Industry leaders at the 2016 State of the Tennis Industry Forum in Miami discussed “future thinking” initiatives to attract more players, which will include testing a short-court version of tennis called POP Tennis, and opening a 100-court, 63-acre USTA National Campus complex at Lake Nona in Orlando.
More than 300 tennis industry leaders gathered at the 2016 State of the Tennis Industry Forum held in Miami on March 23 to discuss the future of the sport, including key information and statistics that pointed out the challenges and opportunities tennis faces today.
Among the challenges are a national “inactivity pandemic,” in which 83 million Americans of all ages self-report as having “no physical activity.” Tennis, however, is faring better than most sports, according to data from the Physical Activity Council. Over the last eight years, tennis remains the only traditional participation sport to show growth, at 6% overall; all other traditional sports declined in that period, said Tennis Industry Association (TIA) President Jeff Williams, managing partner of the Tennis Media Co.
The total number of tennis players in the U.S. is 17.96 million, which is a .3% increase from 2014, noted Keith Storey, vice president of Sports Marketing Surveys USA. “Core” tennis players—those who play 10 or more times a year—increased .5% to 9.96 million.
“While these slight increases are positive signs in this economic climate, we look to develop ‘future thinking’ initiatives to attract and retain more adults and youth into tennis, along with efforts to improve the tennis marketplace,” said Jolyn de Boer, the executive director of the TIA.
Among opportunities for the sport is the new USTA National Campus, expected to open in Orlando’s Lake Nona community in December. The facility, with more than 100 tennis courts, will be “a learning lab for anyone who delivers tennis,” said U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) executive Kurt Kamperman.
Not only will the USTA Community Tennis and Player Development divisions be housed at the Lake Nona campus, but the facility will be the headquarters for the new USTA University, which will focus on education, including helping to create more Professional Tennis Management business degree programs at colleges and university around the country. “We have to drive the next generation to our industry,” Kamperman noted.
Kamperman also announced that the USTA will be testing a short-court version of tennis called POP Tennis, played on 36- and 60-foot tennis courts (vs. the full-size 78-foot-long court) with red, orange and green lower compression balls and short racquets or paddles. “We believe POP Tennis can be a ‘feeder’ system into tennis for kids and a ‘keeper’ for keeping adults and seniors in the game,” he said.
Prior to the Forum, POP Tennis was demonstrated on a 60-foot court set up in the hotel ballroom of the Hilton Miami Downtown. The morning also included a “Tennis Tech Fair,” which highlighted the latest products, trends and interactive resources in the sport.
The Forum closed with Dr. Jack Groppel, renowned health and wellness expert, who delivered a passionate plea for the tennis industry to do a better job of telling its own story in regard to ease of play and the benefits of an active lifestyle.
“We are good at intellectualizing about [getting people playing] and creating way too many initiatives, but not at changing behaviors,” said Groppel, who stressed that the industry needs to do a better job of marketing available health benefit data to decision-makers outside the tennis industry. “There is too much preaching to the choir—we need to utilize the ‘science of storytelling’ to reach legislators and change the minds of the people in power.”
Groppel also touched on statistics regarding individuals spending all-time-high amounts of time staring at screens during the day, leaving little time for fitness or health. “No one has taught the American people how to set boundaries and make time to stay active,” he said. “We settle for these conditions, then say we have no time for exercise or activity. The No. 1 way brain growth happens is exercise and activity.”
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