Earlier this year, the post “Geeking Out over Tennis Participation Data in the Physical Activity Council Report” broke down the data revealed in the public version of the 2021 Physical Activity Council (PAC) Report. At the time, the USTA was falling all over themselves to issue press releases announcing a “surge” in tennis participation in 2020. The thing is, the data in the public PAC report didn’t exactly support that assertion.
The Tennis Industry Forum conducted last month at the conclusion of the US Open, shared some previously undisclosed data that supports the idea that tennis participation increased dramatically in 2020. The additional detail also revealed that participation rates in indoor sports were negatively impacted. During the same time period, outdoor and individual sports flourished.
Per the PAC study definition, “Racquet Sports” includes Badminton, Cardio Tennis, Pickleball, Pop Tennis, Racquetball, Squash, Table Tennis, and Tennis. The historic participation levels in the PAC report are illustrated in the following chart.
At first glance, an increase from 13% to 13.9% represents a 7% growth in participation. Respectable, but not exactly a surge and well short of the 22% increase reported for tennis by the USTA.
The Tennis Industry Forum shared additional participation numbers for some (but not all) of the sports lumped together under the “Racquet Sports” umbrella.
| Sport | 2019 | 2020 | 1 Year Change | Change in Participants |
| Pop Tennis/Paddle Tennis/Platform Tennis | 1.38M | 1.82M | 34.2% | 2.26M |
| Tennis | 17.28M | 21.64M | 22.4% | 3.96M |
| Pickleball | 3.46M | 4.20M | 21.3% | .74M |
| Table Tennis | 14.91M | 16.85M | 13.1% | 1.95M |
| Badminton/Cardio Tennis/Racquetball/Squash | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Participation in outdoor racquet sports increased significantly. While numbers for Badminton, Cardio Tennis, Racquetball and Squash were not reported, it is apparent that the participation numbers must have declined dramatically to drag the overall category down to a mere 7% overall growth rate as reported. Since those are largely indoor racquet sports, it passes the sanity check.
USTA CEO Mike Dowse provided the closing comments from the grounds of the US Open as the 2021 tournament drew to a close. He acknowledged that many people expressed concern that the 2020 spike in tennis participation might be a temporary anomaly. In a well crafted statement, he said “The reality is that our sport is demonstrating continued growth over an extended period of time and that this definitely has signs of a sustainable trend.”
I have to respect the optimism. The 12 month rolling raw participation rate chart, which was actually shared earlier in the forum before Dowse offered his closing comments… definitely has signs that the trend is already reversing itself.
- 2021 Tennis Industry Forum, September 14, 2021.
- 2021 Physical Activity Council’s Overview on U.S. Participation, Physical Activity Council, undated PowerPoint presentation.
- U.S. tennis participation surges in 2020, Physical Activity Council (PAC) report finds, USTA National News Article, February 11, 2021.
