USTA Southern California Elects Cynthia Neiman
as Its First Female Board of Directors President

Breaking from tradition, the board of directors of the United States Tennis Association’s Southern California section elected Cynthia Neiman as board president, marking the first time in the section’s 138-year history that a woman will lead the board. 

Neiman, a seasoned business executive with an extensive background in marketing, branding, and healthcare was elected to the role at the organization’s annual board meeting.  Neiman’s expertise in marketing is the result of working for some of the world’s most iconic brands including Mattel and IKEA.  A Naples, Long Beach resident and “lifelong tennis player,” Neiman is a former junior, collegiate, and current senior player who belongs to two tennis clubs and still competes on several USTA League teams. 

Neiman has served on the USTA Southern California board since 2020 and spent the past three years as secretary, succeeding longtime Southern California tennis director and facility owner/operator Bob Hochstadter, who decided not to seek a third term as board president.  Neiman is familiar with the non-profit world through her present position as Chief Experience Officer at Rady Children’s Health, the newly merged parent of Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

Neiman said she came to tennis at the relatively late age of 12, but immediately fell in love with the sport. “I’m a lifelong fan and the Tennis Channel is running 24/7 when I’m home,” said Neiman, who was a walk-on at UCLA in the 1980s. “I have a deep passion for the sport at all levels — beginners, juniors, wheelchair, college, leagues, and of course, the pros. I’m honored to hold the position as USTA Southern California executive board president to help drive tennis growth in all areas across the section.” 

After she was elected board president, Neiman said she was “shocked” to learn she was the first woman to serve in this role and praised current USTA Southern California Executive Director Trevor Kronemann and his leadership. “I view the board’s job as supporting Trevor and his team so we can continue the momentum of the past few years.  Under Trevor’s leadership, our engagement numbers for juniors, leagues and tournament play are absolutely through the roof across the section, and we want to accelerate the growth,” Neiman added.

“This is an historic moment for SoCal, having its first female president of the association,” Kronemann said. “Cynthia follows so many great leaders that have led the section, and I’m confident she will make a big impact on our game here in Southern California. She brings such passion, a marketing mindset, and understanding of tennis.  Our section will continue its reputation at as one of the innovators with some of the strongest levels of engagement and participation in the country.”

When asked where she and the Southern California section will place their attention, Neiman responded, “we plan to dovetail our efforts with USTA National priorities, so courts, coaches and programming are the places where we want to place our chips.” Neiman added, “since Covid, tennis participation has increased dramatically, but the number of courts has not kept pace. We’ve just formed a new committee that’s laser focused on increasing the number of courts in Southern California to help us catch up to the demand.”

Neiman also commented about her pride in being elected with a slate of veteran business people with deep tennis roots stating, “growing the game is a team sport which is why I am so fortunate to have an all-star roster of recently elected officers to our executive board, including digital business executive and current Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) chairman Neel Grover (vice president); experienced global executive leader and former Australia junior national team member Glenn Turner (treasurer); and seasoned media executive and former Division I tennis player Damu Bobb (secretary).  It is a very exciting time for tennis in Southern California and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”