John Borden and Emma Doyle first met at the PTR Director of Tennis Conference in South Carolina back in November of 2018. They instantly connected on a number of topics and have collaborated ever since. John lives and breathes his top three coaching qualities, that is, someone who listens, is prepared and is sincere. He is a humble and gracious leader and we are so lucky to have him in the tennis industry. Check out his vulnerability on this episode of The Coaching Podcast as he shares his worse coaching moment. Plus Emma Doyle and Simon Blair take a deeper dive into this interview and share some of their coaching reflections. In this episode, Simon shares that: "assumptions are the killer of great customer experiences" and Emma explains why "curiosity" is the key to how we grow the game of tennis and expand the coaching industry.

John is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation. WTEF blends two of John’s passions: Tennis and Education. John began playing tennis nearly 30 years ago and upon graduating from college, John spent two years teaching in the School District of Philadelphia, working as both a substitute and assistant teacher. After completing Law School, John returned to tennis working at the Junior Tennis Champions center in College Park, MD. John held many roles there, including Director of Tennis and General Manager. At JTCC, John introduced thousands of Junior and Adult players to tennis, helping to design the junior development pathway as well as an adult beginner tennis program that introduced 2000 new people to tennis in 4 years. John was responsible for record growth at JTCC, oversaw significant improvements to the campus, and trained scores of young professionals on both teaching and the business of tennis.

With over 15 years of experience, John is currently the youngest member of the Profession Tennis Registry Board of Directors, played his colligate tennis at Villanova University and has a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law. He is a life-long athlete, proven leader, and innovator is a recognized speaker on growing the sport of tennis and other relevant industry topics.