The Ultimate Match: How UTR Sports and Hotel Planner Are Revolutionizing Racquet Sports and Travel

For the dedicated tennis and pickleball player, the sport is rarely confined to a single neighborhood court. It is a journey. It means early mornings, long drives, weekend road trips, and a constant search for better competition. Whether you are a junior athlete developing your game, an adult league player looking to test your skills in new regions, or a high-level competitor traveling for tournaments and tours, the intersection of racquet sports and travel is an unavoidable reality.

In fact, recent data shows that over 30,000 UTR Sports players competed in an event more than 100 miles from their home last year alone. That is a lot of miles, a lot of gas, and, significantly, a lot of hotel nights.

We understand that the cost of competing adds up. That is why UTR Sports is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Hotel Planner, the world’s leading travel technology platform. This collaboration is designed to do one thing: make the racquet sports journey more affordable, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone.

Starting now, the UTR Sports Annual Power membership is not just a tool for improving your game. It is a travel companion that pays for itself.

The New Power Annual Advantage: Two Memberships for the Price of One

For years, the UTR Sports Power membership has been the gold standard for players who are serious about their development. It provides advanced analytics, the ability to message other players, access to college research tools, and deeper insights into match history. It helps you understand how UTR works and how to improve your rating.

However, we are taking the value proposition to an entirely new level. When you sign up for (or upgrade to) an Annual Power membership, you now receive a complimentary Global Privileges Plus membership from Hotel Planner. This is not a small perk. It is a full-fledged travel membership valued at over $250 per year, included at no extra cost to you.

This means your Annual Power membership effectively pays for itself the moment you secure your first few bookings. We are effectively offering you two premium memberships for the price of one.

What Is Included in Global Privileges Plus?

The Global Privileges Plus membership is designed to take the stress out of booking accommodations while putting money back in your pocket. Here is what an Annual Power membership now unlocks:

• Massive Hotel Savings: Gain access to exclusive savings of up to 60% at over 1.4 million hotels globally. Whether you are looking for a budget-friendly stopover or a luxury resort, the savings are substantial.
• Excursion Credits and Vouchers: Members receive $100 in excursion credits or hotel vouchers, allowing you to add memorable experiences to your tennis trips or simply save more on your stay.
• Travel Perks: Enjoy benefits like airport lounge passes and discounted car rentals, making the logistics of racquet sports and travel smoother than ever.
• Event Tickets and Cruises: The savings extend beyond hotels to include discounts on event tickets and cruise bookings, perfect for when you need a vacation from the court.

By integrating these benefits directly into the Annual Power membership, UTR Sports is ensuring that the financial barrier to traveling for tennis and personal enjoyment is significantly lowered.

Why Racquet Sports and Travel Go Hand in Hand

To truly grow as a tennis or pickleball player, you have to step outside your comfort zone. Playing the same opponents at your local club builds consistency, but it rarely prepares you for the demands of tournaments, leagues, and competitive events. Advancement requires exposure. New players, new environments, and higher-stakes matches are what force real improvement and help you understand what it takes to move up a level.

Travel is not optional in competitive racquet sports. Whether you are attending tournaments, league championships, rating-based events, or showcase competitions, progression almost always requires leaving home.

Traveling for racquet sports exposes you to:

• Diverse Playing Styles: A tennis player might encounter a heavy baseliner in one city and a serve-and-volley expert in another.
• Different Court Conditions: Playing indoors vs. outdoors, or adjusting to altitude, shapes a well-rounded game.
• Mental Toughness: Dealing with unfamiliar environments, crowds, and schedules builds the resilience needed for high-level play.

These experiences are what separate casual play from true competitive growth.

Historically, the travel side of tennis and pickleball has been a major friction point. Finding affordable, convenient accommodations near event venues is a challenge every player, parent, and competitor understands. With Hotel Planner as the Official Accommodations Partner of UTR Sports, that friction is removed, making it easier to focus on competing, improving, and enjoying the journey.

Real-World Scenarios: How You Save

Let’s look at how these new benefits apply to different members of the UTR Sports community. The value becomes clear when you look at the typical calendar of a tennis or pickleball player or family.

The Junior Tennis Tournament Family

Imagine you are the parent of a junior player. You are chasing points and experience. You have three tournaments scheduled this quarter that are over two hours away. In the past, you would scour various booking sites hoping for a deal.

With your Annual Power membership, you log in and access your Global Privileges Plus benefits. You book three weekends of hotel stays, saving up to 60% off public rates. At $50 to $100 in savings per night, that can easily total $400 to $500 over the course of those trips. In effect, the Power membership doesn’t just pay for itself, it helps cover your gas and meals along the way.

Plus, if you have a bit of downtime between matches, you can use your excursion credits to find a fun local activity, turning a stressful tournament weekend into a mini-family getaway.

The Adult Tennis League Captain

You run a local team and you have qualified for sectionals or nationals. You need to book rooms for yourself and maybe help teammates find places to stay. Using the Global Privileges integration, you can secure deep discounts.

The College Circuit Grinder

For college players or recent grads playing the UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT) or College Circuits, every dollar counts. You are paying for entry fees, restringing, and travel. The savings on car rentals and hotels are a lifeline. It allows you to play that extra tournament that might make the difference in your ranking.

Speaking of college, understanding the landscape is vital. If you are curious about where you fit in, check out our data deep dive on the range of UTRs in college tennis. Knowing your level helps you plan which travel events are worth the investment.

Pickleball and Travel

These benefits extend fully to our pickleball community as well. The rapid growth of pickleball has driven a sharp increase in travel for tournaments, leagues, and social play. As participation continues to rise, so does the demand for events that bring players together across regions.

Whether you play pickleball exclusively or split your time between pickleball and tennis, the Annual Power membership applies equally. You can travel with confidence, pack your paddles, and take advantage of the same hotel savings that support competitive tennis players.

Exclusive Benefits for the PTT Community

While the Annual Power membership offers incredible value for the broader community, we are also rolling out something special for the UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT). The PTT has become a vital pathway for aspiring professionals, bridging the gap between college and the elite pro tour.

To support these athletes, coaches, and staff, UTR Sports is providing a Global Privileges Premium membership to the PTT community. This tier offers even deeper benefits tailored for frequent and international travelers:

• Enhanced Savings: The same great access to 1.4 million hotels but with premium-tier benefits.
• Increased Credits: A $100 gas card or hotel voucher to help keep the tour moving.
• Luxury Perks: Four airport lounge passes, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck reimbursement, free international data roaming, and even discounted private jet travel for those at the top of the game.

For full-time competitors, these are not “nice to have” perks. They are real cost offsets that add up across a season of travel. The more you are on the road, the more value you unlock, and that can free up budget for training, coaching, and entry fees.

You can see the scale of these events by viewing the 2026 UTR Pro Tennis Tour Calendar.

How to Activate Your Benefits

Unlocking these new tennis and pickleball travel perks is simple. If you are already a Power Annual subscriber, keep an eye on your email and your UTR Sports dashboard. You will receive instructions on how to activate your Global Privileges Plus account.

If you are currently a free user or on a Monthly Power plan, now is the time to make the switch. Here is why upgrading to Annual Power is the smartest move you can make this season:

1. Immediate ROI: The cost of the Annual subscription is often covered by the savings from just one or two hotel bookings.
2. Year-Round Analytics: You get 12 months of uninterrupted access to your trend data, win/loss analysis, and opponent research.
3. Locked-In Value: You secure the Global Privileges Plus membership for the full year, ensuring that every time you travel, whether for tennis, business, or a family vacation, you are saving money.
   

For those new to the platform, you might be wondering about the basics of the rating system itself. We have plenty of resources, such as our guide on what UTR is and how it works, to get you up to speed before you start your competitive journey.

A Strategic Commitment to Affordability

This partnership is not just about convenience. It is a direct effort to lower the total cost of competing for the tennis and pickleball community.

As part of the announcement, UTR Sports Chairman and CEO Mark Leschly emphasized the broader mission behind the partnership:

“With this major Hotel Planner partnership and benefits from the Global Privileges memberships, UTR Sports is significantly expanding our commitment to make tennis and pickleball more affordable and accessible. Our Power membership now pays for itself, provides immediate savings, and gives personalized global travel benefits.”

Hotel Planner Co-Founder and CEO Tim Hentschel added:

“We’re proud to partner with UTR Sports to bring stress-free booking, personalized service, and millions of hotels at competitive rates to the entire UTR Sports community.”

The goal is simple: help players and families say yes to more tournaments, more away matches, and more opportunities to improve, without travel costs being the barrier.

A Partnership Built for the Future

The partnership with Hotel Planner is a multi-year commitment to the racquet sports community. UTR Sports is not just a technology company; we are a racquet sports company. We know that sport requires dedication, and that dedication often requires mobility.

By naming Hotel Planner our Official Accommodations Partner, we are integrating travel support into the very fabric of our platform.

Setting a New Standard in Racquet Sports Memberships

Travel discounts are not new in sports. Some organizations offer limited partner savings or occasional promo rates. What makes this partnership different is the scale and the integration.

Rather than offering a single hotel chain discount, Annual Power now includes a full travel membership. The combination of up to 60% hotel savings, $100 in travel credits, and additional perks is designed to deliver immediate, practical relief for players who travel regularly.

In other words, Annual Power is no longer just a subscription. It is built to become a core part of how competitive players plan, travel, and compete.

The Verdict: Elevate Your Game and Your Experience

The conversation around racquet sports and travel has changed. It is no longer just about the burden of cost; it is about the opportunity for experience. With the UTR Sports and Hotel Planner partnership, we are empowering you to say "yes" to more tournaments, "yes" to more away matches, and "yes" to more family memories.

The Annual Power membership was already a vital tool for serious players. Now, with the addition of Global Privileges Plus, it is arguably the most valuable membership in racquet sports. It connects the digital world of ratings and analytics with the physical world of travel and competition.

Don't let the cost of a hotel room stand between you and your next breakthrough performance. Join the community that travels smarter, plays harder, and saves more.