London Inc. May/June 2021 - 28

So, You Want My Job

TENNIS PRO AND ARTS ENTREPRENEUR

Adam Baranowski chats about tennis, art and the balance and harmony of both
ADAM BARANOWSKI HAS been head tennis pro at the London Hunt and Country Club since 2014, two years
after he began working there. Born in Poland, he came to Canada in 1987. It was the final step in a complex plan
his parents devised to leave their then-communist homeland. When he was nine, he left with his father for Italy,
unaware they were going to stay there, separated from his mother and sister for the next two years.
They spent more than a year in an Italian immigration camp until their Canadian immigration was approved.
Six months later, his mother and sister joined them in Toronto. Through it all, Baranowski played and excelled at
tennis. He attended Texas Tech on a tennis scholarship, studying fine arts and graphic design. For a year before
college, he travelled with Hall of Famer Boris Becker, as his hitting partner.
He is married to real estate salesperson Aga Matysiewicz; together, they have six daughters. At 44, Baranowski
is ranked number two in Canada in his singles age category. When he was playing singles in the 35-and-up
category, he reached number one in Canada and number 10 in the world.
When he's not parenting or playing tennis, he spends time creating art and clothing stenciled with his designs.
They can be found at www.adambaranowski.com and www.baron76.com.

Let's start with something simple: Just what does
a tennis pro do? There's a variety of duties: I assist
with various administrative duties and lessons. I teach
adult and junior lessons and promote and organize
junior and adult programs, events and camps. When not
on court, I may be stringing racquets or attending and
participating in the club's social and special events.
You became head pro after a couple of years. How
is that different? As you would expect, the head pro
has more responsibilities overall. I create and keep track
of the tennis budget each season. I run our successful pro
shop, which includes ordering and tracking inventory.
Prior to each season, I organize programs and events for
kids and adults and create the calendar of all events. And
I hire competent teaching staff to ensure those programs
run smoothly.
I keep track of all tennis maintenance hours on a
biweekly basis, making sure our 10 courts and surrounding
area are in tip-top shape. I work with members on a daily
basis, running doubles leagues and teaching in groups
or one-on-one. I've become an excellent psychotherapist.
Also, a ﬁreﬁghter to put the ﬁres down before they escalate.
And I attend monthly tennis committee meetings.
We've read a lot about tennis during the
pandemic, linked with golf as a relatively safe
sport. How has your job changed in the Covid
age? It has changed dramatically since I am not on
court currently due to lockdown. It has been challenging,
28 | londonincmagazine.ca | MAY / JUNE 2021

but after a while you kind of get used to it. You ﬁnd a
way to adapt. Wearing a mask indoors has become the
new normal, I guess. Being creative to teach and engage
members via social media has become more and more
normal.
During the outdoor season, you're basically on
or near the court all day, every day. What about
winter? Do you get away from tennis? During the
winter, I prep for the next season already. I schedule
meetings with the brands I carry in the pro shop and
put together our orders for the coming year. You have to
know in a way what members would wear and would use
following season. Once the merchandise starts coming
in at the beginning of the year, we take them to a printing
shop to be logoed and labelled. Of course, nothing is as
planned. There are items that are shipped with scuff
marks or have some imperfections, so you have to send
them back and deal with reps, most of whom are very
understanding. Once the racquets come in, I string them
for members when they want to demo them in the season.
You studied art at college. When did you start
showing and selling art on your website? I really
got more serious about my crafts in 2016. I've always
wanted to do something with it but lacked the courage to
do so. Looking for ways to showcase and sell my artwork
was something that intrigued me. Having my own
website felt like I had my online portfolio, showing all the
work I have done with various media and techniques.

http://www.adambaranowski.com http://www.baron76.com http://www.londonincmagazine.ca

London Inc. May/June 2021

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