Hey all, it’s been a while hasn’t it? I totally ran away and joined the circus! Figuratively of course, but let’s just say the circus is also known as the Champions Series Tennis tour! That’s right, I was given an opportunity to work with the InsideOut Sports Entertainment company and I jumped at it! I sacrificed about a full week of training so that I could join the traveling show but it was time well spent as I obtained valuable experience and knowledge in the tennis event business. Among the notable players I watched first hand compete and play in the Champions Series events were Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Todd Martin, and Michael Chang. Let me give you a rundown of the events that took place while I was in Chicago, Illinois for the 10/20 event and the 10/21 event in St. Louis!

It all started when I flew in Wednesday morning to the windy (and rainy) city. I had a 4hour flight, which I slept the entire way through thankfully, and arrived on schedule. Immediately took a taxi to my hotel and checked in before heading to the United Center to begin my work. I don’t really know how to describe my role with the InsideOut team, but let’s just say I’m an intern for now. I took my job seriously and tried to be as professional as I could. I got the opportunity to shadow a lot of key figures and learn from their examples. Oh yeah, I was also in very close quarters with my tennis idols the entire time, that definitely had a positive effect on me!

I was happy to work in operations half the day, getting the court, VIP rooms, and set-up ready for the main event which started around 7:30pm each night. As the day rolled into afternoon, it was all about problem solving and relying on ingenuity to get through the obstacles that would present themselves inevitably. To put on such events as the Champions Series ones, there are a lot of things that have to go absolutely right if it is to go on without a hitch. Being in a different city and different venue each night obviously presents the challenge of how to coordinate certain things like catering, shipping (of necessary things like credentials and supplies). So this was all interesting to me to see how tennis events are put on and run. I have a much greater respect for tournament directors and the like who put on great tennis events year after year after year…
Anyway, as afternoon rolled on, my role would sort of switch as I’d go from problem solver to patiently waiting to see if I’d get a chance to warm up some of the pros like Courier, Martin, or McEnroe. Either that or I’d become a racket stringer if needed. I took a little bit of pride in being sorta “caretaker” of the temporary court that was set up over the floors in these arenas, knowing that it is going to be on television and realizing it is my responsibility to make sure it looked good while the pros did their thing. My day in Chicago started at 7am, ended at 2am… Along the way I lost a tennis shirt, tennis short, and casual t-shirt that I swear I had in my hotel room but walked away when room service left that day… I slept about 2 hours and woke up at 4:15am to catch a 6am flight to St. Louis.

Landed in St. Louis at about 7:15, heading straight to the Chaifetz Center (WTT St. Louis Aces play here) to begin the routine of setting up the event and helping out team members and players alike. St. Louis was a bit more relaxed than Chicago because of the overall volume of attendance was diminished because of Baseball’s World Series grip on the town thanks to the Cardinals. My one shining moment did eventually come in the afternoon as Michael Chang asked me to give him a light warm up before his match. I tried the best I could but with lack of sleep and having gone a few days without hitting a ball, I felt my timing was off and nerves got the better of me. I also managed to shake hands with Todd Martin and mention to him that my college head coach and mentor was Brad Pearce, who he immediately recognized was still coach at BYU. I guess they’re still in contact but I didn’t know this at the time. All these guys still play really well, it would be very tough to beat them, even if I had a good day! When I think about that I sorta start to wonder how they must’ve been in their primes, but hopefully one day soon I’ll reach my prime and be able to compete at the highest levels too. I might not be there yet but I have developed an unshakeable belief in myself that I can get the job done on the court, under pressure, against high quality opponents.

I’m sure you’re all wondering if I have any juicy stories to tell about what I saw backstage at these events, but unfortunately I can’t really tell you anything because I was on the go working the whole time, making sure things were going smoothly behind the scenes! There were hours where I didn’t even watch the tennis that was played in Chicago or St. Louis! All I can remember was being on my feet, running at a moments notice to help out one of my team members or assisting the players in some way. Quite frankly, the question that was posed to me a few times was: “How are you enjoying the tennis?” – I’d respond, “You know, I haven’t really had any time to, I’m working!” haha So I was kind of torn realizing that I was no longer an aspiring tennis player on the road, but rather a behind the scenes entertainment worker. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoyed what I did because I felt it was rewarding knowing I was trusted to carry out important duties and responsibilities that could’ve been disastrous for the event if not done properly. I think there’s definitely a future for me in this business after my playing days are over.

I apologize if my recent posts have been scatter-brained, I find that after these events my mind and body is so fried that it takes a few days to fully recover, after participating in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, and St. Louis, I’m glad to an extent that the Champions Series is over for the time being and I can get back to my true passion of playing tennis instead of watching it. All I can help you do is see things how I saw them as I fanatically ran about the event, snapping a photo here and there!

Getting back to grinding on the court, rather than backstage,

Shubert