2025 Press Release:
USTA HAWAII PACIFIC SEES A + 35% - PERCENT INCREASE IN TENNIS PARTICIPATION OVER THREE YEARS AS NATIONWIDE PARTICIPATION SURGES TO NEW HIGH OF 25.7 MILLION PLAYERS
Honolulu, Hawaii: February 24, 2025 – In the latest data published by third-party research firms, the USTA confirmed that tennis participation in the United States has surged to a new high of 25.7 million players following five consecutive years of growth*, including an 8-percent increase since 2023. Of the 25.7 million players, approximately 108,000 reside in the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section, which has seen a 35%-percent increase in tennis participation since 2022. In an increasingly competitive sports and recreation environment, this expansion demonstrates tennis' broadening appeal and strengthening position in the U.S.
Quote from Section Executive Director: Ron Romano
“The Hawaii Pacific section represents one of the smallest USTA territories in both overall population and tennis participants with 108,000 active players. The section’s footprint is small, yet its growth is strong – its active participant base and overall participation rate have grown each year since 2022.
The Hawaii Pacific Section continued a gradual upward trend in 2024 with 108K active players – up from 95K in 2023 and 80K in 2022 (+35%). This string of growth since 2022 underscores the “small but mighty” nature of the Hawaii Pacific Section, with nearly 80K“very interested prospects” in the latent demand pool suggesting there’s more years with player growth on the horizon.
An estimated 8.2% of the Hawaii Pacific Section’s population played tennis in 2024, signifying the section’s highest participation rate on record and the sixth ranked participation rate across sections. The Hawaii Pacific is one of five sections to see higher participation rates each year since 2022, speaking to a strengthening appetite for the sport.
Other significant national findings on tennis’ participation growth from the research include:
● Retained and returning players are on the rise with a five percent increase in retention rates over 2023 reaching a five-year high, while those who returned to the game after a break of at least one year rose nine percent. First time and returning players brought 6.3 million players to the game in 2024 and tennis lost the fewest number of players year over year since 2020. This balanced momentum represents an ideal scenario for the sport – simultaneously cultivating committed players while broadening reach.
● Tennis is increasingly attracting a younger player base as players under 35 powered tennis' expansion in 2024, contributing nearly two thirds of all growth (+1.2 million players). The youth influence is especially clear among those under 25, who drove 45 percent of total gains. This concentrated growth among younger segments underscores the sport's strong appeal to new generations and suggests a promising trajectory for tennis' future in America.
● The game is increasingly more diverse with 26 percent growth in Black / African American participation, representing a 662,000 player increase, and Hispanic players up 15.4 percent, to 4.54 million players. Senior players too are on the rise with a 17 percent increase in growth of 302,000 participants. These trends suggest tennis is strengthening its position as a cornerstone of community engagement and healthy lifestyle choices.
● Tennis reached a new milestone in engagement in 2024, with Core players (those playing 10+ times in the past 12 months) growing to a record 13 million, representing 50 percent of all participants. This expansion in committed players surpassed 2023 by 11 percent and signals deepening engagement across the sport. The rise in frequent players has helped drive total play occasions to 575 million, a nine percent increase over the previous year.
*Tennis participation in the United States is measured through two complementary research studies:
● The Physical Activity Council (PAC) Study on Sports and Physical Activity, which has tracked tennis participation since 2007, draws from a nationally representative panel of over 1 million Americans and features responses from 18,000 people ages 6 and older. The study tracks participation across 122 separate sports, fitness and recreational activities, with strict quotas for gender, age, income, region, and ethnicity to ensure a balanced sample and is administered by Sports Marketing Surveys USA.
● The PLAY Study (formerly known as the Participation and Engagement Study), which has provided supplemental data through a partnership between the USTA and the National Golf Foundation (NGF) since 2021 surveys 18,000 individuals ages 6 and older annually.
About the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section
The United States Tennis Association Hawaii Pacific, Inc (USTA HPI) is the national governing body for the sport of tennis and the recognized leader in promoting and developing the sport’s growth on every level. The Hawaii Pacific Section is one of 17 geographic Sections of the USTA whose geographical area includes Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
The Hawaii Pacific Section embraces over 7,500 individual members and 75 organizational members. The Hawaii Pacific Section comprises five Community Tennis Organizations including Oahu, Kauai, Maui, East Hawaii & West Hawaii. The Hawaii Pacific Section is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to carrying out the mission of the national association with respect to promoting tennis opportunities for youth and adults of all abilities and all cultural backgrounds. To learn more about the USTA Hawaii Pacific please visit www.ustahawaii.com.
Media Contact: Jony Conching
Office & Marketing Manager
Phone: 808-585-9503
Email: conching@hawaii.usta.com