New Tennis Participation Trends Report by Tennis Industry Association Details Continued Growth of Sport
Hilton Head, SC -- The Tennis Industry Association (TIA) announced the release of its "Tennis Participation Trends & Studies" research findings. The report details various survey's and studies conducted by TIA, SGMA and the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
According to the report, tennis participation is growing with more than 25 million people hitting the courts. It's the first time since 1999 that participation has topped 25 million players, and it continues a more than five-year growth trend in the sport.
Fast Facts: Tennis Participation Trends
- Frequent Participation has increased 15.1% since 2003.
- Total participation increased 3.8% for 2007 to 25.1 million players, from 24.2 in 2006.
- Total play occasions increased 3.1% from 2006 to 533 million from 517 million.
- Frequent players increases 1.2% to 5.25 million, from 5.19 in 2006.
- Continuing players are up 5.6% to 13.92 million from 13.18 million.
- Returning players increased 10.2% to 5.48 million from 4.97 million.
- Lapsed players have decreased 3.3% to 22.88 million from 23.65 million.
The report also shows that across the board, tennis equipment sales are up, too. Since 2003, racquet shipments to retailers have increased by 42 percent and ball shipments are up by 15 percent. And, in a sign seen as very promising for the future of tennis, sales of youth racquets have shown the biggest gains, up 80 percent since 2003.
Fast Facts: Tennis Industry Trends
- Racquet shipments have been booming, up 42.1% since 2003 (+1.32 million units).
- Racquet shipments continue to increase in 2007, up 9.5% over 2006 (+0.39 million units).
- Year-end total ball shipments in 2007 increased 3.2% (in units) over 2006 and are up 15% since 2003.
- Consumer purchases over the internet have increased in all categories apart from tennis balls.
- US Open attendance topped 715,587 in 2007, surpassing the previous all-time high of 659,538.sing the previous all-time high of
The TIA monitors the pulse of the tennis industry and publishes over 70 research reports every year detailing the health and overall status of the industry. Additionally, TIA along with the USTA and many industry partners have been working together for nearly fourteen years to grow the sport, which has led to tennis holding the No. 1 spot as the fastest growing traditional sport for the last six years.
