Dan Santorum is an experienced and innovative Chief Executive Officer with a proven 40-year track record in the racquets industry. After 38 years as CEO of PTR, he was appointed as the first CEO of Racketpro (RPO) in August 2024, Dan has always championed the idea of Making a World of Difference.
Dan created the ACE Program back in the early 90's to increase the number of coaches of color, mainly Black tennis coaches. Arthur Ashe was the ACE Programs first spokesperson and served until his unfortunate passing. Bob Davis was one of the first ACE coaches and introduced this certification to several top U.S. coaches, who at the time did not want to be tested by white testers. Arthur Ashe was adamant about making sure that ACE participants got certified so they had the same credentials as white coaches to avoid discrimination.
Dan's creation of the ACE program resulted in educating and certifying thousands of Black coaches to teach tennis in proven ways. In fact, at the PTR Awards Banquet, when Arthur was being inducted as an International Master Professional, Johnny Ashe accepted and made the following statement, "The reason Arthur knew the ACE Program was going to succeed was because Dan Santorum was in charge."
An International Master Tennis Professional, Dan has received numerous honors and awards as well as has served on several Boards in the tennis industry throughout his career. He is a member of four (4) Tennis Halls of Fame, received the prestigious ITF Service to the Game, was awarded the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award, and the National Public Parks Hollis Smith Lifetime Achievement Award.
Santorum has been a Lifetime Member of the ATA since the early 90’s having attended several ATA annual meetings. A 35-year USTA National Volunteer, Dan has served on dozens of USTA National, Sectional, and State Committees including as a National Committee member on the inaugural USTA Minority Participation and was the first person to Chair the USTA Southern Minority Participation Committee, a committee (DEI) that he still serves on today. Santorum has earned a global reputation as a pioneer, visionary, innovator, educator, and leader in the racquets industry.
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