Meet Richard and Stacey Gottfried, the founders behind the Team Tennis Association
Two people, one shared passion. Together they have spent more than three decades building adult tennis opportunities across Maryland and Washington, DC.
Read their storyAsk the foundersThe dynamic duo behind the leagues
Richard and Stacey Gottfried lead the Team Tennis Association with one aim: to expand tennis opportunities for adults in Maryland and Washington, DC.
Richard brings experience. As Executive Director, he has organized World Team Tennis leagues since 1991, which means he has watched generations of players arrive as strangers and leave as teammates. His leadership shaped the way the leagues are structured, scheduled and supported, and it is a major reason the community has stayed strong for so long.
Stacey brings dedication. She has served as Vice President since 2010, widening opportunities for players and deepening community engagement. Her work keeps the leagues welcoming, organized and focused on the people who play in them.
What makes the pair distinctive is that their goals match. Both believe tennis is more than a sport. It is a way to support health, wellness and social connection at the same time, and they build every league, trial session and event around that belief.
Their shared passion for the game and for community involvement drives a mission that is easy to describe and hard to do well: create engaging, inclusive experiences for players of all skill levels, so that tennis stays accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Two leaders, two roles
Select a founder to read about their role and what they bring to WATA.
What the founders believe
Six ideas guide how the Team Tennis Association is run. You will notice them in every league you join.
Health first
Tennis builds the heart, the muscles and the mind. Leagues are designed so regular play comes naturally, week after week.
Wellness for the whole person
Exercise, fresh air and laughter work together. A good league leaves you feeling better than when you arrived.
Social connection
Team tennis puts people on the same side of the net. Friendships form quickly when everyone shares a goal.
Room for every level
Beginners and seasoned competitors both belong. Levels are matched so each match feels fair and worth playing.
Community involvement
A league is a neighborhood on court. Players support each other, cheer for each other and show up for each other.
Camaraderie and excellence
Warm teams and high standards can coexist. WATA teams have gone on to compete in Regional and National Championships.
Their journey in two milestones
The leadership story of WATA, in the order it happened.
1991: Richard begins organizing
Richard Gottfried starts organizing World Team Tennis leagues. From the start, the focus is on giving adults a structured, social way to play team tennis. The same year marks the beginning of WATA’s record of success at Regional and National Championships.
2010: Stacey joins as Vice President
Stacey Gottfried steps into the Vice President role, bringing fresh energy to community engagement and helping expand tennis opportunities for players of all ages.
Ask the founders: how WATA thinks
Choose a topic to see how the Team Tennis Association approaches it. These answers describe the organization’s philosophy.
Their approach
Select a topic and press the button.
How the founders shape your season
Leadership at WATA is practical. Here is where you will feel it as a player.
Before the season starts, the leadership team looks at who is joining and what they want. Beginners, parents, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, fitness lovers and social players all arrive with different hopes, so teams are formed with those differences in mind.
During the season, the aim is a smooth experience. Matches are scheduled in advance, captains stay in touch with players and questions are answered promptly. A new player should never feel lost.
At the end of the season, strong teams are encouraged to take the next step toward the Regional Championships. Others simply celebrate a season well played. Both outcomes count as success in a community that values participation as much as trophies.
The founders also keep an eye on the whole year. Because WATA offers tennis any time of year, planning continues through every season so the community never goes quiet.
Questions about the founders
Who runs the Team Tennis Association?
Richard Gottfried is Executive Director and Stacey Gottfried is Vice President.
How long has Richard organized leagues?
Richard has organized World Team Tennis leagues since 1991.
Since when has Stacey been Vice President?
Stacey has held the role since 2010.
Where do the leagues operate?
Across Maryland and Washington, DC.
How can I get in touch with them?
Use the Contact Us page, tell the team what you need, and your message will be passed to the right person.
The story of a partnership
Leadership of a tennis community is rarely the work of one person. At the Team Tennis Association it is a partnership, and the partnership shows in the way the leagues feel.
Richard: building the structure
When Richard Gottfried began organizing World Team Tennis leagues in 1991, adult team tennis was not an obvious idea. Many adults played casually, and few had the chance to belong to a team with a schedule, a captain and a season to work toward. Richard saw that structure was what players were missing. A fixed schedule turns good intentions into regular exercise, and a team turns a hobby into a commitment people enjoy keeping.
Over three decades, that insight has been refined season after season. Line-ups are balanced, matches are scheduled in advance and results are tracked so teams know where they stand. Players rarely notice the effort behind it, which is exactly how good organization should feel: smooth, predictable and quietly supportive.
Experience also gives Richard perspective. He has seen new players grow into captains, and teams that began as strangers still playing together years later. That long view helps WATA make decisions that favor lasting community over quick results.
Stacey: growing the community
Stacey Gottfried joined the leadership as Vice President in 2010, and her focus has been the people inside the leagues. Her work expands tennis opportunities and deepens engagement, so that a player who joins for fitness stays for the friendships.
Community engagement can sound abstract, but in practice it is concrete. It means welcoming a nervous newcomer at a trial session, making sure a quiet player is introduced to teammates and keeping events open and enjoyable for players of all ages. It means listening when members suggest improvements and acting on good ideas.
Stacey also helps keep the mission in focus. Health, wellness and social connection are not slogans at WATA. They are the standards by which events, leagues and even the smallest decisions are judged. If a plan does not help players feel healthier, happier or more connected, it is reconsidered.
What the founders want every player to feel
Ask the founders what success looks like, and the answer is rarely about trophies. It is about how players feel.
Welcome
From the first email to the first serve, you should feel expected and wanted. No one should ever wonder whether they belong.
Challenged
Matches should push you a little, because progress is satisfying. Level matching keeps the challenge fair, never overwhelming.
Connected
You should leave every match knowing a few more names and a few more stories. Tennis is the reason, community is the reward.
These aims influence practical choices. Trial sessions are single, low-pressure visits so that newcomers can decide at their own pace. Teams are formed with level, goals and availability in mind. Captains are encouraged to be inclusive, to introduce new players and to keep communication friendly. Events leave time for conversation, because the post-match chat is where many friendships begin.
Importantly, the founders accept that players have busy lives. Parents juggle schedules, entrepreneurs travel and experienced players balance tennis with demanding careers. League structure is built to respect that. Matches are planned in advance, expectations are clear and substitutes help when something comes up. The result is a league that fits around real life instead of competing with it.
A legacy of Regional and National success
Since 1991, WATA’s players and teams have been successful in attending and winning the Regional Championships and the National Championships. Action photographs of those teams are a proud part of the WATA story.
The founders celebrate those achievements, and they also understand where they come from. Behind every championship team are weeks of ordinary matches, patient captains, reliable substitutes and teammates who encouraged each other through tough sets. Competitive success grows out of a healthy community, not the other way around.
That is why the founders keep their attention on the whole player base. A new member who learns to serve is as much a success story as a team that reaches the nationals. Both come from the same belief: when people enjoy a sport together, they tend to get better at it and to stay with it.
If you have ever wondered whether you could be part of something like this, the answer is almost certainly yes. Start with a trial session, meet the community and let the leagues do the rest.
Join the community they built
Take a one-time trial session and see for yourself what more than thirty years of team tennis feels like.
Book a trial sessionContact the team