The Manhattan Tennis Association didn’t begin as a tennis project. It began with a belief in community.

Before moving to New York, I spent years in hospitality, helping build places where people naturally gathered. In 2008, alongside partners from New York City, I co-founded a bicycle community in Tokyo Japan that doubled as a cocktail lounge—“built for drinkers with riding problems.” We sold beers alongside hand-built Japanese steel bicycles. What started small grew quickly. We opened multiple spaces, in Tokyo and Brooklyn and over time it became a global, brand-loyal community.

But something became clear: the strongest part of what we’d built wasn’t the product, it was the people. As the business evolved and eventually dissolved, I carried that lesson forward.

In 2016, I moved to New York on my own with no built-in network. Just curiosity and tennis.

I grew up playing the game, and in New York it became my way in. I explored public courts across Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. I joined leagues, ladders, tournaments - all while learning the rhythms of the city through its courts.

Then the pandemic hit.

In March 2020, courts across the city were locked, nets removed, gates closed. But one court near where I lived in Bed-Stuy, next to the Marcy projects, remained playable because it used a short fence instead of a net. As spring arrived, the word got out that there was a playable court in Brooklyn and players came from everywhere. That one court became an unlikely gathering point for serious players who simply needed to hit.

What formed there was special. A small, intense, generous tennis community—an incubator built out of necessity.

My love for the game multiplied tenfold.

In 2022, after moving to Manhattan for work, I began cycling across the city to play. What I discovered was both inspiring and overwhelming: every public court had its own rules, surfaces, sign-up systems, park staff, and unwritten customs. If you didn’t already know, it could be hard to break in.

So I built what I wished existed.

In October 2022, I launched the first version of the Manhattan Tennis Association Court Finder, a simple, practical guide to playing on Manhattan’s public courts. It coincided with the opening of Pier 42 and marked the beginning of the Manhattan Tennis Association as a true resource for players.

The following spring, I launched the first season longManhattan Tennis Ladder. Around 50 Advanced Level players signed up. We played all season, finished with a finals event, a trophy, prize money, and something more important—a real sense of shared ownership.

The ladder grew year over year. Players asked for more ways to connect, so I added Telegram and Discord communities for players who wanted hits without competition. The online community became just as important as the matches themselves.

In 2024 with support from the USTA, the end-of-season Finals moved to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, held on the last Sunday in October. By 2025, we had certified chair umpires. What started as grassroots was becoming something official.

Along the way, the community expanded beyond matches. We added tennis watch parties centered around major Sunday finals—Indian Wells, Madrid Open, and of course, the US Open—giving players a relaxed, social way to connect off court. Live tennis, food, drinks, conversation. Community in another form.

2026 will be the biggest year yet.

We’re introducing a new Intermediate Manhattan Tennis Ladder, opening the door to a wider group of players while preserving the integrity of competition at every level. With this growth comes expansion at the Finals stage as well—adding additional courts on the last Sunday in October to accommodate the community we’ve built.

At its core, the Manhattan Tennis Association exists to make New York tennis feel more human, more accessible, and more connected. It’s about public courts, shared knowledge, friendly competition, and showing up for one another—on court and off.

Built with intention and community at heart.

This isn’t just a league.
It’s a citywide tennis community.

And it’s only getting started.

John B
Founder, Manhattan Tennis Association