About Solow Sports

In 2005, Derek 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. Over the next year and a half, it grew into an obsession, and he committed to ditching corporate life to pursue his passion project.

Along the way, Derek partnered with Doris Maffia, general manager of Tennisport in Long Island City. In June 2007, they launched The Tennis Store, an online tennis specialty retail site. Derek ran all the online operations from his bedroom, and Doris processed orders from Tennisport's pro shop. Things went well for the next two years until July of 2009, when the City of New York decided to exercise eminent domain on Tennisport's land to develop affordable housing.

With The Tennis Store stranded, Derek and Doris scrambled to find a new home for the business. And scramble they did. On September 6th, 2009, The Tennis Store was reincarnated as Solow Sports at its new location in Huntington Village.

Solow Sports proudly offers a full line of tennis products from all the major brands-- Wilson, Prince, Babolat, Head, Dunlop, Volkl, Gamma, Tecnifibre, Adidas and more.

For our online customers, all in-stock orders ship out within 24 hours, and orders placed by 12pm EST ship out the same day. If an item is back ordered, it will typically take us 2-5 business days to receive it from our suppliers. See our Shipping Information for a more detailed description of shipping times.

For our local customers, we string tennis, squash, and racquetball racquets, and stenciling comes standard. Regripping is free with the purchase of grips and overgrips. We also have dozens of demo racquets available to try through our demo program.

Solow Sports strives to provide the best customer service possible both online and offline. To us, you're not just an order number, but a name and a face. If one of us talks to you, our entire team is kept up to speed with your order status. We originated in a club in which foundations were built on highly personalized service. We're driven by our passion for tennis. And we want to be your source for all things tennis.

Our Team

DEREK HSIANG is the co-owner, CEO, CFO, CTO, VP of Strategy, Webmaster, Stringer, Videographer, and King of Solow Sports. Since he's the co-owner, he's at liberty to make up meaningless titles for himself for his own amusement. He's also a management consultant at RHT Consulting, a violin and viola teacher, and the violist for the Dolce String quartet. Since he doesn't have enough jobs, he's applying for yours too.

DORIS MAFFIA is the co-owner and former General Manager of Tennisport, Inc. She knows everyone in the tennis industry in the Tri-State area and is attempting to become acquainted with the rest of the country. And she'll do it one phone call at a time, because she keeps it personal.

URIAH CHO was recently imported from the publishing industry in California, holds a degree in Art History from NYU, and has no interest in tennis. Her official title is Manager of Chaos, although she doesn't know this yet. Essentially, Uriah does everything that Derek doesn't like or want to do so that Derek can stay home in his PJ's. For reasons unknown, she also has a tendency to add "sh" to the ends of words, and is deathly afraid of large statues and trees.

DORIS ROSE MAFFIA is Doris's daughter. After months of training, she now has an encyclopedic knowledge of the latest racquets and accessories. She has also earned the title of uber ultra master stringer status. Now if only we could get her to start playing tennis.......

MARILU VEGA is a stealth ninja. She quietly watches everything that goes on from the back of the store and possesses the remarkable ability to slip in and out of the store completely unnoticed. You may not know her, but she knows you. Recently, she became a stealth stringer under the tutelage of uber ultra master stringer Doris Rose.

COREY MARSH has replaced Doris Rose as the newest member of the team. Unlike most of our team, he plays tennis. Much like Doris, Corey seems to know everyone who plays tennis in the Huntington area, and they seem to know him, too. As our summer intern, he's striving to become the most well-known tennis player in the entire Long Island area. And maybe he'll pick up some business analysis skills along the way.

Our Store

Contrary to what this panorama might suggest, our store is quite rectangular. But this is what you might see if you have eyes on opposite sides of your head. The interior was designed by Albert Lin.
Solow Sports is open every day of the year except on Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. For a list of our in-store services, click here.

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