Tennis Warehouse celebrates its 30th anniversary

It was never intended to be a tennis business. When founder Drew Munster opened Tennis Warehouse in 1992, its initial purpose was primarily to beta test a software program. Having already started a successful chain of computer stores in California's Bay Area, Munster was more of a tech guy. The Apple Macintosh was his expertise, not the Wilson Pro Staff.

But when he moved down the coast to San Luis Obispo to follow a girl, Munster caught the tennis bug. He even took classes at local Cuesta College just to play on the team. He befriended another tennis junkie in the area, Mark Sczbecki, and when a small tennis shop was going out of business, the two took it over. The objective was to give a real world trial of Munster’s SalesMaker software program and eventually sell that.

Instead, 30 years later, they grew Tennis Warehouse into the largest specialty retailer in the world.

While popular in its area, the turning point for the business was its embrace of the Internet. In 1995, it branched out to the web and took off. Rather than just catering to the locals in their store, they opened their doors to the online tennis community. “TW” became shorthand for savvy players across the country who tapped into the website’s depth of product and knowledge to find the perfect gear. If you were serious about your tennis, Tennis Warehouse was bookmarked on your browser.

TW continued to grow its status as the equipment experts by introducing their playtest panel in 1999. Not only would it sell all the latest racquets, shoes and strings, but it would provide informed and diverse feedback on their quality as well. The accompanying videos became required viewing for recreational players curious about a particular product. The TW stamp of approval carried weight. And an online demo program—the first of its kind—allowed players to get the racquets they were discovering in their hands.

The marketplace of ideas expanded with the Talk Tennis Message Board. Like a tennis town square, mavens everywhere exchanged updates and opinions—lots of opinions—on gear, instruction, pro-player discussion, and everything in between. TW even brought in a physicist from the USRSA to create a “university” on the website with technical data for the most discerning customers.

All this popularity and success meant each new warehouse got bigger and bigger. Growth overseas was the next step; in 2009 Tennis Warehouse Europe was launched, followed by expansion into Australia. The website is now presented in five different languages.

As it blows out the candles on its 30th birthday, TW has firmly established itself as the global gear authority for a worldwide sport.

Not bad for a beta test.