The Rise Project
The Rise Project was born from the same disruptive spirit as the Tennis Congress. We refuse to accept that financial barriers should dictate the limits of human potential.
What are we trying to do?
The Reality: The hardest jump in sports isn't from amateur to pro; it’s from Rank #250 to #100. This is the "Financial Danger Zone," where the world’s best talent is often forced to quit because they can't afford the team required to survive.
The Mission: The Rise Project is a performance incubator that provides elite athletes with the "Professional Ecosystem" they need to break through. We fund the coaches, the physios, and the travel, ensuring a player’s destiny is decided by their talent—not their bank account.
Our Goal:To turn "Rising Stars" into Top 100 professionals and prove that with the right support, the underdog can win.
Research shows that players in the #150–#350 range spend roughly $140,000–$160,000 annually to compete at a world-class level.
- A $50K Grant covers roughly 30% of their annual burn rate .
- This is the "tipping point" amount. It’s enough to allow a player like Gabriela Knutson or Murphy Cassone to hire a traveling coach for an extra 15–20 weeks a year, which is exactly what is needed to jump from #200 to #95.
From Passion to Professionalism: The Net Gains Legacy
The Foundation: The Tennis Congress
The Net Gains Foundation’s journey began with a simple but radical observation by our founder, PJ Simmons: Adult tennis players were being underserved. While the passion was there, the standard of training was not.
To solve this, we created the Tennis Congress. We didn't just build an event; we built a community of "tennis addicts," world-class coaches, and a culture of giving back that the industry had never seen before. Our commitment to innovation was so profound that we received the Tennis Industry’s "Innovative Tennis Event of the Year" award, an honor shared only by the US Open for their historic 2020 "Bubble" tournament.
We proved that when you raise the standard, the community rises with you.
The Evolution: The Rise Project
Today, we see a new, equally tragic gap in our sport. Just as adult players were once underserved, a generation of elite professional talent is now being sidelined. We hear the stories every day: players ranked just outside the Top 100, players who are among the best on the planet, who are forced to quit because they cannot afford the professional ecosystem required to survive.
The Rise Project was born from the same disruptive spirit as the Tennis Congress. We refuse to accept that financial barriers should dictate the limits of human potential.
