The Sheppard Group partnered with the U.S. Tennis Association to bring clarity, energy, and cohesion to a bold national goal: growing the game to 35 million players by 2035. We were engaged as a strategic and creative partner, helping USTA transform an ambitious internal initiative into a public-facing movement, through messaging, content, live experiences, and storytelling.

Our work touched every layer of the brand. We developed messaging frameworks that aligned leadership, regions, and stakeholders around a shared vision. We scripted and structured keynote moments that made strategy feel human. We designed immersive environments and created content that connected with both grassroots participants and national audiences.

From there, we built campaign-ready creative to amplify the message. We led the concepting and execution of Tennis is a Movement, a digital piece that positioned the sport within the worlds of fashion, music, and social media, later expanded for the US Open Media Event to frame tennis’s relevance on a national stage. We produced a suite of high-production-value videos, including a hologram-like keynote from the CEO, AI-enhanced storytelling, and sweeping drone footage that brought cinematic polish to USTA’s executive voice.

We reimagined Red Ball Tennis, often dismissed as a kids-only format, and elevated it as a compelling, adult-friendly entry point to the sport. Through a high-energy live activation, we positioned Red Ball as social, accessible, and fun in order to compete with the rise of Pickleball, which has emerged as a cultural foil to tennis. We helped USTA stake a stronger claim in the casual-play space and reclaim cultural relevance in that arena.

The result was an integrated creative ecosystem, built to align strategy, excite audiences, and turn ambition into action. We went beyond supporting USTA’s growth vision to help make it tangible and ready to scale.