After graduating from Arizona State, a young woman who loved to travel had one thing in mind: wanting to work at Club Med. She began to teach tennis there on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It was there, she realized that adult programming can be the secret behind a greater, bigger, club and program.



Michele Krause, the Queen of Cardio, joins the Beyond The Baselines Podcast.



Michele Krause saw an opportunity way back in 2004 to help the Tennis Industry Association launch Cardio Tennis. And since that hurricane-ravaged year in Florida, Michele has never looked back.



How To Double Court Usage and Food and Beverage Revenues



"We see pictures of tennis with one or two people on a court. It's not really a great image. We have this ability to be social... I want to see 6 or 8 or 24 people. I can get up to 24 people on a court... I have a D1 player with 24 people on a court burning 800 calories. Why is group fitness so popular?" asks Michele.



Michele looks at why some tennis courts might be being replaced by a condo or a pickleball court. "We replace courts when they are empty, and we have the tools to build our revenue and keep our tennis courts and build even more tennis court."



Live Ball Games Is Cardio, But There Is A History



As live ball drills make inroads to clubs and tennis facilities, Michele reminds us that the majority of time on the court is competitive games after a drill-based warmup. "There's a lot of mystery about live ball across the country. It means different things depending on which facility you are teaching." There is a history to liveball, says Michele. "Live ball was born in Southern California." It was established around 2 vs 2 with champs and challengers - and that's very different from Cardio Tennis," says Krause.



"Live Ball should be normal tennis instruction... we don't like lines" of people waiting to hit. Michele notes that Cardio Tennis can be played, because it's with orange balls, by beginners to higher level players.



Triples Is The Greatest Game In Tennis



"Triples is the best game you can play on a tennis court," says Krause. Triples has to be last for every Cardio Tennis. "The main act of Cardio Tennis is Triples, and it has to be saved until last." Michele is set on creating a Triples movement in the USA. "Triples is an event unto itself... and I am going to push out Triples even before Cardio Tennis." Krause plans on holding the largest Triples event ever at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona on April 24th to kick off her marketing awareness for the game.



But Krause points to that Triples doesn't require a separation of ability levels and allows more players across different levels to be social together on a triples court... and after in a larger social circle. Michele, with this statement, proves why she is at the cutting edge of our industry. Profitability, court usage, member experience... they are all served by Triples and Cardio Tennis. She's known this before 2004... she's known this since her years way back when at Club Med in the Bahamas.