4 min read
A former tennis director has taken his love of tennis to another level. Steve Riggs worked for the City of Irvine as a director for over 16 years, managing close to 40 tennis pros before deciding to break out on his own.
Now, Riggs is doing tennis consulting, coaching his children, organizing Universal Tennis programming, and co-directing a well-known tennis seminar in Southern California.
“I run the seminar every summer — it’s something I’m really proud of,” Riggs said. “It all started when I wanted to attend a seminar, and my wife said there was no way I was going to leave her at home with two sets of twins. So the next year, I started my own.”
In June, Riggs will host his 12th Annual Tennis Seminar in Mission Viejo, Calif. The one-day event caters to pros, coaches, and parents who want to expand their tennis knowledge.
Over the years, Riggs’ seminar has featured notable guests like Wimbledon finalist Chris Lewis, UCLA women’s head coach Stella Sampras, and former USC men’s head coach Peter Smith to name a few. This year the seminar lineup includes Mike Gennettee, Frank Giampaolo, and Morisa Yang, amongst others.
When he’s not busy planning the seminar, Riggs is organizing the largest Universal Tennis Junior Team Tennis league in the country.
"The Universal Tennis software makes it easier to manage and organize leagues," Riggs said. "The coaches like the flexibility of the system. They put in hard work to give their teams a great experience and are crucial to the success of our league."
In its first year, the league drew more than 220 players. Since running his leagues on the Universal Tennis platform, Riggs has doubled the number of players, hosting nearly 500 players and 50 teams across cities in Orange County this spring.
“For players, Junior Team Tennis is a way to learn to compete,” Riggs said. “For coaches, it’s a way for them to see their players in action and make adjustments to their training. Our leagues are flexible, and with the help of the Universal Tennis team, we offer great customer service.”
The next season will begin in September. If you are interested in joining as a player or captaining a team, contact Steve Riggs at riggstwins@outlook.com.
If you want to host Junior Team Tennis leagues in your city, click here to get started.