I'm one of the many people who has taken up tennis in the last few years. Absolutely experiencing a resurgence -- when I started up a few years ago, it was easy to get into classes and clinics, and now it's harder and things sell out. I also notice more activity on local courts. A local club I am a sometimes-member of has said they've tripled the amount of adult beginner offerings and they still sell out, it's been a huge boon for them financially.

I actually think pickleball has increased interest in tennis because it's contributed to "tennis core" fashion and activity on local courts and led to some people picking up tennis if pickleball is not for them (personally I like the pace of tennis better and like how much running there is, and find it more satisfying to be able to swing through groundstrokes than the volley focus of pickleball). There's just a greater interest in racquet sports generally.

It's great! Take up tennis! It's getting easier to find partners because so many people are picking it up, and it's the rare recreational sport that almost anyone can play but for which there is also a high level professional product to watch. Basketball is the only other one I can think of that is as accessible, but I feel like basketball after 50 gets dicey whereas I know a lot of people playing tennis into their 60s and even 70s, just playing at a slower pace with bigger rackets to accommodate more limited mobility.

It's the World's Healthiest Sport!

I think that the surge in country club popularity post-COVID has caused a surge in popularity in country club sports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am taking up tennis again in my 50s based on research that it is a great sport for longevity/aging. Rec lessons are pretty affordable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/well/move/the-best-sport-for-a-longer-life-try-tennis.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

I love tennis; it’s a great sport. But studies like the above should be used as a prime example of why correlation is not causation. The most obvious explanation for the result is that the analysis does not control for income: richer people are more likely to play tennis and have better health care. This does not mean that tennis CAUSES the longevity.

The study did control for socio economic status and also it is a study from Denmark, which generally has less inequality than the US. Obviously no observational study is conclusive and I definitely would not recommend taking up tennis solely based on this study. But given all the other research about social ties being important as people age, there is certainly a plausible causal pathway that a sport that is both social and gives you a cardio workout would be better than a sport that is a cardio workout and can easily be done alone.

Unfortunately the US Open has become the place to see and be seen. More and more, spectators are acting inappropriately causing delay in play. Half the stadium during the woman's singles match Thursday night was empty. They need to stop letting people resell tickets.

Otherwise I'm happy for the rise in popularity.

Anonymous wrote:I am taking up tennis again in my 50s based on research that it is a great sport for longevity/aging. Rec lessons are pretty affordable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/well/move/the-best-sport-for-a-longer-life-try-tennis.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

I love tennis; it’s a great sport. But studies like the above should be used as a prime example of why correlation is not causation. The most obvious explanation for the result is that the analysis does not control for income: richer people are more likely to play tennis and have better health care. This does not mean that tennis CAUSES the longevity.

I am taking up tennis again in my 50s based on research that it is a great sport for longevity/aging. Rec lessons are pretty affordable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/well/move/the-best-sport-for-a-longer-life-try-tennis.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

I feel like it goes through periods of more popularity and periods of less. Tennis does seem to be increasing in popularity or maybe it’s just the clothes LOL. The sorority rush videos had a lot of tennis skirts!

My older kid is a tennis player and there is a LOT of pent up demand for children’s tennis in this area. The problem is there isn’t enough indoor facilities for year round play - if you sign up for lessons at an outdoor facility they will cancel if it’s raining (not for a drizzle or light rain but moderate rain, yes). And then they usually won’t schedule lessons over the winter from December - end of March either. And lessons do tend to be pretty expensive but maybe if you’re coming from the world of $$$ travel baseball or an ice sport, it’s not too bad.

I’m happy to read this. I worried pickleball would kill US tennis, especially when I saw an ad (while watching tennis) for a pickleball channel, “so you can keep up with your favorite players!” My favorite who now?!

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's more reported on?
Don't know. Hate every aspect of tennis and golf.

Hate!!

There was a long time from the 70’s into the 90’s when there were a lot of dominant Americans in tennis - in both men’s and women’s. That faded for a while, but may be coming back, as Americans are doing better in majors again, so the interest here may be coming back, too.

Maybe it's more reported on?
Don't know. Hate every aspect of tennis and golf.

Always has been popular. My whole life.

Has your head been in the sand the past 4-5 years? Since Covid the sport has increased in popularity

Has there been some surge in the popularity in tennis? All of a sudden I feel like everyone is interested in tennis, going to the US Open, sporting Roland Garros T shirts, learning to play etc. I walk into Lululemon and they display a “Lululemon tennis club” sweatshirt and athleisure all looks inspired by 1980’s tennis outfits.

The US Open has always been a celebrity see and be seen place, but now my social media feed is full of people who are showing off and their us open gear (similar to the Masters).

Is this some remnant of the quiet luxury fashion in the past couple of years?

I hope it’s a good thing and tennis can be more of accessible!