miami was Paige Yuroshuk to’s. She’s still there, and now since she’s been elevated to the director of both the men’s and the women’s program, which is incredible. So she was really an incredibly impactful person on me, both on the court and off the court. And I think a lot of the leadership skills that I have now were really kind of, I learned from her things like you have to coach everyone as an individual. You know, she was great at understanding what each of what meet made each of us tick. You know, for me, she knew she could be a little bit tougher on me, but others maybe it she had to be a little gentler, how to get the most out of us. And so, really, I actually just saw her the other day. Miami was here at the national campus in Orlando uh for a tournament. And it’s really weird to be around the team now that I could literally be their mom, which was like a very thing was like my head is exploding, especially hearing too that like kids don’t go out anymore, which I was like, wait, what? You’re 19 and 20 and you live in Miami and you’re not going out. Like, they why don’t they go out? My daughter doesn’t either because she’s 19 and 20 weeks. I’m like, wait, what are you doing between the hours of 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. if you’re not on South Beach? That’s what I say. But anyway, she I think even now being able to just spend time with her and you know, she knows me so well. I know her, her family, her kids. Like, so I’m so fortunate in that I was able to have a female coach and someone that was part of my life as in such a formative time. Um, and then also just tried to kind of carry some of those lessons also when I was a college coach myself. So I do have really fond memories of of that, and I’m sure you know she had a harder time with me than I did with her. Um she was she was great, and I just feel really lucky that that I was able to kind of be part of her program.Carolyn: 11:29

That’s great. Nancy, tell us about the bad coaches so that we know like when we’re gonna be.Erin: 11:35

I know, and our podcast listeners love some drama, so I would see Nancy.Nancy: 11:39

Yes, well it’s the drama is I landed in college with a male coach who was really not a great coach, but because of the skill set of those of us on the team, we ended up in NC2A nationals back in the day, we were D2. And he at a certain point was promptly walked out of the door and walked across the country. In the in this current climate, he may have been thrown in jail or something. But that literally was my formative coaching experience. There weren’t a lot of, I mean, I grew up in SoCal. We had a lot of phenomenal coaches, but there were no women. And so, I mean, through grit and watching Martina and Billie Jin King and Chris Evert and Yvonne Gulagang on television and studying everything they did. I mean, my tennis skill came through grit and a couple, couple coaches here and there, but but nothing, everything was fleeting. And then after college, I was bound and determined that if I have kids someday, they’re all gonna have good coaches. So here we are. But I but I will say as an adult, and I’ve been a member of my current uh of my club here for almost 30 years, and we actually had a reunion last night. It was kind of fun. We had our tennis director here and all my league player friends that were still best pals. And as an adult, I I finally learned how to hit a forehand volley. I finally, you know, there were our tennis director, I’ll get I’ll throw this name out, Rick Workman. He’s amazing. He’s he he really got into the head of us women who either had played in college or were just coming into the game, and he put us on the same court and he showed us a lot of basics that some of us hadn’t seen or felt in a long time or had never seen. And he was formative to me. So, you know, throw out a little cred there and you know, he just sort of sets the standard for for what they should be. And and and uh another coach out there, Sue Pendo, who helped my kids along, was great, more the um general tactics and rah-rah for our kids and getting them in junior team tennis and all. So they’re out there. I just, you know, in my early years coming up, I would never have wished that upon my children. But here the here we are now.Erin: 13:44

Right. But like you said, it actually got you into where you are now, which is really wanting to give that opportunity to, you know, to other people to coach well and give them a pathway, which is great.Carolyn: 13:55

So And to finish this off, Nancy, can you tell us your most memorable moment on the court?Nancy: 14:00

Yeah, after 50 plus years of playing tennis, I would say the default first date with my husband in San Monica, California, and probably the coldest night ever, um, because I was mad at him because he asked my friend out before me, I kicked his butt so bad just to show him who’s in charge. And um, you know, 35 or so years later we’re still together. But to kind of cap that, and because of all my league friends and my in my time at the club over all these years, a group of my league best friends were invited to play at the All England Lawn Tennis Club a couple days after Wimbledon was over two summers ago. And we went together with our partners and spouses, and we were so excited to play on the grass and do they treated us like we were players in the locker room and the whole thing. And I never play mixed doubles with my husband for reasons I don’t need to talk about. I love him to pieces, but he goes out and plays with the guys and he’ll play mixed doubles with other women, but he just won’t listen to me. He just won’t listen to me. And and technically I’m a certified coach, so he should listen to me. So we finally got to the point where we played mixed doubles at the All England together on the grass. It was an international tournament, and we beat another couple, and we can say that from the first date to our last tennis date, maybe, because I’m not gonna ruin the final win. We won together at Wimbledon. So I’ll hold on to that forever as the ultimate tennis experience.Erin: 15:29

I love that. So good. We get it, we get it about mixed. We’ve had a mixed episode, and Carol and I still don’t get the appeal of it.Carolyn: 15:36

Yeah, and I’ve I’ve played with my husband too, and I’m like, Yeah, and people like something great. Something’s in great.Erin: 15:41

Some people love it, and we still, after years, we’ve done this podcast for almost five years, and we’re like, we still don’t get it.Carolyn: 15:47

Yeah, and my husband could not be nicer or a better player. I just mixed is hard. Mixed is hard. How about you, Megan?Megan: 15:53

I think my favorite memory was when I was playing at University of Miami. We were never like a super highly ranked team at the beginning when I joined. And one year we went to University of Florida to play them in like the match to go to NCAAs because you would have regionals and we were playing them at home. They’d never lost at home. They were the number one scene, the number one scene in the country, and we upset them at home. Oh my God, it was so fun. It was just such a fun team experience to beat them at their home facility. The stands were packed. We got to go to NCAAs after that as a team. So that was probably one of the best.Erin: 17:07

One of their players is probably on a tennis podcast telling their worst time on the court and it was against your team.Megan: 17:15

And every once in a while, I’m just like, Do you remember when we upset you as the greatest upset in the history of women’s college tennis? Um, and I celebrated in your face, even though I love you as one of my youngest sisters.Carolyn: 17:26

So we loved having Nancy and Megan on the podcast. We have one more episode where we discuss a little bit more about USTA coaching, including the packages they have. And one package is for free, and it may be perfect if you’re a league player or a parent. Also, they tell us what they think adult recreational players should work on, and it doesn’t include our strokes. You can find more information on their website, which is USTAcoaching.com, or their social channels, which include LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, and we’ll include links in our show notes. Thanks so much for listening and hope to see you on the court soon.