The Numbers Game
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d2lkdGg6MTAwJTtoZWlnaHQ6YXV0bzt3aWR0aDphdXRvO3RyYW5zaXRpb246dHJhbnNmb3JtIDAuMjVzIGVhc2V9LnRiLWltYWdlIC50Yi1pbWFnZS1jYXB0aW9uLWZpdC10by1pbWFnZXtkaXNwbGF5OnRhYmxlfS50Yi1pbWFnZSAudGItaW1hZ2UtY2FwdGlvbi1maXQtdG8taW1hZ2UgLnRiLWltYWdlLWNhcHRpb257ZGlzcGxheTp0YWJsZS1jYXB0aW9uO2NhcHRpb24tc2lkZTpib3R0b219IH0g
Mark Twain once wrote, "There are liars, damn liars and statistics."
If Mr. Twain had attended this year's Second Annual New York Tennis Expo, I think he would have some choice words for those who tout declining tennis participation numbers.
Four-thousand people showed up for this grassroots event, but record attendance statistics don't begin to tell the whole story. The fans that flooded the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center revealed a passion for the sport that belies the numbers.
The sport sorely needs more events like the New York Tennis Expo, and it also needs more leadership like that displayed by the organizers of this day.
You need balls to play tennis, and you need the same to have the courage and vision to run an independent Expo that grows the game.
