About Craig Carney

Meet Craig Carney

For Craig Carney, tennis is not a hobby. It is a lifestyle.

Maybe it was a red herring that, as a teenager, Craig spent entire paychecks from the movie theater and grocery store on tennis lessons and equipment. Having joined the sport during the tennis boom of the 1970s, just about everyone was picking up a racquet.

“Tennis was the sport to play,” he said. “There’s never been a phenomenon like that since.”

Certified by the USPTA

The profound respect for tennis that Craig developed persisted, but it was not until late in his education at the University of Iowa that he decided to make a living through tennis.

Craig had been teaching for the Iowa City Recreation Department for several years and was certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA).

Serving the Tennis Community

Teaching deepened Craig’s knowledge and appreciation of tennis, as he learned about the needs of entry-level players. He combined this knowledge with skills built from a stringing business he started in a one-room shop above an Iowa City tee shirt store.

Soon, he was ready to expand to a business that would serve the larger Iowa City tennis community.

Serving the Community in Many Ways

For more than 41 years, Craig and The Racquet Master have maintained a strong presence in the Eastern Iowa tennis community. Craig has worked with The University of Iowa tennis teams as their stringer since the mid eighties. In addition to currently working with the Iowa women's tennis team, local pros from North Dodge Athletic Club and Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center refer business to Craig as well.

While some stores might try to push the customer to purchase the most expensive racquet, Craig takes the time to find out what type of player the customer is and ensures they have the opportunity to try multiple racquets before they select one.To promote this philosophy, Craig and Linda also run “Demo Nights” for local players to test out new racquets in a fun, relaxed environment.

During the spring tennis season, Craig strings racquets for the University of Iowa women's tennis team meet before each meet, which occur nearly every weekend. I really like working with the teams and helping them out any way I can, making sure the racquets are strung perfectly before each match,” he said. “I take it very seriously that I’m the stringer for them.”

Racquet Master carries 50 to 60 models of racquets, all of which Craig is knowledgeable about. The store and the sport have come a long way since carrying 6 racquet models in 1981. It opened during a tennis boom, and it persisted through the tennis downturn of the 1990s.

“During the past several years, largely due to efforts by the United States Tennis Association and manufacturers, tennis has gone up 10%,” Craig said.

When Craig witnessed the success pro shops enjoyed during the 1970s, something told him that tennis was going to continue to grow and that he too could make it in the tennis business.

Racquet Master began as a tennis-only shop; and although it sold bikes and skis from 1987 to 2006, it is once again solely about racquet sports.