Tennis Statistics 2026: Participation Data
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Tennis Statistics 2026: Participation Data
Tennis participation in the United States hit a record 27.3 million players in 2025 - a 54% jump since 2019, according to the USTA. Worldwide, 106 million people now play tennis across 199 countries, up 25.6% in just five years, the ITF reports. The sport's health case is remarkable: a Copenhagen City Heart Study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that regular tennis players live 9.7 years longer than sedentary people - the largest longevity gain tied to any single sport studied. And the audience is growing younger, with players under 35 fuelling two-thirds of all US participation growth.
Tennis has shifted from a country-club pastime to a mainstream sport embraced across age groups, income levels, and backgrounds. Six consecutive years of US participation growth, a global player count that crossed 100 million for the first time, and a deep body of health research all point in the same direction: tennis is having a genuine moment.
This post collects 17 verifiable tennis statistics for 2026, drawn from the USTA, ITF, peer-reviewed journals, and market research. The data covers participation trends, demographics, health outcomes, and the sport's economic footprint - useful for anyone from recreational players to coaches to fitness enthusiasts deciding how to structure their training week.
1. 27.3 Million Americans Played Tennis in 2025
US tennis participation reached 27.3 million players in 2025, a record high. That is an increase of 1.6 million players from 2024 and the sport's sixth consecutive year of growth. Since 2019, the US player base has expanded by 54%, adding nearly 10 million people. The data comes from the 2026 USTA Participation Report, which surveys more than 18,000 Americans. For context, 27.3 million is roughly one in every eleven Americans picking up a racket at least once a year. The growth is not a post-pandemic blip; it has compounded year after year, driven by more first-time players entering the sport and a measurably higher retention rate among existing players.
Source: USTA - Tennis Participation Continues to Surge, Reaching 27.3 Million Players in 2025
2. Global Tennis Participation Reached 106 Million Players
According to the ITF Global Tennis Report, 106 million people around the world now play tennis - a 25.6% increase over just five years. In 2019, that figure was 84.4 million. The data was collected from tennis associations in 199 countries, backed by independent government and commercial sources. Asia leads by absolute numbers with 35.3 million players, representing 33.4% of the global total. The US holds the most players of any single country at 23.8 million in the ITF count. Great Britain tops the participation-rate table, with 13.4% of its population playing tennis, followed by Canada at 12.8%. That 106 million figure places tennis among the most participated-in sports on the planet.
Source: ITF - Global Tennis Report: Participation Hits 106 Million in Five Years
3. Tennis Players Live 9.7 Years Longer Than Sedentary People
The Copenhagen City Heart Study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, followed more than 8,500 adults for up to 25 years and found that regular tennis players gained 9.7 years of life expectancy compared with sedentary individuals. That is the single largest longevity bonus tied to any sport in the study. Badminton came second at 6.2 years, soccer at 4.7 years, cycling at 3.7 years, swimming at 3.4 years, and jogging at 3.2 years. The study's authors noted that sports involving social interaction - like tennis - were linked to the best outcomes. Whether it's the intermittent sprint-and-recover structure, the strategic mental load, or the social dimension, tennis appears to be one of the most life-extending forms of physical activity available.
4. 53% of US Tennis Players Are "Core" Players Who Hit 10+ Times a Year
Of the 27.3 million Americans who played tennis in 2025, 14.5 million are classified as "core" players - those who played 10 or more times during the year. That 53% core-player rate is significant; it means more than half of all participants are committed regulars, not one-off tryouts. Core players increased by 1.5 million from 2024, an 11% year-over-year gain. Consistent participation at that frequency is enough to produce meaningful cardiovascular and muscular adaptations. For comparison, the SFIA estimates that most team sports struggle to keep even a third of their registered participants at 10+ sessions per year. Tennis's ability to turn casual players into regular ones is a defining strength of the sport's recent growth story.
Source: USTA - 2026 U.S. Tennis Participation Report Based on 2025 Data
5. 4.9 Million First-Time Players Entered Tennis in 2025
Tennis added 4.9 million first-time players in 2025, a 9% increase over 2024's new-player intake. That level of fresh recruitment matters for a sport's long-term health: it offsets natural attrition and keeps the age distribution skewed young. The USTA report also notes that 20.7 million existing players were retained in 2025, a 10% retention improvement year-over-year, and 1.7 million lapsed players returned to the sport after more than a year away. Combined, those three flows - new players, retained players, and returning players - produced the record 27.3 million total. A strong new-player pipeline suggests the next few years are likely to sustain growth rather than plateau.
Source: USTA - Tennis Participation Continues to Surge, Reaching 27.3 Million Players in 2025
6. Players Under 35 Drove Two-Thirds of US Tennis Growth in 2024
In 2024, players under 35 contributed nearly two-thirds of all US participation growth, adding approximately 1.2 million new players. Those under 25 alone drove 45% of total gains. This inverted the assumption that tennis skews older. Youth (ages 6-17) saw 3.7 million core players in 2024, and the 2025 report added another 200,000 kids to the junior segment. The sport's social appeal on TikTok and the visibility of younger stars has likely accelerated this trend. A younger player base also means a longer spending runway for equipment, coaching, and court-time - which helps explain why the tennis equipment market is growing faster than many analysts projected five years ago.
Source: USTA - 2025 U.S. Tennis Participation Report Based on 2024 Data
7. Women's Tennis Participation Rose 10% Year-Over-Year in 2025
1.1 million more women played tennis in 2025 compared with 2024, a 10% year-over-year increase. Women are now a major growth engine for the sport, not a secondary market. The USTA report also highlighted strong gains in communities of color: Black/African American players rose by over 450,000 (14%), Hispanic/Latino players grew by over 550,000 (12%), and Asian/Pacific Islander players climbed by over 260,000 (10%). All three groups outpaced the sport's overall 6.2% growth rate. Tennis has historically carried a reputation as an elite, homogeneous sport; the current data suggests that perception is shifting with each passing year.
Source: USTA - Tennis Participation Continues to Surge, Reaching 27.3 Million Players in 2025
8. Tennis Burns Up to 590 Calories Per Hour in Singles Play
Singles tennis is assigned a MET value of 7.3 by the Compendium of Physical Activities, an exercise-science database developed by researchers for the CDC. For a 70 kg (154 lb) player, that translates to roughly 480-590 calories per hour in competitive singles. Doubles play sits lower at approximately 368 calories per hour due to reduced court coverage. Tennis qualifies as vigorous-intensity physical activity under ACSM guidelines - the kind that counts double against weekly exercise targets. The sport's intermittent sprint structure, combining explosive court movement with brief recovery intervals, closely resembles HIIT in its metabolic demand. That caloric output compares favourably with running at a moderate pace, making it an effective tool for anyone targeting body composition alongside cardiovascular fitness.
Source: Compendium of Physical Activities - Tennis MET Values via ACSM
9. Tennis Is Linked to a 56% Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Death
Research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that regular tennis players had a 56% reduced rate of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with non-players. The same body of research also found a 47% lower risk of all-cause premature death. These figures align with broader evidence that vigorous, social aerobic activity produces outsized cardiovascular protection. Tennis's repeated sprint-and-recover bouts elevate heart rate into zones that strengthen cardiac muscle, improve VO2 max, and positively alter lipid profiles. A 2007 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found tennis players had lower body-fat percentages and healthier lipid markers than sedentary controls. This parallels the cardiovascular findings in running research, though tennis adds the social and reactive components that jogging alone cannot replicate.
Source: British Journal of Sports Medicine - Racquet Sports and Longevity via Sports Medicine Weekly
10. The Grand Slam Tournaments Drew Nearly 2 Billion Viewers in 2024
The four Grand Slam tournaments combined - Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open - reached an audience of nearly 2 billion people across more than 200 countries in 2024. On-site attendance also set records, with more than 3.36 million fans attending the four events, a 10% jump from 2023. Social media amplified the reach further, generating 6.3 billion total video views and 12 billion impressions across the season - a 30%+ increase in video engagement year-over-year. That audience scale matters beyond spectator sport: it places tennis among the most globally visible sports, which feeds directly into participation rates and youth recruitment. High visibility at major events drives recreational growth in ways that more niche sports cannot match.
Source: Roland-Garros / Grand Slam Tennis - Worldwide Audiences Record Season
11. Senior Tennis Participation Rose 17% in 2024 to 302,000 Players
Senior competitive tennis players grew by 17% in 2024, reaching approximately 302,000 participants at the organised level. This aligns with a broader trend seen across physical activity statistics, where adults over 55 are increasingly drawn to low-impact, high-social sports as alternatives to gym-only routines. The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour registers over 35,000 competitive players aged 30 and above, with dedicated age-bracket competitions extending to 90+. Tennis's joint-friendlier demand compared with high-impact running, combined with its cognitive and social elements, makes it a particularly attractive sport for active aging. Research also links regular racket-sport participation to better balance and lower fall risk in older adults.
Source: USTA - 2025 U.S. Tennis Participation Report Based on 2024 Data
12. 99% of All Global Tennis Players Come From Just 33 Countries
The ITF Global Tennis Report found a striking geographic concentration: 99% of the world's 106 million tennis players are located in just 33 of the 199 countries that submitted data. This reveals a significant development gap in global tennis infrastructure. Europe and North America dominate participation totals, though Asia is growing rapidly. Africa has 47 countries with ITF membership but relatively few players as a share of population. This concentration also means that growth potential is enormous: the 166 countries currently outside the core 33 represent hundreds of millions of prospective players who have little or no access to courts, coaching, or organised competition. Infrastructure investment in these regions is the ITF's stated priority through its development programmes.
Source: ITF - Global Tennis Report: Participation Hits 106 Million in Five Years
13. The Tennis Racquet Market Was Valued at $617 Million in 2024
The global tennis racquet market was valued at USD 616.72 million in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 1.17 billion by 2032 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3%, according to Maximize Market Research. Racquets held a 41.23% share of total tennis equipment spend in 2024, confirming they remain the single biggest purchase category in the sport. The broader tennis market - including apparel, footwear, stringing, and accessories - was valued at approximately USD 5.58 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 16.09 billion by 2035. Premium racket customisation services expanded 36% over the period, reflecting a shift among recreational players toward equipment previously reserved for competitive athletes.
Source: Maximize Market Research - Tennis Racquet Market Report 2025-2032
14. ATP Players Earned a Record $261 Million in 2024 Including Profit Sharing
The ATP distributed a record $18.3 million to players through profit sharing from the 2024 season - 2.7 times more than the previous season. When combined with standard prize money, ATP player compensation reached a record $261 million for 2024. Adding Grand Slam prize money brings the total to $378 million for men's tennis alone. Carlos Alcaraz earned approximately $16 million in prize money during the 2025 season year-to-date, representing the upper end of top-player earnings. Across both tours, 23 women and 30 men earned at least $2 million in prize money in 2024. The scale of professional compensation reinforces tennis's status as a commercially significant sport and funds the infrastructure that drives grass-roots participation globally.
Source: ATP Tour - Record $18.3 Million Distributed to Players Through Profit Sharing
15. US Has an Estimated 270,000 Tennis Courts - But Demand Is Outpacing Supply
The Tennis Industry Association estimates approximately 270,000 tennis courts in the United States - spread across public parks, private clubs, residential complexes, and schools. Nearly 92,000 of those sit at facilities with active programming. However, the infrastructure is unevenly distributed. States like Oregon, Wisconsin, and North Carolina offer above-average courts per capita, while Mississippi and Louisiana fall well below the national average. Florida alone has around 11,000 courts at roughly 1,600 facilities. The 54% surge in US participation since 2019 has created visible court-time pressure in many cities, particularly for peak-hour recreational slots. Over 4,000 tennis courts have also been fully or partially converted to pickleball since 2021, tightening availability further.
Source: Tennis Industry Association - National Database Court Report via TennisPal
16. Tennis Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms in University Students
A 2025 study published in Frontiers in Psychology examined the psychological effects of tennis participation on college students. The findings revealed an inverse relationship between duration of tennis engagement and the presence of depressive symptoms - longer tennis involvement correlated with lower depression scores. Tennis also improved pro-social behaviour, with appreciative social support identified as the key mediating mechanism. The study compared collegiate tennis athletes with non-athlete peers using validated psychological instruments. These findings add to a broader body of evidence linking racket sports to mental well-being: the combination of physical exertion, strategic thinking, social interaction, and session structure appears to activate multiple protective pathways simultaneously. As seen in the data on workout statistics, regular structured activity is one of the strongest levers for mood regulation.
17. Pickleball Reached 24.3 Million US Players in 2025 - Tennis Still Leads Overall
Pickleball participation hit 24.3 million US players in 2025, a 22.8% year-over-year increase and a 171.8% jump over three years, according to the SFIA's 2026 Topline Participation Report. That rapid growth prompted concern that pickleball was cannibalising tennis. The 2025 data tells a more nuanced story: tennis still led total participation at 27.3 million versus pickleball's 24.3 million. More interestingly, research from The Dink suggests some pickleball growth is actually seeding tennis growth, as racket-sport newcomers eventually graduate to tennis. Over 4,000 tennis courts have been converted to pickleball courts, creating legitimate access concerns. But with six straight years of tennis growth running in parallel with the pickleball boom, the two sports appear to be expanding the overall racket-sports market rather than simply trading players.
Source: SFIA / The Dink Pickleball - Pickleball 2025 Participation Hits 24.3M, Up 171% in 3 Years
What the Tennis Data Tells Us in 2026
The headline story is consistent growth at both ends of the participation funnel. Tennis added nearly 10 million US players since 2019, and the global count crossed 100 million for the first time in recorded history. What is especially notable is that this growth is not driven by a single demographic: women are up 10%, under-35s drove two-thirds of 2024 gains, communities of colour are growing faster than the sport overall, and seniors jumped 17% in 2024. That breadth of participation - across age, gender, and background - is unusual for a sport often characterised as elite and narrow.
The health evidence stacks equally high. A 9.7-year life-expectancy gain, a 56% lower cardiovascular death risk, and research-backed reductions in depressive symptoms place tennis in a top tier of evidence-supported physical activities. The sport's intermittent structure - short explosive efforts followed by brief pauses - mirrors training methods well-studied in exercise science. Players who log two to three sessions per week can realistically achieve vigorous-intensity exercise targets while also building agility, reaction time, and grip strength that transfer directly to other training.
The economic data reinforces the trajectory. A $5.58 billion tennis market growing toward $16 billion by 2035, an ATP prize pool exceeding $261 million, and a racquet market expanding at 8.3% CAGR all reflect capital following participation. More courts, better equipment, and professional coaching infrastructure typically follow market investment - which should further reduce access barriers over the next decade.
Tennis is not just a sport for the few: 106 million players across 199 countries, six consecutive years of US growth, and a life-expectancy gain that outpaces every other studied sport make a compelling case for picking up a racket.
From the Court to the Gym Log
Tennis demands more from your body than most recreational players realise. A singles match at moderate intensity burns as many calories as a 45-minute run, builds explosive leg power from lateral sprinting, and taxes rotator-cuff and forearm muscles that rarely get direct work in a standard gym split. Tracking your training - whether that's court sessions, strength work, or cross-training - is what turns those efforts into a progressive record you can build on over months and years.
Gainwise is built for exactly that kind of serious tracking. Log your court days, your gym sessions, and your recovery work in one place. Track which muscles you are training, see your volume trends, and get AI coaching that adapts to the activities you actually do - including the strength and conditioning work that keeps a tennis player healthy and explosive long-term.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many people play tennis worldwide in 2026?
According to the ITF Global Tennis Report, 106 million people play tennis across 199 countries - a 25.6% increase from 84.4 million in 2019. Asia leads by absolute numbers with 35.3 million players, while Great Britain has the highest participation rate at 13.4% of its population.
How many Americans play tennis?
The USTA's 2026 Participation Report, based on 2025 data, counted 27.3 million US tennis players - a new record and the sport's sixth consecutive year of growth. That represents a 54% increase since 2019. Over half (53%) are classified as "core players" who played 10 or more times during the year.
Is tennis good exercise for fitness and weight management?
Yes. Singles tennis is assigned a MET value of 7.3 by the Compendium of Physical Activities, burning roughly 480-590 calories per hour for a 154 lb player - comparable to moderate-pace running. The Copenhagen City Heart Study also found tennis players lived 9.7 years longer than sedentary people, the highest longevity gain of any sport studied.
Is tennis growing or declining?
Tennis is growing. US participation hit a record 27.3 million in 2025, the sixth consecutive year of growth and 54% above 2019 levels. Globally, the sport crossed 100 million players for the first time. Even amid rapid pickleball growth, tennis maintained its lead in total US participation at 27.3 million versus pickleball's 24.3 million in 2025.
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