Participation in tennis across the United States reached 25.7 million players in 2024, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth for the sport, according to the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA). The reported figures are drawn from two studies that have not yet been fully disclosed, revealing an increase of 1.9 million players from 2023’s total of 23.8 million, which translates to an 8% rise. This surge indicates that approximately one in every twelve Americans engaged in tennis in the past year.

Lew Sherr, the CEO of the USTA, expressed the organization’s ambition to grow tennis participation in the country to 35 million by 2035, stating that this target is both “actionable and achievable.” To support this initiative, the USTA announced plans to allocate $10 million in grants in 2025. This funding is aimed at building, renovating, and extending play hours on tennis courts nationwide, a significant increase from last year’s pledge of $1.2 million, which supported over 500 public courts.

This news comes amidst the rising popularity of pickleball, a sport that has seen its participation numbers soar from nearly zero to over 13 million Americans in just three years, indicating a growth rate exceeding 200%.

The USTA’s statistics, presented on Wednesday, are derived from the National Golf Foundation’s analysis of two surveys funded by the USTA, which engaged 18,000 individuals aged 6 and older. The studies include the Physical Activity Council (PAC) Study on Sports and Physical Activity and the PLAY study.

Additional insights provided by the USTA highlighted that: 45% of last year’s growth in tennis participation came from players under 25, while over 60% of those participating are under 35. Furthermore, there was a 26% increase in participation among Black players and a 15% rise among Hispanic players in 2024. In addition, the number of senior players has grown by 17% in the past year.