In 2005, Derek Hsiang flipped on the tv to watch 35-year-old Andre Agassi miraculously grind through his US Open draw and push Roger Federer to the limit for the first 3 sets of the final. Immediately, Derek caught the tennis bug. Armed with a passion for tennis, a dash of blissful ignorance, no business plan, and little industry knowledge, Derek left corporate life in 2007 and partnered with Doris Maffia. Together, they founded The Tennis Store on the revolutionary principle that people should be able to buy tennis stuff on the internet.

An Aerial view of Tennisport in Long Island City, NY

Aside from all the other massive tennis e-commerce sites that have done it before, it had never been done before. So Derek threw together a website and began operating out of his bedroom, laptop, cell phone, and a closet in Tennisport in Long Island City while juggling multiple side jobs. It proved to be a massively successful exercise… in mediocrity.

Behold! Our even more massive 1700 sq ft sexy retail space! This store was too big for a panorama, so this is actually what you'll see if you have eyes on the same side of your head.