Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
Christi Turdo: A Masterclass in Grit & Perseverance 5-19-25
Mon, 19 May 2025
In this episode, Scott Becker highlights Christi Turdo, a tennis pro turned successful club owner, celebrating her extraordinary perseverance, leadership, and ability to elevate both her business and the players she teaches.
Chapter 1: Who is Christi Turdo and why is she notable?
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. Today's discussion is a shout out to Christy Turdo. Christy is a tennis pro. And she's an extraordinary example of grit and perseverance. And I'll give you some of the backstory and three or four points about Christy. First, I was reminded to do this or think about it because it was recently her birthday.
Chapter 2: What challenges did Christi face in her career?
But she's truly an extraordinary leader. And here's sort of the gist of it. She's a tennis pro by background. Tennis pros come in all shapes and sizes. Many of them are very good at teaching. Many of them are completely reliable. Many are completely unreliable. Many are great players. Some are not great players. Some of them always aspire to be more than just a teaching pro.
And being a teaching pro is a fantastic profession. So I don't want anybody to take that the wrong way. Some of the great teaching pros do so well, make a nice living, take care of people, teach. Kids, adults, everybody, fantastic work in what they do. Christy always wanted to also own a tennis club. I don't know how many years ago it is now. She decided to go out and try and buy a tennis club.
Chapter 3: How did Christi Turdo succeed in owning a tennis club?
Of course, did so right before COVID hit or around then. Bought the tennis club, worked her butt off to make that tennis club a success. Has brought in a ton of great pros to play with and hit with there. He's built out the programs. He's also then expanded into another location where they've added pickle tennis and paddle tennis and other types of things.
Chapter 4: What programs and activities does Christi's tennis club offer?
They've also got fitness going on at the club and so forth. And to me, just watching the grit and the grind and the perseverance, the effort, also the assortment of people and leaders that are with her and work closely with her that have been there for years. a ton of them, too many to name, but just fantastic people like Beth and others that have been with her for years. Just an amazing group.
Chapter 5: Who are the key people supporting Christi in her journey?
effort. It's sort of Christy's growth, her grit, her perseverance, her effort to turn this into both a surviving and then thriving business. And also just the way she's handled it. Then on top of that, and it's not easy to constantly be hiring, recruiting pros, hiring, recruiting members. And over time, she's got better and better at it. And sort of the grit and perseverance is remarkable.
I would be remiss in the shout out to Christy It's not mentioned one other thing that makes her sort of head and shoulders above other pros. She's able to work with players that many think of as almost impossible to teach, that might have a great single stroke like a forehand, but it seems like that they could do almost nothing else on the court. The net game could be atrocious.
The over a game is scary. The serve game is okay. The method of ability to Try different things in the court is missing. But Christy has an uncommon gift. Even with players like that, even with players like Jim Field, she could tend to get the very best out of them and make them better. This may be the ultimate testament to perseverance and grit. I see him on the court all the time.
As a teacher, this must be both a labor of love, a love-hate exercise, a throw-your-hands-up-in-the-ear exercise. How can this person not listen? But Christy, despite those challenges in teaching— Someone who was almost unteachable has proven her mettle by bringing out the best in that player.
So again, today's shout out goes to Christy Turto, a lesson in perseverance and grit, a remarkable leader, a remarkable owner and pro. Thank you for listening to the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. Thank you very much.
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