With physical distancing built in, tennis became more popular than ever for people looking for a way stay fit and healthy, relieve stress and more safely socialize during the pandemic. Tennis participation in the U.S. increased by 22% in 2020, with 21.64 million people hitting the courts, according to recent data from the Physical Activity Council’s Participation (PAC) report produced by Sports Marketing Surveys.
Of the more than 21 million Americans saying they played tennis last year, 6.78 million were either new or returning/lapsed players. Nearly 3 million of those were first-time players, a 44% increase over new players in 2019! PAC reported 10.08% of the US population playing tennis over that span, compared to 6.75% in the third quarter of 2019—an increase of nearly 50%. With the U.S. population now over 331 million, the 3.33% jump represents roughly 11 million tennis players.
With this bounce in participation, we’re expecting even more young people coming into the game and the CYTF is more committed than ever to make sure that those who need financial help have access to the game.