4GLOBAL, the UK-based data, services and software company focused on the promotion and measurement of physical activity, has analysed participation in tennis in England for the first five months of this year, and found the sport has seen one of the strongest recoveries from Covid-19.
From the success of Emma Raducanu winning the US Open, to the inspiration of the age-defying performances from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the extraordinary stories in recent months from the world of tennis appear to have inspired thousands of people to get back onto the courts, often in bigger numbers than those seen before the pandemic.
Using 4Global’s unique DataHub, the company tracks more than 1.5million tennis bookings per year and has found that:
• From the start of 2022 to date, weekly tennis participation has increased by 15% on average compared to the same week in 2019 (pre-Covid).
• The highest growth in throughout was in March 2022 at around 37% higher compared to March 2019 figures.
• A second surge last month saw participation in the final week of May up almost 25% on the same week three years before.
Utku Toprakseven, Chief Product Officer at 4GLOBAL, said: “It was striking to see how many more people wanted to play tennis in the first few months of this year. When British players do well in international tournaments, we often see their success inspiring participation, and it seems it’s the turn of tennis to experience that effect.
“Over the past few years more and more local authorities have introduced booking systems for their tennis courts, which means we can now gauge even more accurately how many people are enjoying playing tennis in their community. We’ll be watching the Wimbledon weeks closely to see if the inspiring performances from elite players drive this surge even further.”
