Report: U.S. Tennis Participation On The Upswing, Reaches Record 25.7M
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 05:09PM By Barry Janoff
February 19, 2025: Describing it as “significant acceleration,” the U.S. Tennis Assn. said that tennis participation in the U.S. has reached a record 25.7 million players, adding to five consecutive years of growth.
The player increase from 2023 — up 1.9 million from 23.8 million — “marks a significant acceleration in excess of 8% growth.”
The USTA said its “ambitious strategy” is to grow the game to 35 million players by 2035.
“Tennis popularity continues to grow and is a sport that is increasingly looking more like America than ever before," Lew Sherr, USTA CEO, said via the organization.
"Along with our section partners, our mission is to get more people on the court to inspire healthier people and communities everywhere and we are thrilled to see these numbers validate the work we do.”
The numbers come as pro U.S. tennis players are populating the top of the worldwide rankings.
The ATP Tour currently has two American players ranked in the Top Ten — No. 4 Taylor Fritz and No. 9 Tommy Paul — followed by Ben Shelton (No. 13), Francis Tiafoe (No. 18) and Sebastian Korda (No. 22).
The Hologic WTA Tour has four American women ranked in the Top Ten: No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 9 Emma Navarro.
According to the USTA, “One in every 12 Americans played tennis in 2024 — the highest proportion on record. This exceeds the five-year average ratio of one-in-16 Americans.
“In an increasingly competitive sports and recreation environment, this expansion demonstrates tennis' broadening appeal and strengthening position in the U.S.”
Tennis reached a new high in engagement in 2024, according to the USTA, with Core players (defined as those playing ten or more times in the past 12 months) growing to a record 13 million, representing 50% of all participants. This expansion in committed players surpassed 2023 by 11%.
The game experienced a 26% growth in Black/African American participation, representing a 662,000 player increase, with Hispanic players up 15.4%, to 4.54 million players over 2023.
Retained and returning players are on the rise with a 5% increase in retention rates over 2023 reaching a five-year high, while those who returned to the game after a break of at least one year rose 9%.
First-time and returning players brought 6.3 million players to the game in 2024 and tennis lost the fewest number of players year-over-year since 2020.
Players under 35 powered tennis' expansion in 2024, contributing to nearly two-thirds of all growth (+1.2 million players). Players under 25 drove 45% of total gains.
Senior players saw a 17% increase in growth to 302K participants.
“We will continue to do our part through an ambitious strategy to grow the game to 35 million players by 2035."
The USTA said it has committed $10 million in grants to tennis courts and facilities nationwide “to ensure there are ample spaces to meet player demand, especially in underserved communities.”
Since 2005, the USTA said its Tennis Venue Services grant program has awarded more than $19 million in grants, including $1.2 million in 2024 that impacted more than 500 courts in more than 60 communities.
“We will continue to do our part through an ambitious strategy to grow the game to 35 million players by 2035,” said Sherr, “a goal that is both actionable and achievable as we seek to bring the benefits of the world's healthiest sport to more people across America."
The USTA said statistics are based on a compilation of data from two surveys its helps fund, each of 18,000 people ages 6-plus: The Physical Activity Council Study on Sports and Physical Activity, and the PLAY study.
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