W
hen you work as chief marketing officer for the U.S. Tennis Association, most people assume you spend your days wining and dining U.S. Open sponsors. Not so for Sue Hunt, who spends nearly two-thirds of her time
not working the Open.
Sue
Hunt
U.S. TENNIS ASSOCIATION
The USTA, Hunt said, is a “game-changer in redefining youth sports, in ensuring 10 and under kids [that] it is ‘fun first’ and they are not overspecializing.”
The USTA for several years has aggressively pushed its QuickStart Tennis program, which features softer balls and smaller courts. And over the last decade, participation numbers for the sport have gone up.
There is an obesity pandemic, Hunt said, and the USTA is taking a leading role to combat it.
Of course, Hunt does spend time on the Open. Some of her favorite efforts from this year’s event included hiring an artist to paint an Open-themed mural over the Midtown Tunnel, and sending food trucks with Open food to New York before the event.
Marketing efforts, especially digitally, now need to be irreverent, she said, and focus beyond the actual play to appeal to millennials.
“We are always trying to bring the experiences to life beyond tennis,” she said.
— Daniel Kaplan
