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We seriously love tennis. If you do too, we're glad you found us!
We are a global community of passionate adult players, coaches and experts united in a shared passion for achieving our personal best, on and off the court, and supporting each other along the journey.
Our innovative world-class training events provide an unparalleled opportunity for serious adult players to work with world-class coaches and experts -- raising the bar for adult amateur training worldwide while enriching lives of everyone who participates.
Tennis Congress is a non-profit project of the Net Gains Foundation, a philanthropic effort to harness the power of tennis to transform lives and fuel positive change. All proceeds from events benefit the Foundation.
Our World Class Faculty Network
The Tennis Congress global network of faculty is comprised of an illustrious group of master professionals, Grand Slam legends and Olympic medalists, elite physical conditioning trainers and nutritionists, high-performance coaches, renowned sport psychology experts, leading equipment gurus, and rising stars in the coaching world. In addition to having distinguished track records, they all share a commitment to raising the bar in delivering world-class training to nonprofessional adults. Faculty members rotate participation in various Tennis Congress events depending on their availability and the size and thematic focus of each event.
Staff and Volunteers
The Tennis Congress leadership is comprised of part-time staff and volunteers.
Gary Innes
Executive Director
Net Gains Foundation
Gary was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa where his passion for tennis started. Gary competed at a high level as a junior and earned a tennis scholarship at Walsh University in Ohio. After graduating, Gary chose tennis coaching as his career path. Through tennis, Gary had access to opportunities that would never have been possible such as achieving a college degree, traveling the world, meeting his wife and many amazing friends along the way. The passion Gary has for tennis is because it is a sport that builds communities, it provides healthy outlets and has the ability to provide you with the tools to overcome the variety of life's challenges. As Executive Director of the Net Gains Foundation, Gary shares his love for the game with people of all ages and abilities and helps others improve their lives through tennis.
Nicole Sirpilla
Director of Events
Net Gains Foundation
Nicole joined the Net Gains and Tennis Congress events team in 2023. She Is owner of Sirpilla Soirees and is a certified wedding planner who has been in the industry for 10+ years. Since her epiphany while watching ‘The Wedding Planner’ during my sophomore year of college, she have stepped into the wonderful, crazy world of wedding planning and never looked back! Meeting with my lovely couples and working hand-in-hand with them to bring their wedding vision to life brings her so much joy. And, it turns out, so does working with tennis athletes and world-class gurus in the tennis industry!
Feisal Hassan
Director of Education
Tennis Congress
Feisal Hassan is a USPTA and RPT Master Professional, and has served as President of the USPTA. He is also a member of the Head/Penn Racquet Sports National Advisory Board and National Speaker’s Bureau and holds USPTA specialist degrees in Competitive Player Development, Facility Management, Sports Science and 10 and Under Tennis. In addition, Feisal is on the USTA National Faculty for Youth Coaching, is a TIA Cardio Tennis Trainer, and co-chairs the USPTA National Education and Testing committees. In 2011, Hassan was named USPTA’s Alex Gordon Professional of the Year and won the Racquet Sports Industry Champions of Tennis Award. The following year he was named to the USPTA Mid-Atlantic Hall of Fame and won the USPTA George Bacso National Tester of the Year Award. Feisal was also the Director of Coaches’ Education and Junior Davis Cup Team Coach for Tennis Zimbabwe.
PJ Simmons
Founder and Volunteer Chair
Net Gains Foundation
P.J. Simmons is a self-professed Tennisaholic who didn’t start playing until relatively late in life, despite being infatuated with the sport since his youth. His passion lies in helping people of all ages enrich their lives through tennis. P.J. strives to bring the same energy, enthusiasm & impact to the tennis community that he has brought to the global sustainability arena for nearly two decades. He is the proud recipient of the 2016 PTR/Tennis Industry Association “Commitment to the Industry” Award. P.J. is the founding Executive Director of the Rivian Foundation. From 2008-2022, he was co-founder and Chair of the Corporate Eco Forum, one of the world’s preeminent networks for senior sustainability executives from Fortune 500 companies. He previously held senior positions at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Clinton Global Initiative.
