More Playing Tennis in U.S.
A recent survey indicated that there are more than 30 million Americans playing tennis, up 12% from 2008 and up 25% from 2003 – not bad! Even more impressive is that there were 7.1 million “newcomers” to the sport of tennis, almost a 20% increase from 2008. At the
same time, the number of tennis players who hit regularly, i.e. four to twenty times a year, increased 26% in 2009 to almost 14.8 million. In addition, nearly 7 million former tennis players are hitting the courts again. The highest percentage of players are 12-17 year-olds (20%) followed by 18-24 year-olds (18%) and 6-11 year-olds (16%).
The USTA has worked hard to increase the accessibility of the sport of tennis, especially in parks and schools across the United States. According to the survey, participation increased across all ethnic groups, but the biggest increases were among Hispanics, with 32% more playing the game while there was a 19% increase among African Americans. Now is this where the next Andy Roddick, Serena Williams or Venus Williams will come from?
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