The USTA, joined by the Tennis Industry Association (“TIA”), commissioned a study of player participation rates in tennis. The report also looked at other paddle/racquet sports for comparison. The report was released but was immediately followed by numerous USTA press releases and internet postings by the USTA, in an obvious effort to spin the report’s findings. What is interesting is to contrast the actual report findings with the various USTA postings. If the USTA press releases were to be believed, tennis is undergoing a mini boom; but if you read the actual report, you see a different story, showing USTA is gaslighting the public.

 

First, click here to read the actual report. The link can be hard to find on the internet, as USTA and tennis-friendly media have put out so many fluff stories about the report, that if you google “USTA report on tennis growth” the links that pop up are those puff pieces and not the actual report. I encourage everyone to read the actual report for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

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Second, the report itself is devastatingly bad news for tennis. How else would you describe a sport that lost 14% of all players under age 18 between 2021 and 2023 (2023 is the last year included in the survey)? See report, page 12. Tennis did experience a solid participation increase during the Covid years of 2020-2021. Tennis was one of the few sports people were allowed to play during Covid. Before Covid, and after Covid, tennis participation returned to its normal pattern — flat or declining growth. See report, page 12.

 

Third, the bad news for tennis extends well beyond the sharp drop in junior participation. The USTA itself defines “success” as just staying flat in participation rates; that participation rates among the most avid players is declining; and, that the number of non-tennis players expressing an interest in playing is dropping too. For a full summary of what the report actually says, click here.

 

We now get to the spin USTA is attempting to put on the report. Again, if you google “USTA report on tennis growth” what you get are links to USTA gaslighting. There are numerous links, but most of the time a link to the report does not appear. What does appear are several USTA press releases. In these press releases, the USTA tries to campaign for more courts to meet fictitious demand. Their press releases do not cite the decline among juniors, do not cite the decline among core players, and do not cite the fact that tennis growth has been flat for at least 10 years, outside of a Covid bump.

 

 

The USTA’s effort has been successful in misleading people. That google search turns up articles from PR Newswire, tennisindustrymag.com, SGB Media, and others, all parroting the USTA press releases. Notably absent from these “independent” articles are any mention of the true facts from the report. These lazy reporters need to actually do their job and read the report.

 

Finally, the most pertinent news from the report is the astounding growth of pickleball. According to the USTA’s own report, pickleball experienced over 50% growth in 2023, the last year surveyed. According to the USTA’s own numbers, pickleball is set to overtake tennis in the overall numbers of US players by the end of 2026!

 

In any event, pickleball is booming. Carry on.

 

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