One of the most well-liked individual sports in history is tennis. Tennis competitions that span generations have attracted huge audiences and have undoubtedly inspired more individuals to play the sport at all levels. How many countries play tennis worldwide, though?
How Many Countries Play Tennis?
Tennis has always had a global feel to it since it first became a sport. Four Grand Slams are held in four different nations, which contribute to some of that. In actuality, a prospective champion can practice wherever there is a court. The most intriguing tennis participation figures from around the world are examined in this article.
Global Tennis Participation Data
Tennis is a global sport in terms of participation and spectator sport. Tennis is played by 87 million individuals worldwide, according to the International Tennis Federation‘s most current research from 2019 (ITF).
The ITF has set a lofty goal of increasing this number to 120 million by 2030. This amounts to 1.17% of the world’s population, or 87 million people regularly taking up a tennis racquet and heading to the court.
Despite figures showing that just 21% of tennis coaches are women, 47% are female. Tennis can only be a sport that is fully accessible if all of the required facilities are provided.
According to the ITF statistics, there are 71,000 clubs that anyone can join and 489,000 recognized courts worldwide. The ITF will undoubtedly aim to raise these numbers as they work toward their 2030 target of 120 million participants.
They will delve further into the data to collaborate with national tennis federations and governments to achieve their goal. When you start to analyze the statistics, you’ll see how predominately certain countries participate. It surprises people which country has the most participants.
1: USA
One-fifth of the tennis players in the world play in the US, where tennis is still quite popular. Legendary tennis champions from the US have a long history, and young American tennis players have looked up to them.
The Williams sisters have continued this legacy by blaming North America as 54.5% of the world’s female tennis players. After several years of relatively consistent participation, tennis has recently seen a spike.
Tennis participation significantly increased in 2020, with 21.64 million Americans participating. This was an increase of 22% from the prior year, and the covid-19 epidemic is most likely to blame.
People go out of the house and exercise safely during COVID and tennis provides prospects for social isolation. However, 6.78 million players were either new to the sport or had not played in a while.
This rise in engagement benefits the economy as well as the health of the country. Alongside this surge in visitors to American tennis courts, the Tennis Industry Association recorded a 40% rise in sales of entry-level tennis rackets.
Participation Rate
Like other sports, tennis has a variety of age groups who participate. According to Physical Activity Council (PAC), over 37% of tennis players in the US are between the ages of 25 and 44.
Seniors are taking up the sport for its social and health benefits 10.6% of all US players are over the age of 55. Even more pleasing is the fact that over 25% of participants are children between the ages of 6 and 17.
The US Tennis Association will work to promote this trend further. There was an increase of 1.6 percent in 2017. With only 4.1 percent of the nation’s players, New England has the lowest participation rates of any US region. The leading areas were:
The amenities provided to inhabitants will vary between states and their cities, just like they do between various nations. Florida has a constant rise in participation of 7.7 percent over this period.
2: Europe
Europe has long been considered a classic tennis continent because it hosts two of the four grand slam competitions. However, about twelve nations, including Germany, the UK, France, Russia, and the Czech Republic, accounting for the majority of involvement.
According to a 2018 study, of the 25 million tennis players in Europe, nearly 90% were from just ten nations. A year later, the ITF survey revealed that only 41% of tennis players in Europe are female.
88.8% of the 25 million players, according to Tennis Europe, are from the A-Nations, which include the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
But it’s important to keep in mind that roughly 60% of Europeans live in these ten nations. The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland are home to nearly 9 out of 10 European tennis players.
Six countries France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, and for the first time Russia represents 10% or more of all players in Europe. This indicates that these six countries account for more than 60% of the tennis market in Europe.
3: Asia
In addition to China leading the worldwide participation rankings, India’s third-place finish would undoubtedly surprise many. Despite having enormous populations, neither China nor India has a long tennis tradition.
However, this increase in player trends across the Asian continent is the best representative. 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, and there are many opportunities for further growth.
When examining the preliminary data, it’s crucial to keep in mind how populous this continent is. Asia accounts for 37.9% of all players worldwide, yet this number only represents a small portion of the continent’s population. The percentage of local people who play tennis is as follows, according to the ITF global report:
Less than 1% of people in the region play tennis, despite Asia having nearly one-third of all tennis players worldwide. For tennis officials, you can indicate massive growth with the right investment.
4: France
Everyone who enjoys tennis is familiar with the French Open and the spectators who watch the match, for better or worse. Although they occasionally treat some players a little crudely, they unabashedly promote tennis as a sport.
For more than a century, this sport has been rather popular in the nation, and it has also been able to generate some quite exceptional players. France is now experiencing a bit of a talent slump, but they are optimistic that this will soon change.
In the top 20, they always have a few exciting players who are willing to compete in any Grand Slam.
5: Spain
Eight women are listed in the Top 100, but given how dominating Spanish men have historically been, it is simple to ignore that fact. First off, nine Spaniards, or nearly 20%, are represented in the Top 50.
Then there are the risky floaters, which are typically difficult for the top players, such as Albert Montanes, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Albert Ramos, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Men like David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, and Pablo Andujar are among those who have made significant improvements recently. Due to their expertise, players like Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo understand what it’s like to be rated at the top of the field and how to play important matches.
And there are three men in the Top 20: Rafael Nadal, who doesn’t require an introduction; Nicolas Almagro, who has been consistent but hasn’t yet broken through; and David Ferrer. Spain is a tennis powerhouse that might hold the title of the top nation for a very long time.
6: Switzerland
Another nation where the game has seen a surge in popularity is Switzerland because of a renowned player named Roger Federer. With almost 100 ATP singles titles under his belt, he is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players in history.
Jimmy Connors, an American tennis player, was the only one with more career victories. The fact that Switzerland also developed a female tennis player of the same caliber is also surprising. At the age of just 16 years and 3 months, Martina Hingis became the first Swiss athlete to win a Grand Slam competition.
Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the nation thanks to the success of both Swiss players.
7: Belgium
An additional nation with a particularly long history in tennis is Belgium. The David Cup, the most prestigious international team tennis competition, was first played in 1898. In 1905, Belgium had previously participated in the championship’s fifth iteration.
Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, two elite female tennis players, were created in Belgium more recently. For many years in the late 20th and early 21st century, both female players ruled the sport.
This undoubtedly contributed to the rise in the popularity of tennis in Belgium, a tendency that has persisted to the day.
8: Argentina
Only Paula Ormaechea, who is now ranked 80th in the world, is an Argentinian woman in the Top 100. However, athletes from Argentina tend to exhibit strength and talent in the men’s game.
Horacio Zeballos, Carlos Berlocq, Juan Monaco, and the up-and-coming Federico Delbonis are some of the seven players from the nation that are ranked higher than 80th in the world.
Even David Nalbandian, who has plummeted swiftly in the world rankings to around 200th, has been a fantastic player throughout the years, making it to the semifinals or higher in every Grand Slam competition.
However, Juan Martin del Potro unquestionably bears the burden and expectations of the entire nation. He has previously won a major and appears to be regaining his best form in preparation for future victories.
9: Germany
In Germany, tennis is one of the most popular sports. The truth that there are more than 5 million players who are actively playing in the nation and more than 1.4 million of them are registered with the regional federation highlights this.
Germany had to be included in this list of nations where tennis is most popular because it is played there more than everywhere else in the globe. Undoubtedly, Steffi Graff and Boris Becker contributed much to the game’s appeal in the nation.
They rank among the most well-known tennis players the world has ever seen. At the age of 17, Boris Becker won Wimbledon, the first of his six Grand Slam titles, and instantly rose to fame.
Final Words
Tennis is increasingly popular around the world, even if traditional tennis-playing regions like the US and Europe continue to dominate the sport’s top levels. Although they may not be heavily represented at the pinnacle of the sport, regions like Asia have the largest populations worldwide and the most participation. But even so, this only represents a small portion of their entire population.
Tennis is made more accessible to everyone thanks to organizations like the ITF that gather comprehensive statistics on player participation to aid in investment decisions in facilities.
FAQ’S
According to the ITF, out of the 87 million tennis players worldwide, roughly 47% of them are female and 53% are male. According to the ITF, with about 55% of tennis players being female, North America is the only continent where there are more female tennis players than males. In every other region, there were more men playing tennis than women. Only 21.6 percent of tennis players are female in South America, the continent with the highest male predominance in the globe.
There are over 3 million tennis players or around 12% of the tennis players in Europe. Specifically, 3 million individuals play tennis at least four times each year. According to the 2017 LTA Annual Review, 5.4 million individuals in the UK play tennis at least once each year.
3873 professional tennis players in total were ranked on the pro tour in 2017, according to the ITF Global Tennis Report 2019 (2348 male players and 1525 female players). A total of 6382 junior players were rated in 2017, according to the ITF (3187 male players and 3195 female players).