The Racket Doctor Inc

What The Racket Doctor Inc does

The Racket Doctor, Inc., operating as The Racket Doctor, LLC, is a family-owned specialty tennis and racket sports retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1970 and operating continuously from its original Atwater Village storefront at 3249 Casitas Ave, the company serves recreational to competitive tennis and pickleball players throughout Southern California, including communities near Griffith Park, Glendale, and Burbank. The business was acquired by the Lee family in 2019, who continued the original stringing tradition while expanding product and service offerings, and underwent a brand refresh with a redesigned website in 2024.

The company's product portfolio spans tennis rackets, balls, bags, shoes, apparel, grips, and junior equipment from major brands including Wilson, Head, Babolat, Yonex, Asics, Nike, On, and FILA, supplemented by pickleball paddles from Selkirk Sport and JOOLA. The service offering is the primary differentiator: certified while-you-wait racket restringing (typically 30-45 minutes), Master Racket Technician (MRT) — the highest certification awarded by the USRSA — racket matching, tuning, repairs, grip customization, and a racket demo program that allows customers to trial any in-stock racket for four days against a $150 security hold and $10 fee.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid of professional services (restringing, customization, fitting) and one-time equipment sales conducted at a single brick-and-mortar retail location, with a supplementary online gift card channel that requires in-store redemption. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer via physical storefront, supported by organic social media (Instagram, Facebook), Yelp and Google Business listings, and a content-marketing blog. The company does not sell products online and has no disclosed e-commerce fulfillment capability beyond digital gift cards.

Name

The Racket Doctor Inc

Legal name

The Racket Doctor, LLC

Website

https://racketdoctor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Racket Doctor is a Los Angeles-based specialty tennis shop founded in 1970, providing certified racket restringing, MRT-level customization, and equipment retail from major brands to recreational and competitive tennis and pickleball players across Southern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Tennis & Racket Sports Retail

NAICS

Sporting Goods Retailers (45911)

akta.pro primary industry

Tennis Equipment & Accessories Retail (CRAMAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Racquet Stringing, Grips & Customization Supplies Retail (CRAMAFAF), Racquet Sports (Tennis/Pickleball/Badminton/Squash) Retail (CRAMABAF)

Keywords

• Racket restringing services
• Tennis equipment retail
• Racket customization and repair
• Pickleball paddle sales
• Tennis shoe fitting

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Racket Stringing Services: Revenue from professional racket restringing for tennis, badminton, squash, and racquetball. Offers certified stringers and while-you-wait service.
2. Tennis Equipment Retail: Sales of tennis rackets, shoes, apparel, balls, bags, grips, and accessories from brands including Wilson, Head, Babolat, Yonex, Asics, Nike, On, and others.
3. Pickleball Equipment: Sales of pickleball paddles from brands like Selkirk Sport and JOOLA.
4. Racket Customization Services: Racket matching, tuning, repair, grip customization (enlargement and reduction), grommet/bumper replacement, end cap restoration, and other customization services performed by MRTs.
5. Shoe Selection Services: Assistance in selecting tennis footwear from their wide selection of brands.
6. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards available for purchase online, redeemable in-store only.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Racket Doctor is a brick-and-mortar tennis and racket sports specialty retailer that sells tennis rackets, shoes, apparel, balls, bags, grips, and pickleball paddles from leading brands, while providing fee-based professional racket restringing, matching, tuning, and repair services performed by USRSA-certified Master Racket Technicians. The store operates from a single Atwater Village, Los Angeles location with while-you-wait stringing, a 4-day demo program, and online-redeemable gift cards.

Product overview

The Racket Doctor is a retail tennis and racket sports shop offering a curated selection of equipment and expert services. The product portfolio centers on tennis rackets, balls, bags, shoes, and apparel from major brands (Wilson, Head, Babolat, Yonex), supplemented by pickleball paddles and gift cards. The company's service offering is the distinguishing capability: certified while-you-wait restringing for multiple racket sports, racket matching and tuning by Master Racket Technicians, professional shoe fitting, and comprehensive racket repairs/customizations. A demo program allows customers to test rackets before purchasing. The shop's expertise in racket customization and repair differentiates it from generic sporting goods retailers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Racket Restringing Service
• Racket Matching and Tuning
• Racket Selection Consultation
• Tennis Shoe Selection Service
• Racket Repairs and Customizations
• Racket Demo Program
• Tennis Rackets
• Tennis Shoes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pickleball Central: The largest pickleball specialty retailer in the US, selling paddles, balls, and accessories online. Racket Doctor's pickleball paddle offering (Selkirk, JOOLA) directly overlaps with Pickleball Central's assortment, and both target the same growing crossover tennis-to-pickleball consumer.
• Midwest Sports: Independent tennis and pickleball specialty retailer with both retail and service offerings. Comparable to Racket Doctor as a multi-sport racket sport specialist combining retail with stringing services, though at a different geographic footprint.
• Tennis Express: Online tennis specialty retailer with broad racket, apparel, and shoe assortments. Comparable on tennis equipment merchandising and target customer (recreational to competitive players), competing for the same Southern California consumer wallet share.
• Do It Tennis: Long-standing online tennis specialty retailer offering rackets, strings, and accessories from Wilson, Babolat, Head, and Yonex. Direct competitor on the equipment side of Racket Doctor's product mix, with a similar specialty positioning but online distribution.
• Holabird Sports: Online tennis specialty retailer founded in 1970 (same vintage as Racket Doctor) selling rackets, shoes, string, and accessories. Highly comparable on category focus and lifetime, but competes via e-commerce rather than a brick-and-mortar service-led model.
• Just Tennis: Tennis specialty retailer offering rackets, strings, and accessories. Direct comparable on tennis-focused product assortment and target customer, operating as a smaller specialty competitor to Racket Doctor's retail offering.

Emerging players

• Selkirk Sport: Premium pickleball paddle brand that Racket Doctor carries as a retail partner. Comparable as a fellow participant in the pickleball category, though operating as a brand/manufacturer rather than a multi-brand retailer.

Broad incumbents

• Big 5 Sporting Goods: Multi-category sporting goods retailer with a West Coast store footprint that includes tennis equipment. Comparable insofar as it competes for the same Southern California tennis equipment dollars, but as a generalist discounter rather than a tennis-specialty expert.
• Tennis Warehouse: The dominant online tennis specialty retailer in the US, selling rackets, shoes, apparel, and stringing supplies across all major brands. Directly comparable because Tennis Warehouse competes with Racket Doctor for the same tennis equipment purchasing occasions, but operates at vastly larger scale and online-only.
• Tennis-Point: Large European-headquartered tennis specialty retailer with a US presence, selling rackets, shoes, and apparel. Comparable on assortment and brand portfolio to Racket Doctor's retail side, but operates at scale across multiple geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/theracketdoctor
• Instagraminstagram.com/racketdoctor
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-racket-doctor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 The Racket Doctor Inc