Tennis still on the rise across the US!

Tennis participation in the US grew to 25.7 million players in 2024, the sport's fifth consecutive year of growth, according to the study conducted by the Physical Activity Council, a 3rd party study referenced frequently in the sports industry.

One in every twelve Americans picked up a racquet at least once in 2024, the highest number on record since the study began.  This is an increase of 1.9 million players over 2024, representing tennis' broadening appeal and popularity.

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. This balanced momentum represents an ideal scenario for the sport – simultaneously cultivating committed players while broadening reach.

Tennis reached a new milestone in engagement in 2024, with Core players (those playing 10+ times in the past 12 months) growing to a record 13 million, representing 50 percent of all participants.

USTA CEO Lew Sherr said his group — which oversees tennis in the country and runs the annual U.S. Open Grand Slam tournament — aims to get the sport's total participants in the United States to 35 million by 2035, which he calls "a goal that is both actionable and achievable."

"This report confirms what we know at the USTA: tennis popularity continues to grow and is a sport that is increasingly looking more like America than ever before," said Lew Sherr, USTA CEO. "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."

To help reach 35 million by 2035, the USTA on Wednesday pledged $10 million in grants in 2025 "to help build, refurbish and extend playable hours on courts across the United States." That is up from last year's commitment of $1.2 million, which covered more than 500 courts open to the public.

*Tennis participation in the United States is measured through two complementary research studies:

• The Physical Activity Council (PAC) Study on Sports and Physical Activity, which has tracked tennis participation since 2007, draws from a nationally representative panel of over 1 million Americans and features responses from 18,000 people ages 6 and older. The study tracks participation across 122 separate sports, fitness and recreational activities, with strict quotas for gender, age, income, region, and ethnicity to ensure a balanced sample and is administered by Sports Marketing Surveys USA.

• The PLAY Study (formerly known as the Participation and Engagement Study), which has provided supplemental data through a partnership between the USTA and the National Golf Foundation (NGF) since 2021 surveys 18,000 individuals ages 6 and older annually.