Racquet Sports Industry Magazine Names 2005 “Champions of Tennis”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jolyn deBoer
PO Box 7845
Hilton Head Island,
843-686-3036
Jolyn@TennisIndustry.org
10/25/05 - Max Brownlee, the general manager of Babolat North America, has been named “Person of the Year” by Racquet Sports Industry magazine in the publication’s November/December 2005 issue. Brownlee led off the magazine’s fifth annual “Champions of Tennis Awards,” which honors people and organizations dedicated to improving the sport and business of tennis.
Brownlee, a veteran of the tennis industry, joined Babolat in 2000 after working for both Wilson Racquet Sports and Prince Sports. He presided over the U.S. launch of Babolat’s Pure Drive racquet, which has been the nation’s top-selling racquet at pro shops and tennis specialty stores for nearly three years.
“Brownlee choreographed the controlled distribution of the Pure Drive racquet, which was the company’s first-ever racquet introduction in the U.S.,” said Peter Francesconi, RSI’s editorial director. “With that racquet, Babolat went from no market share in pro and specialty shops in 2000 to nearly 19 percent market share today, which is an amazing showing.”
The magazine lauded Brownlee for his strong support of specialty tennis retailers and for supporting “minimum advertised prices” for Babolat products. “Brownlee is very conscious of what specialty tennis retailers are looking for, such as a racquet line that doesn’t keep changing every year and enforcement of Babolat’s minimum advertised price policy, which allows retail shops to maintain margins and compete against larger stores and internet retailers,” Francesconi said.
RSI (www.racquetsportsindustry.com), the world’s largest magazine geared toward the tennis industry, also named winners in 16 other categories for its 2005 Champions of Tennis Awards:
* Pro/Specialty Retailer of the Year: Racquet World, Miami
* Chain Retailer/Mass Merchant of the Year: Golfsmith, San Francisco
* Online Retailer of the Year: Tennis Warehouse, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Stringer of the Year: Bob Patterson, Birmingham, Ala.
* Builder/Contractor of the Year: Fast-Dry Companies, Pompano Beach, Fla.
* Grassroots Champion of the Year: Shirley Ruane, Page, Ariz.
* Junior Development Champion of the Year: Wayne St. Peter, Portland, Maine
* Sales Rep of the Year: Kay Barney, Littleton, Colo.
* Wheelchair Tennis Champion of the Year: Karin Korb, Atlanta
* Municipal Facility of the Year: John Drew Smith Tennis Center, Macon, Ga.
* Public Park of the Year: Scalzi Park, Stamford, Conn.
* Private Facility of the Year: Brookhaven Country Club, Dallas
* Community Tennis Association of the Year: Baltimore Tennis Patrons, Baltimore
* USTA Section of the Year: Florida
* PTR Member of the Year: Lisa Duncan, Lancaster, Pa.
* USPTA Member of the Year: Bob Reed, Eugene, Ore.
