What Racquet does

Racquet Media Corporation is a privately held, independent media company founded in 2017 and headquartered in New York that publishes a bi-annual print magazine and continuous digital editorial content covering tennis and padel as cultural phenomena rather than purely athletic competitions. The company targets culturally engaged tennis and padel enthusiasts through long-form journalism, photography, travel features, fashion coverage, and lifestyle content. Its core products include the print magazine (now at Issue No. 28), a digital subscription tier priced at $8.33 per month or $100 annually, the Final 8 Club members-only travel program offering bespoke tennis and padel trips with ticketing and coaching concierge services, and an e-commerce merchandise storefront.

The company operates a multi-platform ecosystem spanning its racquetmag.com content hub, social media channels (Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok, YouTube), The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast on Apple Podcasts, and physical retail distribution through independent bookstores and newsstands across the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Canada, and Mexico. Racquet generates revenue through four streams: print and digital subscriptions, branded merchandise sales, Final 8 Club membership fees, and advertising/sponsored content with brands in the tennis, lifestyle, travel, fashion, and wellness sectors. Strategic partnerships include editorial coverage of the Pro Padel League, a travel experience partnership with Horseshoe Bay Resort and the Mouratoglou Tennis Center, and a publishing collaboration with Abrams. The company is founder-led by Caitlin Thompson and David Shaftel, with Wendy Laird serving as Managing Editor, and has 11-50 employees with only $820,000 in disclosed funding from a 2019 round.

Name

Racquet

Legal name

Racquet Media Corporation

Website

https://racquetmag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Racquet is an independent New York–based media company publishing a bi-annual print magazine and digital editorial content covering tennis and padel culture, lifestyle, travel, and fashion for culturally engaged enthusiasts, monetized via subscriptions, merchandise, travel memberships, and advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Lifestyle Media

NAICS

Sporting Goods Retailers (45911), Sporting Goods Retailers (459110), Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Retailers (4591)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Tennis & Racquet Sports Clubs (Tennis, Padel, Pickleball, Squash) (MPAKABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Racquet Sports (Tennis/Pickleball/Badminton/Squash) Retail (CRAMABAF), Tennis & Racquet Sports Facilities (MPAKAEAE)

Keywords

• Sports media publishing
• Tennis lifestyle journalism
• Padel sports coverage
• Print magazine subscription
• Racquet sport editorial

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Racquet generates revenue primarily through print and digital magazine subscriptions sold directly to consumers at $8.33/month (billed $100/year). The subscription includes bi-annual limited edition print issues and full digital access to every past issue and ongoing coverage.
2. Merchandise and E-commerce: Racquet operates its own e-commerce storefront (shop.racquetmag.com) selling branded merchandise such as the 'Tennis Whore' tee and other apparel and accessories.
3. Travel Membership (Final 8 Club): Racquet offers the Final 8 Club, a membership program providing access to bespoke tennis and padel travel experiences, global ticketing and coaching concierge services, and members-only on- and off-court programs in destinations worldwide. Revenue is generated through membership fees.
4. Advertising and Sponsorships: Racquet sells advertising and branded content opportunities to brands in the tennis, lifestyle, travel, fashion, and wellness sectors. The company maintains brand partnerships for events and editorial integrations, with a dedicated partnerships email ([email protected]) listed on its Connect page.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Racquet is an independent media company that publishes a bi-annual limited-edition print magazine covering tennis and padel culture, sport, travel, fashion, and lifestyle. It sells a combined Print & Digital subscription (priced at $100/year, equivalent to $8.33 per month) that delivers the bi-annual print issues plus full digital access to every past and current issue, and operates the Final 8 Club, a members-only travel program offering bespoke tennis and padel trips, global ticketing, and coaching concierge services.

Product overview

Racquet is a media company producing a print magazine covering tennis and padel sports, published bi-annually with limited edition issues. The company operates a digital subscription platform providing full access to past and current content. Key products include Racquet Magazine (print), Digital Subscriptions ($8.33/month or $100/year), The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the Racquet Shop (merchandise), and the Final 8 Club (travel experiences). Editorial content spans features, guides, travel recommendations, and padel sport coverage. The company maintains a distribution network of stockists across the United States, UK, Europe, Canada, and Mexico.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Final 8 Club: Members-only travel club offering bespoke tennis and padel trips, with global ticketing and coaching concierge services.
• The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

Products and services

• Racquet Print & Digital Subscription The Print & Digital Subscription is Racquet's core subscription product, priced at $8.33 per month billed annually at $100/year. Subscribers receive bi-annual limited edition print issues, full digital access to every past issue and ongoing coverage, invites to iconic events, early access to merchandise, and community access to tastemakers, athletes, and tennis enthusiasts worldwide.
• Final 8 Club Final 8 Club is a paid membership program providing access to bespoke tennis and padel travel experiences, play and recovery retreats, global ticketing and coaching concierge services, and members-only on- and off-court programs in destinations worldwide. It is offered to affluent tennis and padel enthusiasts via trips.racquetmag.com.
• Racquet Shop Racquet Shop is the brand's own e-commerce storefront, selling branded merchandise such as the 'Tennis Whore' tee and other apparel and accessories to individual consumers globally.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Pro Padel League (PPL)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRacquet covers the Pro Padel League as editorial content, featuring articles about PPL events, athletes, and the sport's growth in the US. Racquet's editorial coverage serves as a media partner, amplifying PPL's visibility to its audience of tennis and padel enthusiasts. The PPL is a North America-based professional padel league started in 2023.
• Horseshoe Bay Resort / Mouratoglou Tennis CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRacquet's Final 8 Club travel program partners with Horseshoe Bay Resort in Texas, which hosts the Mouratoglou Tennis Center — Patrick Mouratoglou's first and largest US location. The partnership provides Final 8 Club members with access to tennis training and resort experiences.
• Abrams (publisher)minorOthersRacquet collaborated with Abrams to publish 'ACE: the times & style of tennis' by Sunita Kumar Nair, a coffee table book exploring the history of tennis clothing. This is a licensing/content partnership for Racquet-branded publishing.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tennis.com: Tennis.com is a leading digital tennis media property covering tournaments, players, and tennis culture. It directly competes with Racquet in serving tennis enthusiasts with editorial content, though it operates at significantly larger scale and skews more toward news/results than cultural long-form journalism.
• Tennis Life Magazine: Tennis Life is an independent print and digital tennis publication that shares Racquet's editorial focus on tennis culture and lifestyle. It is a direct comparable in format (magazine-led) and audience (culturally engaged tennis enthusiasts), though at smaller scale and without Racquet's travel and merchandise verticals.
• Cereal Magazine: Cereal is an independent design-led print and digital magazine built on aesthetic sophistication and a niche subject focus. It is comparable to Racquet as a small, founder-led, design-forward independent magazine with limited print runs, premium pricing, and a community built around cultural depth rather than mass-market scale.
• Apartamento Magazine: Apartamento is an independent, design-driven print and digital magazine with global stockist distribution and a cult enthusiast following. It mirrors Racquet's model of operating a niche-audience independent print magazine with international independent bookstore distribution and a premium-priced subscription product.

Broad incumbents

• Tennis Channel: Tennis Channel is the dominant US tennis media brand, offering broadcast, streaming, and digital content across the professional tennis calendar. It overlaps with Racquet in audience (dedicated tennis fans) but operates a much broader content portfolio across live tennis rather than print/lifestyle culture.
• The Ringer: The Ringer is a major direct-to-consumer digital sports and culture media brand with podcast-driven audience development and subscription revenue. It is comparable to Racquet as a digitally native sports-culture publisher targeting engaged enthusiast audiences, though at vastly larger scale and across multiple sports.
• Departures: Departures is a luxury lifestyle magazine and digital media brand targeting affluent consumers with premium editorial across travel, fashion, and culture. While not tennis-specific, it shares Racquet's positioning at the intersection of a niche passion (luxury / tennis) and high-design independent publishing aimed at affluent enthusiasts.

Emerging players

• World Padel Tour: World Padel Tour is the leading professional padel circuit with associated media coverage of padel tournaments and players. It is comparable to Racquet as a content/brand touchpoint in the padel space, though structurally it is a tour/league rather than a media publisher; it represents both a partnership opportunity and a content competitor for padel mindshare.
• Padel Magazine: Padel Magazine is a print/digital publication dedicated to padel sport coverage, players, clubs, and lifestyle. It overlaps directly with Racquet's padel editorial coverage and targets the same audience segment, making it a direct niche competitor in the emerging padel media category.
• Set Point Tennis: Set Point Tennis is a digital tennis media brand producing news, analysis, and commentary on professional tennis. It overlaps with Racquet's tennis editorial coverage in audience and digital distribution, though it focuses on digital-first news rather than long-form cultural/lifestyle storytelling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/racqetmagazine
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@racquet1424
• Instagraminstagram.com/racquetmag/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@racquetmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/racquetmag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Racquet