INTENNSE Brings Bold Energy to Junior Tennis

Imagine fans cheering during points and players engaging in good-natured trash talk. Imagine nonstop action in fast-paced matches with coaches making substitutions at key moments. Imagine tennis played in a team format at warp speed in a fan-friendly environment. Imagine the ball kids cheering for the teams and players on the court.

The founders of INTENNSE are making it possible with a new brand that hopes to revolutionize tennis across the country, with Atlanta and the Southeast region as the launching ground.

“Tennis is a very traditional sport that has been going on for hundreds of years, and a lot of other sports have evolved with different formats that are shorter and more dynamic to attract younger audiences. To this point, tennis hasn't,” said Yannick Yoshizawa, INTENNSE VP of Experience. “With attention spans shorter now, our format creates more excitement and allows the Gen Zs and Millennials to follow the sport more.”

 The INTENNSE format features six players and one coach per team, with male singles, female singles and mixed doubles contested at each session. Individual matches are divided into bolts, which consist of 10 minutes of play with a 20-second serve clock (one toss, one serve with lets played). Teams are allowed one timeout per bolt and two team substitutions per bolt. Strategy and athleticism are key to making the most of the minutes. 

INTENNSE will feature four levels - Pro, Adult, Junior and University - played in a multi-day sports festival atmosphere. The INTENNSE Pro League debuts in June of 2025, with a draft scheduled for next April.

INTENNSE pro players will receive a full salary, benefits and prize money while representing teams from selected cities. Rankings and points will be calculated by the league.

“Considering tennis has billions of fans, the number of participants who can actually make a living is very small. There is a need to fill that void, and this format can do that while helping create local heroes,” said CEO Charles Allen. “These players will live and train in a specific area and can interact with the fans. They will feel more relatable than the pros in tennis now.”

INTENNSE has been holding test events in the Atlanta area. Junior Open #1 took place at Olde Towne Athletic Club in Marietta. Nine matches were contested in the span of four and a half hours on one court.

 "The INTENNSE Junior Open #1 was an entirely new experience. The competition was fast and intense, with rules that really tested our mental and physical skills,” said Cataleya A Brown, a nationally highly-ranked sixth grader from Marietta. “With no second serve allowed, we had to make every serve count. The co-ed format was exciting, as everyone contributed equally. The atmosphere was competitive but also really supportive.”

INTENNSE held an event featuring top junior players, current Georgia Tech men’s and women's players, Tech and University of Georgia legends and recent graduates of the programs at Georgia Tech’s facility on October 26th. Another junior event will be held at the Windy Hill Athletic Club on November 2nd.

“We believe this will transform the sport. We believe that the team aspect of it is something that players are hungry for, and I think families are hungry for it too,” Yoshizawa said. “The team events have been really pivotal for families onboarding into the sport and feeling like they get to know what they're getting involved in.”