Professional tennis is coming to Chicago, and we need our community to be part of making it real. The American Professional Tennis League — a division of Re-Emerging Athletes, Inc. — is building something this country has never seen: a league where women and men compete on equal structural footing, where overlooked athletes finally get the stage they were always owed, and where your city is more than a stop on a tour. We are raising $50,000 from people who believe Chicago deserves a seat at this table.
Our Story
My name is JoAnn Myers, CEO and Co-Founder of the American Professional Tennis League. We created APTL because we saw something broken in professional tennis: talent being left behind. Players who stepped away to raise families, recover from injury, or simply fell outside a narrow system that never made room for them. Our Co-Founder and Athlete Jordan Myers is one of them — a former Division I soccer goalkeeper who stepped away from competitive athletics and is now in active training, preparing to compete professionally as a tennis player. His story is not behind him. It is happening right now. And it is exactly what this league is built for.
APTL is a single-entity, franchise-driven professional league launching in four cities: Indianapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Louisville. Every team roster carries ten players — four women, four men, two alternates — competing side by side in every match. Women's singles and men's singles carry equal weight in every competition. This is not a women's league. This is not a men's league. This is professional tennis, finally built the right way — equal courts, equal stakes, equal standing.
Alongside the league, our nonprofit arm — The Curlew Institute, featuring Where's Your Racquet? — is a program created by Paul Fontana, our VP of Tennis Operations. Where's Your Racquet? collects new and used racquets, restrings them where needed, and redistributes them directly to community youth organizations at our matches — putting equipment in the hands of young people who want to play but have never had the means to start.
Where Your Money Goes
Every dollar raised for Chicago stays connected to Chicago.
40% Event & Activation Costs
Court setup, staffing, and operations for APTL's community activation
35% Where’s Your Racquet?
Racquet collection, restringing, and redistribution to youth organizations in Chicago through The Curlew Institute.
25% Player Support Fund
Travel and transitional housing for re-emerging athletes competing in Chicago. Real people with real costs.
APTL Chicago – Bring Professional Tennis to the City That Demands More
Chicago has always shown up for sports that matter. From the lakefront to the neighborhoods, this city knows how to back something real. APTL is bringing professional tennis to Chicago not as a luxury event for the few, but as a league game — competitive, accessible, and built to stay. We chose Chicago because Chicago chooses excellence. Now we are asking Chicago to choose us back.
Donor Recognition & Call to Action
When you give, you are not just donating — you are founding something. Every supporter is recognized by name in our inaugural event program and on the APTL Founding Community page.
We are not asking for charity. We are asking for belief. If you believe Chicago deserves professional tennis — the real kind, built for our community — this is how you say so.
Share this page. Tell someone. Let's build this together.
— JoAnn Myers, CEO & Co-Founder, Re-Emerging Athletes, Inc. | American Professional Tennis League