Britain at the forefront of global rise in tennis participation
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106 million people around the world are playing tennis – an increase of 25.6% in five years – according to a study released today by the sport’s global governing body, the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Data from the ITF shows Great Britain is at the forefront of this global rise in participation and has the highest percentage of population playing tennis of any of the 199 nations who contributed to the ITF report.
Over the five-year period from 2019-2023 LTA data showed adult annual participation (adults playing at least once a year) in Britain grew by 44% to around 5.6m people (10% of the population), with children’s annual participation growing to 3.6m, some 40% of the population, over the same period.
Today’s ITF report ranks Britain No.1 on this measure above other Grand Slam nations, the USA, France and Australia, and major European tennis nations, such as Spain and Germany.
We’ve worked very hard over the past few years to make tennis accessible to play. We’re proud that Britain is leading the way at grassroots level.
Ensuring the game remains healthy and popular at grass-roots level is an important part of the LTA’s role as the national governing body for tennis. The LTA’s vision is to open tennis up by making it welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring.
Scott Lloyd, LTA Chief Executive said: “We’ve worked very hard over the past few years to make tennis accessible to play. This includes introducing simple digital tools to allow people to find and book a local court easily, find coaches, and meet people of a similar level to play against, as well as supporting clubs to open their doors to their local community on a pay and play basis.
"Alongside the UK Government we are rolling out a huge refurbishment programme of over 3,000 park tennis courts across 1,000 park sites in Britain, as we know parks are often the first place that people pick up a racket to play. We’re now introducing Barclays Free Park Tennis sessions, that allow people to play for free at their local park, with all the equipment also provided for free
“Tennis is a sport that has significant mental and physical health benefits, and it can be played by anyone whatever their age, ability, disability or background. We’re proud that Britain is leading the way at grassroots level.”
