Fort Wayne’s growing tennis scene can be found everywhere from public parks to racquet clubs. For many players, finding someone to play with can become just as important as finding a court. That need is becoming more apparent as tennis participation continues to grow nationwide. In 2025, a record 27.3 million people played tennis in the United States, marking six consecutive years of growth. Women are also driving that momentum, with 1.1 million more women taking up tennis in 2025 than the year before. Julia Marrero is the Entrepreneur behind Tennis Girl Social Club. For Miami entrepreneur and content creator Julia Marrero, that challenge became personal when she returned to tennis after many years away. Marrero hadn’t played since she was about 14. As life became increasingly busy with work, children, and responsibilities at home, she realized she needed something that was just for her. “I believe when we work, when we have kids, when we take care of the house, we kind of get lost in it all,” Marrero said. “Sometimes it’s hard for us to find the time or something that we enjoy and that we only do for ourselves, to clear our minds.” She joined tennis clinics near her home and quickly discovered that returning to the court offered more than exercise. Tennis became a form of mental escape. “I call it my meditation moment because when you are playing tennis, you can’t think about anything else,” she said. “You need to be paying attention to the ball, to your form, to your backhand, your forehand. So it’s an amazing way to clear your head.” For Marrero, the court became a place where she could step away from the demands of everyday life and do something simply because she enjoyed it. “We are often the pillars of our home, and if we don’t take care of ourselves, who is going to take care of it all?” she said. Once she found her way back to the sport, however, she wanted more women to share it with. At the suggestion of a friend, Marrero began collecting phone numbers from women at her tennis clinics and created a group chat to coordinate matches. The group quickly grew to approximately 120 women. What started as a simple way to find a time and opponent that worked for everyone became increasingly difficult through a text thread. That was when Marrero’s son, a recent computer engineering graduate, saw an opportunity. “He told me, ‘So what if we built an app and then you could have the whole city to play?’” Marrero said. That conversation became the starting point for Tennis Girls Social Club. With her son helping build the app, Marrero turned a simple need into a business. “It started out of the need for me to find other girls to play with, like a community, a little space that I can just go play, have a coffee, and then come back to my daily routine,” she said. The Tennis Girls Social Club brand launched in November 2025, followed by the app’s official launch on March 20, 2026. Today, the platform has roughly 2,000 members across the country and is expanding into new cities. The app allows women to create profiles based on their availability, skill level and preferred style of play. Members can create matches, invite other players and choose whether they want to play socially, competitively or a combination of both. The flexibility is intentional. Marrero knows what a player wants from the court can change from day to day. “Sometimes you just feel like you want to go out and have fun and not take the game too seriously,” she said. “Other times, you want to play competitively and you want to win.” Tournament features also give members a way to organize friendly competitions, giving players another way to meet and compete outside of traditional group chats. But the more Marrero brought women together through matches and events, the more she saw the relationships that developed beyond the court. Some women became close friends, traveling together, and attending events together. “I started to create different events and different little get-togethers, and I realized there was a huge need for a community, you know, for a sense of belonging,” she said. Those connections can also help women grow as players. Marrero encourages members to step outside their usual circle of friends and play against different styles and skill levels. “If you are thinking of playing in a league or to get better, you need to play everyone around you, not just your two, three, four friends,” she said. “You need to challenge yourself.” As women meet new players, building trust becomes just as important as finding the right match. Tennis Girls Social Club is designed for women 18 and older, and new members go through a verification process. Marrero said members provide a photo of themselves while holding their identification so the team can verify their identity, age, and gender before they gain access to the platform. That trust has helped Marrero take the idea beyond Miami. The app is now available nationwide, with its strongest communities in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Texas. She has even seen a small group form in Guam. Local hosts help bring the club to new cities by organizing events and connecting women with one another. That opportunity could eventually extend to Fort Wayne. Women interested in bringing Tennis Girls Social Club to the area can apply to become a city host. The vision for Tennis Girls Social Club extends well beyond individual cities. Marrero hopes to build a global community for women who love tennis, with tournaments, social events, travel experiences, and partnerships along the way. “I want to become a global community for women who love tennis,” she said. “The sky is the limit.” For Marrero, though, the most meaningful measure of what she has built may not be membership numbers or how many cities join the club. It is found at home, where her children have watched her turn an idea into a business. “To see their face of how proud they are of me, I love it,” Marrero said. Even when she has doubts, her daughter reminds her, “Mommy, it’s going to work. Don’t worry.” That encouragement has given Marrero a perspective on success that goes beyond the growth of the app. “Even if it doesn’t work, that to me, is success already, just to see them be able to see that I’m able to dream about something, create something and make it work,” she said. “To me, that’s priceless.” What started as Marrero’s search for something that was just for herself has grown into something far bigger than she expected. As Tennis Girls Social Club continues expanding into new cities, she is carrying with her the same lesson that brought her back to the court in the first place: making time for something you love can sometimes lead you somewhere you never expected to go.

STEADY MOVEMENT & SHIFTING INVENTORY Northeast Indiana Housing Market Numbers: Averaged days in market: 20 New Listings: 222 Closer Sales: 129 Median Sales Price: $244,900 The real estate market in Northeast Indiana continues to show steady movement, with homes still selling at a consistent pace compared to recent years. While the market is not as fast-paced as it was during peak demand, well- priced homes are still attracting strong interest from buyers. Inventory has started to slowly increase, giving buyers more options than they had in previous years. Even with this increase, available homes remain somewhat limited in certain price ranges and popular neighborhoods. This balance between supply and demand is helping the market feel more stable and less competitive overall. For both buyers and sellers, success in today's market comes down to pricing strategy, presentation, and being prepared to act when the right opportunity comes along.

This July, local families will have the opportunity to experience more than just a week of soccer. Iglesia Avalon and Surge Soccer International are partnering to host a youth soccer camp from Monday, July 13 through Sunday, July 19, inviting children entering first through sixth grade to come together for a week centered on teamwork, community, and fun. Alessandra Ryan in partnership with Surges Soccer International The camp will run daily from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and costs $15 per child. Throughout the week, campers will participate in skill-building activities, games, and team development before wrapping up the week with a soccer tournament on Saturday. Children will be grouped into teams representing different countries, allowing them to build friendships and work together throughout the week. The week will conclude on Sunday with a combined awards ceremony and bilingual church service from noon to 2 p.m., followed by a World Cup watch party beginning at 3 p.m. While the camp promises plenty of soccer, its purpose extends far beyond the field. For Alessandra Ryan, who helped bring the camp to life, soccer has always been more than a game. A lifelong player, former collegiate athlete at Huntington University, and former coach, Ryan has spent years investing in young athletes. However, it was a sports ministry trip to the Dominican Republic last year that completely changed her perspective on what soccer could accomplish. “My eyes were super opened to see how God was using soccer as a way to reach people, how to bring communities together, and how to not stay stuck in poverty,” Ryan said. “It was a really cool way to be able to bring people together and unite around one thing.” That experience introduced Ryan to sports ministry and revealed the unique ability sports have to connect people across cultures and backgrounds. “There’s been multiple times where I’ve played with people, we don’t speak the same language, but we all know how to play soccer,” she said. “Then we become friends after. It’s so fun. There’s just a different level of connection. There’s not too many things in this world that can bring people together like that.” Ryan says that belief in soccer’s ability to unite people actually began long before her experience in the Dominican Republic. Growing up, some of her favorite memories were playing pickup soccer with her dad in their neighborhood. “We used to play soccer all the time just for fun,” Ryan said. “People would come out from their backyards when they saw us playing and ask if they could join. By the end, people who started as strangers were leaving as friends. That was one of the first times I saw how soccer could truly bring people together.” Ryan credits her father with inspiring that perspective from an early age. “I can’t thank my dad enough for showing me that,” she said. “He taught me that soccer is about so much more than the game itself. It’s about creating community, welcoming people in, and giving them a place to belong.” When Ryan and her father recently stepped away from coaching after many years she suddenly found herself facing her first summer without a team. “I’ve always been coaching,” Ryan said. “This was the first summer that I wasn’t doing anything, and I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t like that.’” Rather than stepping away from the sport entirely, Ryan began thinking about ways she could continue serving local families and investing in the community. “We were like, ‘Okay, well, what if we have something locally, like a camp, for our own community?’” she recalled. “A way to bring people together.” Knowing the impact sports ministry had on her own life, Ryan immediately thought of Surge Soccer International, an organization she has worked alongside that uses soccer to share hope and build relationships around the world. When she approached her church, Iglesia Avalon, with the idea, the vision quickly became a collaborative effort. According to Alessandra, the partnership has allowed each organization to contribute its strengths. “Surge brings a lot of things to the table,” she said. “It’s really been a partnership.” Ultimately, Ryan hopes the camp offers children and families something increasingly difficult to find: genuine connection. “I thought this soccer camp would be a great way to give back to our community and bring families together,” she said. In a world that often feels divided, Ryan believes soccer still has the power to unite people. And this July, local families will have the opportunity to experience firsthand why the sport is often referred to as “the Beautiful Game.”

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Discover the inspiring journeys of entrepreneurs and business owners as they overcome challenges, pursue their passions, and create businesses in Fort Wayne, IN. Each article offers advice as a entrepreneur, life as a business owner, and how each business owner built their business. Fuzz Friends Pet Care Services: Where Entrepreneur Genevieve Gutzwiller’s Love For Animals Shine Mar 31 4 min read Paw and Petals: How Fort Wayne Entrepreneur Trista Miller Balances Passion and her Business Fido’s Forest, Polite Paws, and Rose’s Bouquets. Oct 19, 2024 11 min read From Board to Boss: Eric Holloway’s Entrepreneurial Journey to Owning Locally Owned Rise Skate Shop in Fort Wayne, IN. Aug 3, 2024 7 min read 1 2 3 4 5 Page Sponsorship Fort Wayne Entrepreneur Stories On this page, you will find captivating stories of individuals who have experienced the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, ultimately achieving remarkable success in Fort Wayne, IN. From humble beginnings, these stories will showcase the resilience, innovation, and determination that drive these entrepreneurs to make their dreams a reality. Get ready to be motivated and learn valuable lessons from their experiences as they navigate challenges, overcome obstacles, and create thriving businesses. Don't miss this opportunity to be inspired by the stories of local entrepreneurs who have turned their visions into remarkable success stories! Fort Wayne Entrepreneurs If you're a Fort Wayne entrepreneur and would like a story about you and your business, fill out a form below, "Share Your Story," to start the process of becoming the next article for the Fort Wayne Business Journal. Share Your Story