The full story. 

 

Shannon Hudson and Johan den Toom; Two Arkansas Razorback tennis alumni trying to make a difference in Northwest Arkansas. 

Their childhoods’ were spent traveling across the US and Europe playing in the biggest national and international junior tennis events in the world. Both were ranked in the top 5 of their native countries and were amongst the best in their recruiting class.

 

Shannon and Johan started dating during their sophomore season and haven’t been apart much since. Together, they decided to finish school in 5 years to give themselves an adjustment period and to enjoy being a student without athletic obligations.

 

During their 5th year at the U of A, they began teaching more tennis and getting to know the NWA tennis community. This is when they discovered what needed to happen... upgrade not only the NWA tennis community but tennis, racquet sports, and fitness (ie. WELLNESS).  It was time to give Arkansas a facelift and be at the forefront of the wellness industry.

 

The idea was to create a full campus for each member of the community to enjoy and build memories.  It started with tennis. They brainstormed for countless hours, researched and pictured the perfect “tennis club”. They discovered new, accelerating sports; pickleball and padel.  They also saw how popular boutique fitness is becoming. The three most popular boutique-style fitness studios were added to the project. The FLOW (yoga), The CAGE (H.I.I.T), The AMP (cycle).  Soon it was apparent they weren’t just a tennis club, but a racquet sports and health club!  What’s one of the most important things about a healthy well-being? FOOD! Therefore, The café and the snack bar were a must.  In a nutshell, MATRIX! Health, fitness, and fun!

 

With high- level, competitive tennis being the core of Shannon and Johan’s passion, NexGen Tennis Academy is their way of giving back to the junior community. They want to provide the high level training they had when they were growing up. The type of training that breeds D1 college athletes. Shannon and Johan heavily believe in creating a program in which every junior achieves personal development while trying to become great tennis players.