BIG RAPIDS-- Ferris State University has been home to a Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program for 37 years; the major is housed in Ferris’ College of Business, as their students learn to master tennis on and off the court.
In June, the program became the first four-year program to be certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA).
“It means a lot because we’ve been in partnership with the USPTA ever since the beginning of the program. But this new partnership, this new endorsement is only going to strengthen it,” PTM Assistant Director, Michael Janz said.
“It adds some real credibility. It means when they’re leaving this program, they are a certified tennis professional. You know, there’s a lot of people out there that teach tennis, but they’re probably not certified. And so, the kids have to go through a very extensive program, go to workshops, in level one, level two, and then eventually go through the certification process,” Director of the program, RJ Tessier added.
With the major, the PTM students will graduate with a degree in marketing. Students will undergo a comprehensive business curriculum as well as take classes in teaching techniques, tournament administration, facility operations, racquet repair, and player development. They must also complete three internships.
“There’s a multitude of jobs that you can do this industry, not just on-court teaching. We have grads who have gone into manufacturing, we have had grads go into tournament administration, we’ve had grads go into mental consulting, so just a large list of jobs that are available within the tennis industry,” Janz said.
To be accepting into the PTM program, students must have a 5.0 UTR or higher, 26 WTN or lower, or 4.0 NTRP skill rating for eligibility.
“If they start out as a 4.0, hopefully we’re get them to a higher level, the kids are going to learn a little thing about everything about tennis, management of club, just a little bit about life in general, being around the tennis industry, and we hope that they leave with a real passion for tennis. That’s what we really want is a real passion for the sport,” Tessier said.
The placement rate for Ferris’ Professional Tennis Management grads has been 100% since the beginning of the program back in 1986. Their grads can be found at tennis clubs all over the country.
