Racquet Fuel

What happens when a Hall of Fame career ends and the real leadership work begins?

In this episode of Racquet Fuel, hosts Kim Bastable and Simon Gale sit down with Gigi Fernandez, Hall of Fame tennis player, Olympic gold medalist, and founder of Tennis for Hope, to explore what leadership looks like after elite performance. Gigi shares her honest transition from individual excellence to collaborative leadership, including lessons learned running major programs like Chelsea Piers and launching a mission-driven foundation after personal loss. This conversation matters for anyone navigating the shift from being great at something to leading others with humility, purpose, and impact.

What You’ll Learn
  • Why elite performance does not automatically translate to effective leadership
  • How Tennis for Hope was born from personal adversity and community response
  • The importance of surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you
  • How ego can limit leadership growth and what it takes to dismantle it
  • Why networking is a long-term leadership skill, not a transactional one
  • How tennis uniquely teaches resilience, failure, and emotional regulation
  • What legacy-driven leadership looks like beyond wins and titles

Hosts:

Kim Bastable - UF Director of Racquet Sports Education
Simon Gale - USTA Leader & Facility Executive

Guest:

Gigi Fernandez – Founder & President, Tennis for Hope; Tennis Hall of Famer & Olympic Gold Medalist

Learn More & Get Certified

Racquet Fuel is powered by the University of Florida’s Director of Racquet Sports Certificate Program, the industry’s leading education for current and aspiring racquets leaders. Explore our self-paced online courses — Personal Brand Management, Operations & Programming, and Leadership & Finance — and join the next generation of directors shaping the future of the game. 👉 Learn More & Enroll Here

What is Racquet Fuel?

Racquet Fuel provides insights into the best practices and innovations of racquets industry business leaders.

Co-hosts Kim Bastable, Director of Professional Tennis Management at the University of Florida, and Simon Gale, Senior Director Racquet Sports Development at the USTA National Campus, help racquets leaders in your ability to grow the game and to improve the experiences you offer to both your staff and players by talking to industry leaders, including USTA executives, authors and innovators. If you are on a career path in racquet sports or already a racquets business leader and you want to stay up to date on ideas and innovations in racquets industry business and leadership, this podcast is for you.

Presented by the Athlete+ Podcast Network at the University of Florida Institute for Coaching Excellence.