Racquet Sports Industry magazine acquired by Atlanta's New South Publishing

Racquet Sports Industry, the largest racquet sports trade magazine in the world, has been covering tennis and racquet sport businesses for 52 years. The magazine was recently acquired by Atlanta's New South Publishing.

RSI magazine was part of the magazine package that Tennis Channel acquired in a previous transaction. The Tennis Channel continues to own and operate Tennis.com.

"I'm excited," said New South Publishing owner John Hanna from his office in Atlanta. "I've worked with different iterations of the magazine for over 28 years."

RSI is published 10 times a year and available in both print and digital editions. It is the official publication of the Racquet Industry Research Group, U.S. Racquet Stringers Association and American Sports Builders Association. RSI reaches over 16,000 tennis specialty shops, sport specialty shops, department store buyers, sporting goods stores, tennis clubs, country clubs, multisport clubs, hotels, resorts, real estate developments, municipalities, schools and colleges as well as importers and exporters.

Hanna said he was approached in July, and it's a big responsibility taking over THE trade magazine for the tennis and racquet sports industries. "It will continue as it has been," added Hanna. "There will be no major changes in the front end, as the industry still wants it."

Hanna says that popular features like the annual awards named "Champions of Tennis" will continue, as will departments like Industry News, Marketplace, Court Construction, String Playtest and Industry Profiles. The RSPA publication within a publication will also still be published inside the magazine.

Publishing makes the move

The magazine's publishing location will move to Atlanta, with New South Publishing handling production, sales, and design layout. Peter Francesconi will remain editor-in-chief out of Woodbury, Conn.

New South Publishing also produces Net News, the official publication of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, which is often cited as the largest local tennis organization in the world.

“We’re incredibly thankful to Tennis Channel for all its support of RSI over the years, and we’re grateful that they, too, want to ensure this magazine continues to serve the tennis and racquet sports industry,” said Francesconi. “It meant a lot when Tennis Channel executives reached out to John Hanna to take over ownership of the magazine, knowing John’s long and successful history in this sport and industry, and in the publishing field.”

Tennis remains key sport

Hanna stated that the growth of pickleball and padel as emerging racquet sports are proving fruitful for RSI. Tennis is still carrying the load, but pickleball could amount to 30-35% of the content. Padel will be featured in a few issues as there are now 650-700 padel courts in the US.  

"It's the only industry publication for tennis, pickleball and padel. This publication is so niche and that is part of the reason why it has survived and fits. The printed veRSIon will remain as will the digital flip veRSIon."

While other publications have gone 100% digital, Hanna and his team say there are reasons RSI will remain a publication readers can hold in their hands.

"They want the feel of the magazine and screen fatigue is still a real thing. It's a magazine that is meant to be held and seen."

For the most part, it's been business as usual.

“We haven’t skipped a beat in planning out our full slate of 10 issues for 2026,” added Francesconi. “In fact, for our January awards issue—which will be the 25th year we’ll have named our ‘Champions of Tennis’ winners—we’ve received a record number of nominations for these industry and grassroots awards, and we’ll be honoring a record number of people and organizations.”

Keeping existing partnerships is vital for the magazine’s future. The Tennis Channel will still be an important partner going forward, as is the USTA, offered Hanna.

He also said that what has made RSI successful is keeping the focus on industry trends. "That will continue," he added.